Transposable Elements Into Transferrable Skills
Corajayne DeBoer is a second-year Choose Ohio First (COF) Advancing an Inclusive Biotech Economy in Ohio (IBEO-Science) Scholar majoring in microbiology and minoring in Spanish at The Ohio State University. Her goal is to work in the bioinformatics industry. She became interested in this path through a Human Biology course she took in high school and guidance from her superiors in her undergraduate research position. Corajayne plans to pursue a Master of Science degree in microbiology.
In March 2025, Corajayne began working for The Ou Lab at The Ohio State University. The Ou Lab is primarily a maize lab and studies transposable elements’ (TEs) impact on plant and animal species under different conditions. More specifically, Corajayne works under Dr. Christopher Benson, a post-doctoral scholar in the laboratory, on sequencing Poa annua (bluegrass) plants’ DNA that came from a variety of climates. Corajayne and Dr. Benson germinated the plants from seed, phenotyped the plants, and extracted and sequenced the plants’ DNA to determine how TEs affect the appearance of wild-type Poa annua around the globe. Corajayne is currently working on her own sequencing project in the lab and is excited to see how the project pans out. Corajayne DeBoer will be presenting about her research at the CIR Chat Session in Smith Lab 1009.
Impact of the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program
"Being part of the Choose Ohio First Scholarship program led me to participate in more activities and force myself out of my comfort zone more. I began my undergraduate research opportunity because I knew it was a requirement for this scholarship. I also joined a volunteer program because I knew I needed volunteer hours to reach the minimum requirement for STEM hours per semester. Finally, I made a good friend through the COF mentoring program".
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