Ingrid is a fourth year PhD candidate from Plant Biology working in Surangi Punyasena’s lab. She works in palynology (study of pollen, spores and dinoflagellates) to understand past environmental changes. Her research is focused on studying fossil records from northern South America to understand the impact that geological and climatic events had on the Neotropics, and to evaluate how plant communities responded to these changes.
What have you been up to this past week?
This week I have been recovering from an awful cold. However, I started the week with some exciting news: a paper, in which I am a coauthor, has been accepted to Journal of Biogeography 😊. This week has also been quite busy, which is normal, and I have been dividing my time between teaching and research. First, I graded the last assignments for the class that I am a TA (IB105). Secondly, I have been working on writing the results and discussion of a paper that is part of my dissertation. Thirdly, I have been sporadically looking at my pollen samples in the microscope. Lastly, to complete the week I have been watching a cutie dog named Sal.
What have you been listening to recently?
Now that I am back at the microscope, I have been listening to A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford. This is a book about the history of humanity told through genetics. It is a very interesting book that explains how our genes can tell us about our roots. In the book, the author explains some principles of genetics, mixed with anthropology and history. I highly recommend this book in any format.
Among podcasts, I listen to Pod Save America. I also listen to music by using Pandora or iTunes. If I am reading or writing, I am usually listening to something instrumental, but I listen to music with lyrics if I am using the microscope. Some of my favorite radio stations in Pandora are Monsieur Perine, the Beatles, Paris Combo, Parov Stelar and Lindsey Stirling.
Do you have a work routine/schedule?
Although I don’t have a strict routine, I have some structure depending of the activities of the day or the deadlines of the week. The first thing I do is make a to-do list. Next, I select the activities that are priorities or that have a deadline by reviewing my calendar and the sticky notes that I have on my laptop as reminders. After that, I review my email to see if there is anything new that I need to prioritize. After I have the activities of the day organized, I divide my day in two parts, the day and night. The morning is when I usually do microscope time, TA activities (writing emails, reviewing submissions, sending warnings), or writing grants. The afternoon is when I do data analyses, reading or writing papers, or doing more microscope if possible. This schedule is usually from ~8:00 am to ~5:00 pm. And at night (~8:00 pm to ~11:00 pm), I do some more writing or reading. I also try to organize activities not related to research, such as updating my CV, completing the annual evaluation, or writing things such as this blog post.
Do you have any pets?
I have two pets, PB and Sasa. PB (short for Peanut Butter) is a two-year-old, sweet guinea pig. He loves to be pet on his head and to eat, specially romaine lettuce and grass. PB’s other favorite veggies are my plants. He occasionally accepts carrots, cucumbers, parsley and some fruits. He likes to run in the house and eat my plants. Therefore, when I let him out of the cage, I leave one or two plants for him to nibble on, and then I hide the plants.
Sasa is another story, as she is a ~10-year-old cat. She is a mix of tabby and tortie, which is why we think she acts like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Overall, she is very talkative, especially at mornings and when my husband Mike and I arrived home after work. Sasa likes to be pet, but sometimes I think she gets too much affection. When this happens, she instantly changes her attitude and swipes, bites and then runs away. Other times, she just comes up to us with intense eyes, looks at us, attacks and then goes away. That is why I think she has some personality issues. But the best part is that although she is a little crazy and cannot be friends with dogs or other cats, she likes PB.
Do you have any interesting office decorations?
As you can see below, I have some office decorations. In the lab, we have 3D-printed pollen, some of which are fossils grains and some of which are modern grains. In addition, I made some pollen types with plasticine (material similar to modelling clay). They were made when I was mentoring students to explain the structure and shape of pollen. My desk also has some seeds that I collected a long time ago, as well as some dinosaurs and a crotched cactus that I made. These decorations are used to indicate that I work with fossil plants, mainly pollen, but I also use some of these decorations (3D pollen) in outreach activities. I also have a collection of tea (which I love), and some squeeze toys that are good for releasing stress and anxiety, especially when I am writing.
A view of your week…
