DaRin Butz Foundation Research Interns

The DaRin Butz Foundation Research Internship Program at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University gives undergraduates in the life sciences a unique opportunity to experience research from start to finish while gaining training and connections among scientific colleagues. Spending ten weeks at the Arboretum during the summer, DaRin Butz Interns conduct and present research and participate in activities with the other interns.

• 2019 Interns
• 2018 Interns
• 2017 Interns

2019 Interns

	Liam Cleary University of Massachusetts, Amherst – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Friedman Lab Liam Cleary is an undergraduate student at UMass Amherst studying plant and soil science. His current research focuses on the evolutionary relationship between flowering plants and their pollinators. Liam is working in the Friedman Lab studying Magnolia macrophylla’s relationship with honey bee pollinators.
	Henry Coe Oberlin College – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Grossman Lab Henry Coe, an undergraduate at Oberlin College, is working in the Grossman Lab.
	Yiling Fang Oberlin College – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Holbrook Lab Yiling Fang is an undergraduate at Oberlin College studying Biology. She is interested in investigating plant developmental patterns and understanding plant physiology. She is working in the Holbrook Lab to understand cavitation resistance.
	Mayerlin Fischbach University of Central Florida – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Des Marais Lab Mayerlin Fischbach is an undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida, studying biology with a focus on plant science. Her major interests include understanding ecosystem resilience as well as plant-environment interactions, which she will be working on this summer in the Des Marais Lab.
	Fiona Harrigian Wellesley College – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Templer & Hutyra Labs Fiona Harrigian is an undergraduate student at Wellesley College studying Biology. She is interested in public health, microbiology, the environment, and the connections between them. As a DaRin Butz intern, she will explore the connections between urbanization and plants and soils in the Templer and Hutyra Labs.
	Daniel Mindich Harvard College – 2022 DaRin Butz Intern in the Friedman Lab Daniel Mindich is an undergraduate student at Harvard College studying Environmental Science and Public Policy. He is interested in conservation, forestry, and environmental policy as well as religion. Danny is excited to work in the in the Friedman Lab.
	Emma O’Donnell University of Massachusetts, Amherst – 2021 DaRin Butz Intern in the Hopkins Lab Emma O’Donnell is an undergraduate student at UMass Amherst, majoring in biology. She currently studies plant regulatory genomics in the model organism grass species Brachypodium distachyon. She’s involved in analyzing how specific genetic mutations affect the secondary cell wall of these plants. As a DaRin Butz intern, she is working in the Hopkins Lab.
	Dannielle Waugh University of Central Florida – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Spriggs Lab Dannielle Waugh is an undergraduate at the University of Central Florida, currently obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental Sciences. At her home institution, her research focuses on observing the role of plant growth rate in relation to leaf traits and environmental characteristics. Some of her interests are ecology, plant-environment interactions, invasive biology, and conservation. As a DaRin Butz intern, she is working in the Spriggs Lab studying the evolution and plant conservation of the chestnuts and ashes (Castanea and Fraxinus).
	Erin Wright Harvard College – 2021 DaRin Butz Intern in the Holbrook Lab Erin Wright is an undergraduate at Harvard College. As a DaRin Butz Intern, she is working in the Holbrook Lab.

