Fields of Discovery: From track to trough— leaping into research
Purdue undergraduate track team member Rieko Wilford is making big leaps, but not just on the track— she’s making big leaps on the farm, too.
This summer, Wilford is working in Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira’s lab in the Department of Animal Sciences on research that gauges methane emissions. The lab’s research utilizes internal and external sensors to measure methane emissions in cattle.
Wilford discusses how methane, which is a greenhouse gas, is pertinent in research because of its direct ties to global warming.
“Cattle are ruminant animals, so they are very high producers of methane emissions,” Wilford says as she explains that industry professionals are currently discussing how they could curb methane production for the betterment of the environment. “That's kind of the overarching theme of why our research is important.”
A methane emissions gauge used in Wilford's research. When Wilford came across the opportunity to research with Rojas in ANSC 31100: Animal Breeding And Genetics, she still wasn’t sure if animal genetics or genomics was something she wanted to pursue. However, Rojas’ way of teaching piqued her interest, and soon, Wilford wanted to learn more beyond the classroom.
“I asked to have a meeting with her. Just based on that meeting, she was like, ‘Hey, there's an opportunity for you to do research with me this summer. Would you like to do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds great.’”
Since joining the team, Wilford has found connection at every turn. “Honestly, the entire animal sciences department, and, especially, the animal genomics folks, oh, they're just the best people ever.”
On her connection with her mentor, Wilford comments: “Oh, she's so great. Dr. Rojas is really open to letting me learn. If I read something and I want to learn more, I’ll ask her about it. She'll sit down with me. She'll have a conversation with me about it. She'll even send me more papers and articles. It's really nice because she's really just letting me learn in any way. It's not very strict, or very, ‘You need to do this. You need to do that.’ It's more like, ‘What are you interested in? Let's talk about that.’”
Wilford works with Gracie (left) and Blanca (back). As a student-athlete, Wilford balances classes, training, travel, and self-care. “It can get pretty stressful. Honestly, this last semester was just a huge lesson in perseverance for me.” Wilford explains that sometimes you have to hunker down and get to work.
“I actually made it to the finals of my regional meet,” Wilford says while recounting her track season. “It’s times like that that remind me that you just got to keep going.”
Wilford is taking those lessons from the track and applying them to research. “I mean— knock on wood— research has been pretty smooth sailing recently,” she says. The hardest part for her has been the various classes, paperwork and assignments associated with research. Thankfully, her experience as an athlete has been helpful with balancing the workload. “I feel like that's probably one of the biggest learning moments for me thus far; : the time management.”
As of right now, Wilford wants to pursue a career in animal genetics; specifically, she wants to work towards a master’s degree after she graduates in Spring 2025.
From jumping on the track to jumping into research, this undergraduate knows a thing or two about vaulting into something new and landing on her feet.
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