KU Biology Student Researcher: Isabella Del Muro

Isabella is a senior studying Molecular Cellular Biology with a minor in Astrobiology. She was excited by the new minor at KU saying, “I really liked Astronomy and Human & Plant Biology, when I saw the opportunity to do research that combined them both, I got really excited!”

She started an internship with the EPA in June of 2021 and has been working in the water quality department as a Biological Student in Training. Her research focus has been on the Water Quality of Urban Lakes in Kansas City.   

Del Muro takes samples from 16 lakes in the KC area, and tests them for toxins, microbes in the water and chlorophyll levels. Along with the Kansas City samples, she also runs tests for samples taken from Denver & Minneapolis. Isabella is tasked with looking at how saxitoxins, cyanotoxins, and anatoxins in lakes relate to algae blooms. She also noticed that certain microbial in the water could be used to help predict which lakes would have algae blooms and which wouldn’t.

Alongside this work, Isabella had an emergency response project where she did water sampling for New Orleans after Hurricane Ida. She was tasked with helping figure out the water quality in the drinking water for the city. 

How did you first become interested in doing this kind of research?

Two summers ago, Isabella worked a remote internship with New York City Parks & Rec, in their Sustainability Incubator. They were tasked with cleaning micro-plastics out of the East River through the use of bio-filters.

After finding that micro-plastics stuck to the edge of riverbanks, she and the other researchers created filters using natural enzymes and soil. These bio-filters trapped up to 80% of the micro-plastics that went through them.

When she interviewed with the EPA she told them about this work and they hired her to do more research in micro-plastics, however, the researcher who was leading the project transferred departments, and Isabella was moved into Water Quality research.

“It wasn’t what I expected going into the summer, but I was really interesting. It was more microbiology than molecular, and I hadn’t had the chance to explore that, both in the classroom setting, let alone outside of it.”

Do you think you’ll continue this research post graduation?

“I would want to eventually branch out, I do enjoy the work that I’m doing [at the EPA], but I’ve been lucky enough with the program, to attend different seminars covering US Government work. I’ve been able to see what else is out there. I got to attend a seminar from Ellen Ochoa, the first Latinx female astronaut, and that really brought my interest to Astrobiology to the forefront. I see myself continuing that research. Maybe bringing aspects of [my EPA work] into my future research, to understand how microbes live in extreme elements would be interesting for me.”

What does your research look like on a day-to-day basis?

Isabella’s day starts early, usually around 6:30 AM. She would go to 12 lakes and collect samples, and then return to the EPA labs around noon. Some of the samples would be preserved on site, which made it easier to process for mercury, anatoxins, and saxitoxin levels. The non-preserved fresh samples would be looked at first thing after returning to the lab, by using a FlowCam, a tiny microscope that analyzes a few milliliters of water. The FlowCam would take a ton of pictures of the sample, and can be set to test for certain parameters.

Back in the lab, Isabella would prepare the stored samples for testing. Samples being tested for anatoxins & saxitoxins, would need to go through a Freeze/Thaw cycle, before she could test the DNA and analyze the results. After completing the tests, the results would be logged in a combined document. It takes a total 2 weeks to process samples. The first week to do the testing, and the second to compile that data.

What’s something interesting you’ve learned from the research?

“It’s been interesting to see how area lakes are greatly affected by what’s nearby. One of the lakes we deal with in Denver is near a farm and there was a lot of runoff, so we’d have a lot of animal feces in our samples. […] or you could see how much sun a certain lake in Kansas City got versus to another one. [Sunlight would] affect the algae blooms, if a lake is in a more shaded area vs one that is getting more sunlight.”

What did you find most challenging about doing your project? 

“I was the only person in the building who didn’t have a lot of chemistry background when I walked in. I had to do a lot of chemical testing, with mercury samples and such, and I had a lot of questions. I was working with a lot of chemistry engineer interns who were like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got it” and I’m like “I’m going to have to look that one up when I get back to my desk.” But it was definitely interesting, I wasn’t expecting to get that experience, but it’s been a cool aspect, even though it took me a second to get a hang of." 

What advice would you offer to other students facing similar challenges?

“Start [research] as soon as you can, its better to get an internship early, I started when I was a freshman. Don’t be afraid to get yourself out there, to put your name in the field, even if it doesn’t end up working out. That’s one more person you might be able to use later on, who might have a connection for you if you interview. It’s all about asking questions that other people are scared to ask. But you’ve got to be willing do it. Risk it for the reward, get more comfortable with not knowing what’s happening. Become comfortable with asking those questions, to understand what’s happening.”

What do you plan to do after you graduate from KU?

“[I plan to] apply to grad school. I want to continue to work in research. I don’t know if I want to work in public or private or academic, or commercial, but I’ve been lucky enough, that at KU I’ve worked in public, private, academic, and commercial research settings. All are interesting for different reasons. So, it’s hard to narrow down what I want to do when I haven’t narrowed down what I want to research yet. But I want to [...} pick my niche and be able to focus on that for my grad school and maybe PhD. ”