2018 Interns

	Bridget Bickner University of Nebraska, Lincoln – 2018 DaRin Butz Intern in the Hopkins Lab Bridget Bickner studies biology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where her research focuses on the evolutionary implications of sexual conflict and mating strategies in spiders. In the future, she plans to focus on microevolutionary processes. As a DaRin Butz intern and under an American Society of Plant Biologists fellowship, Bridget is working in the Hopkins Lab to locate cis-regulatory promoter mutations related to Phlox drummondii flower color variation.
	Anna Blaustein Bowdoin College – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Des Marais Lab Anna Blaustein is an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College where she studies Biology and Earth and Oceanographic Science. Anna is working in the Des Marais Lab investigating how CO2 levels affect resource allocation in cereal grain-like grasses.
	Emily Brown Boston University – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Zieminska Lab Emily Brown is an undergraduate student at Boston University studying Biology with a minor in Anthropology.  She is working on the project “Tree Anatomy and Function” in the Zieminska Lab.
	Matthew Fertakos The College of New Jersey – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Spriggs Lab Matt Fertakos is an undergraduate studying biology at The College of New Jersey. His major interests include ecology, evolution, and conservation. Matt is working in the Spriggs Lab studying evolution and plant conservation of the severely threatened chestnut and ash trees.
	Anny Garcés Palacio Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Friedman Lab Anny Garcés Palacio is from Colombia, currently getting her undergraduate degree in Biology at Antioquia University. She is interested in Evo-Devo plants, evolutionary biology, organismic and embryology. Anny is working in the Friedman Lab exploring the process of double fertilization in Conifers.
	Zhe He Wheaton College – 2018 DaRin Butz Intern in the Holbrook Lab Zhe He is a recent graduate from Wheaton College with a chemistry major and biology minor. Zhe is working in the Holbrook Lab to help characterize vascular xylem vulnerability to cavitation. In the Walhout lab at Wheaton, she studied the diffusion of rhodamine b in polyelectrolyte solutions.
	Marissa Lee Boston University – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Templer and Hutyra Labs Marissa Lee is an undergraduate at Boston University. She is working on a project in the Templer and Hutyra Labs.
	Derek Schneider Amherst College – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Hopkins Lab Derek Schneider is a biology major at Amherst College. This summer he will be studying speciation in plants in the Hopkins Lab.
	Andrew Walter-McNeill Bowdoin College – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Des Marais Lab Andrew Walter-McNeill is a undergraduate at Bowdoin College studying biology and computer science. He is helping investigate how certain crops respond to changes in their growth environment (especially those related to climate change) in the Des Marais Lab. He spent his spring semester studying the boundary between eucalypt forest and rainforest in northern Queensland.

2017 Interns

	Ashley Bang Brown University – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Templer and Hutyra Labs Ashley Bang is an undergraduate at Brown University studying Geology-Biology. She worked on the ‘Air Pollutions in Urban Ecosystems’ project in the Templer and Hutyra Labs. Originally from Hong Kong, Ashley is interested in studying the shift in ecosystem interactions and functions that have been caused by anthropogenic activities.
	Juliet Bramante Harvard University – 2018 DaRin Butz Intern in the Hopkins Lab Juliet Bramante is a Harvard undergraduate working in the Hopkins Lab. Juliet helped to identify cis regulatory changes responsible for color variation in Phlox drummondii.
	Vivien Chen Boston University – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Holbrook, Templer and Hutyra Labs Vivien Chen is an undergraduate at Boston University studying Earth and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Biology. Vivien worked in the Holbrook Lab to determine whether a correlation exists with phloem size and ploidy in three species of white magnolias. In the Templer and Hutyra Labs, she studied the effects climate change has on nonstructural carbohydrates in hardwood trees.
	Jessica Leslie UMass, Amherst – 2017 DaRin Butz Intern in the Hopkins Lab Jessica Leslie is a recent graduate from UMass Amherst, where she was a Biology major with a certificate in Civic Engagement and Public Service. She is interested in plant-insect interactions, plant adaptations, and plant speciation. Jessica worked in the Hopkins Lab.
	Sruti Pandey Boston University – 2020 DaRin Butz Intern in the Holbrook Lab Sruti Pandey is an undergraduate student at Boston University studying biology. She worked with Dr. Losada in the Holbrook Lab and is quantitatively studying the vascular system of transgenic Nicotiana plants using confocal microscopy.
	Asa Peters Connecticut College – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Wolkovich Lab Asa Peters from Newton, Massachusetts is a sophomore at Connecticut College studying botany and music technology. He is interested in botany, ecology, and also ethnobotany. Asa worked in the Wolkovich Lab.
	Emily Rosa Sonoma State University – 2018 DaRin Butz Intern in the Zieminska Lab Emily Rosa is from Northern California currently getting her undergraduate degree at Sonoma State University in Environmental Studies and Planning with minors in Biology and Geography. Emily worked in the Zieminska Lab.
	Jack Smith Harvard University – 2019 DaRin Butz Intern in the Friedman Lab Jack Smith is a Harvard undergraduate studying Environmental Science and Public Policy. Jack worked in the Friedman Lab exploring plant morphology and development.