Today we are shining our WISE spotlight on Kendall Scarlett who is a PhD student studying harmful algal blooms. To read more about her research, check out our blog post!
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
I knew I wanted to be a scientist from early childhood when I spoke my first word, which was “duck”. Originally, I planned on becoming a Veterinarian, but my initial experiences after I graduated from Florida State University opened up my mind to pursuing other passions. As I began to teach about animal behavior and the impact of anthropogenic (human-made) stressors on the environment during my internship, I became very interested in natural and non-natural (i.e., chemical pollution) stressors that can effect wildlife. This curiosity led me to pursue a Masters in Zoology with a focus on behavioral ecotoxicology, and now to a Doctorate in Environmental Science.
How would you describe your work to the public?
My research involves understanding how natural toxins (specifically cyanobacterial toxins) produced from harmful algal blooms effect wildlife and human health around the globe. Under certain conditions, algal species can produce and release toxins into essential freshwater sources resulting in detrimental impacts for wildlife and humans. I specifically study a common algal toxin, Cylindrospermopsin, that can be produced from many species of algae around the globe. Information about cylindrospermopsinis limited, but becoming more relevant with our changing climate. My job is to understand the potential risks, toxicity, and adverse health effects associated with cylindrospermopsin. In addition, I plan on studying essential behavioral endpoints (i.e., swimming speed and distance) that can be used as first indicators of exposure to cylindrospermopsin in the environment.
What do you enjoy doing the most? Besides the research I do, I am a true-crime fanatic and have seen just about every crime show and have listened to dozens of podcasts throughout my time in graduate school so far. I think if I didn’t pursue a career in environmental science, I would have loved to study psychology. I already study animal behavioral (to some extent) so I think it would be interesting to understand why people do what they do.
What is an accomplishment that a younger you would have thought unachievable?
My younger self would have definitely not believed that I would have gone to graduate school, let alone to pursue a doctorate focusing on aquatic ecotoxicology. Growing up, I never really considered myself smart, but instead a hard worker and had misconceived notions that graduate school was only for those with extremely high intelligence. I didn’t realize until later on, that I would fit in intellectually.
If you could give a piece of advice to the younger generation, what would it be?
From childhood up until relatively recently I believed that my love for animals meant that I needed to be a Veterinarian. I didn’t realize that I could still help animals with other careers and this really prevented me from learning about these passions when I was younger. My biggest piece of advice for the younger generation would be to be open to other possibilities, even if you know you want to be one specific thing, because you may find other passions that you didn’t know you had. In my case, I didn’t realize how interested I was in studying other aspects of the environment besides the wildlife.
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