Isabella Alnemri is a rising second-year in the College planning to major in Molecular Engineering. She is interested in exploring new solutions to increase the resilience of the natural world to the effects of climate change. She first became engaged with climate issues during her time at the Shedd Aquarium where she served as a Research Intern conducting experiments to understand how coral’s relationship with its symbiotic algae is impacted by ocean warming. Through her time at the University of Chicago, Alnemri has worked to improve sustainability both on campus and throughout Chicago.
Throughout the summer, Alnemri performed wet lab work including anemone care and the preparation of anemone tissue samples for isotope analysis. She learned to use R to analyze the anemone carbon isotope ratios as a function of varying light and temperature conditions. A large portion of her summer was also spent interpreting primary scientific literature related to the lab’s research on understanding coral’s symbiotic relationships and susceptibility to climate change.
“”This hands-on experience showed me how my interest in scientific research and commitment to sustainability can come together to form a career. The mentorship and understanding of the research process I received from this internship will be extremely beneficial for any future climate research role I hold.”