{"id":7541,"date":"2021-06-01T14:22:35","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T18:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/?p=7541"},"modified":"2021-06-07T11:56:43","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T15:56:43","slug":"gutierrez-navarro-earns-michigan-sea-grant-internship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/2021\/06\/01\/gutierrez-navarro-earns-michigan-sea-grant-internship\/","title":{"rendered":"Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro earns Michigan Sea Grant internship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CynthiaCynthia Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro has only been at the University of Detroit Mercy for a short time, but her resume is growing quicker than some of the invasive plants she studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Biology major has already done three years of undergraduate research, presented at conferences, co-authored a scientific paper and recently became the first Detroit Mercy student to be awarded a Michigan Sea Grant (MISG) Environmental Internship and a MISG Community Engaged Internship this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to gain valuable field experiences, empower my own research interests, and boost my growth as a researcher,\u201d Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro said about being awarded the MISG internships. \u201cThese awards are an opportunity to explore my interest in molecular ecology and environmental health.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro designed a project for the MISG that will allow her to expand on continuing Detroit Mercy research at Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Township on the ecology of bioswales. Bioswales are vegetated channels that convey stormwater runoff and filter out contaminants.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, a $4 million green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) project rerouted the historical drainage of runoff from a massive 42-acre parking lot through a network of bioswales that converge on wetlands adjacent Point Rosa marsh and ultimately filter into Lake St. Clair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CynthiaThe goal of Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro\u2019s project is to characterize the impact that two invasive plant species are having on microbial communities as well as evaluate the capacity of GSIs to recover ecosystem services in urban environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro\u2019s summer research is part of a collaborative-project by Detroit Mercy Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Sustainability V\u00edctor Carmona, which identified that invasive plants in the bioswales were advancing ecosystem services by stabilizing Escherichia coli communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cE. coli and other fecal-indicator bacteria are a proxy for detecting the presence of potential pathogenic organisms like viruses, protozoan parasites, and bacteria that are harmful to humans\u201d, Carmona said. \u201cBioswales are anthropogenic systems, and we\u2019ve discovered certain plant species are able to stabilize pathogenic organisms. If we can identify how they are doing that, we can spur novel urban GSI designs that recover ecological function. Until recently, we all assumed GSIs worked with any green-scape, but now this type of \u2018magical thinking\u2019 is being challenged with integrative studies like ours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro will be studying the invasive plants during the growing season this summer, building on fall data that Carmona\u2019s research students collected.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral private-sector environmental engineering firms have reached out to inquire about our integrative-science approach for identifying ecosystem processes.\u201d Carmona said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to find out how these processes work, Carmona says Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro is going to have to be creative and also bold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to have to make observations, come up with experiments to test ideas, and use data to inform novel strategies\u201d Carmona said. \u201cIn my coursework, I\u2019ve challenged Cynthia to design biologically relevant projects in dynamic field-conditions, and she excels at it.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Co-authoring a paper as an undergrad means she\u2019s able to use quantitative techniques and empirical methodologies to study biological phenomena in collaborative environments.\u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s really important, field work is not easy. This type of creative space is really exciting and can also be quite frustrating if you don\u2019t like learning from challenges, and Cynthia is fearless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro gained the tools to run this project because of the rich experiences she had in CURE-courses at Detroit Mercy.<\/span><\/p>\n

CURE stands for Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience and are designed to take students out of the classroom and challenge them to problem-solve in real-world situations. Carmona has piloted several CURE courses for first- and second-year Biology students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro took both CURE courses, and has had opportunities to study the water-stress of crop plants in a Detroit urban garden, prevalence of genetically modified food in Detroit supermarkets, the impacts of stormwater heavy-metal contaminants on plant growth, as well as the vector-ecology of insects that transmit a neglected tropical disease in El Salvador.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach time I finished an experiment, I was able to present my findings at research conferences, which gave me valuable experience sharing scientific findings with diverse audiences,\u201d Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro said. \u201cAfter taking Carmona\u2019s courses, which always partner with community organizations to tackle real-world problems, I came to the realization that I can use my intellect and scientific degree to make transformative impacts in my own community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CynthiaRight after one of her CURE courses, Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro continued to work virtually with Carmona throughout the pandemic to co-author a paper analyzing the biological and environmental factors contributing to the spread of Chagas disease in western El Salvador.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chagas study challenged my abilities in inferential statistics and scientific writing, and my manuscript is currently undergoing peer-review,\u201d Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro said. \u201cThe data-analyses I have done in Carmona\u2019s CURE-courses have been applied to real-life prominent-issues in Southwest Detroit and the Department of Santa Ana, El Salvador. Knowing that my work can make a social impact is extremely important to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro is also involved in an NIH-funded research lab with Associate Professor Jacob Kagey in the Biology Department.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m learning computational and wet-lab skills that are essential to my success as an integrative scientist,\u201d Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro said. \u201cThis genetics laboratory is also reinforcing my scientific writing and presentation skills, since this project is in collaboration with 13 other universities around the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carmona said all of Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro\u2019s research experience at Detroit Mercy played a huge role in landing the two MISG awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCynthia had the right research experience to convince this agency that she could successfully run a multidisciplinary field project with a community partner,\u201d Carmona said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t happen on its own. You need to have a rigorous course-curriculum that goes beyond watching YouTube videos in a cook-book lab.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carmona is certain the MISG is just the start for Guti\u00e9rrez Navarro and is excited by the bright future she has ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCynthia is a bona fide field researcher, Carmona said. \u201cThese awards put her in the big leagues. In tackling the role of invasive plants in stabilizing microbial communities in an anthropogenic environment, we don\u2019t know what the answer is. But we\u2019re certainly excited to learn from the challenges ahead. This summer is also a window for what Cynthia will be doing in grad school and as a Ph.D. researcher: cultivating a deeper understanding of urban sustainability. If you agree \u2018practice makes perfect\u2019, then every challenge is an opportunity to innovate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u2014 Original story by Dave Pemberton<\/a>.\u00a0Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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