Welcome to my website home page! I am a current research scholar of the 2024-2025 LSU LAGNiAppE cohort looking to join a graduate program to continue my research in evolutionary ecology. I am devoted to promoting inclusivity and equity in science, and I love sharing my passion for research with others. Follow along to learn more about my research experience, what excites me, and my journey moving forward as a scientist!
Caitlin Randall's Research Interests & Experience
My Research Interests
My research interests, and my interests beyond research, are so incredibly varied and entirely dependent upon my experiences. Thus, below is a non-exhaustive list and more so a general guideline of areas of research I have been exposed to and enjoy:
- the effects of anthropogenic stressors and environmental factors on ecology and evolution, species interactions and host-microbe interactions
- microbial ecology, competitive exclusion, Red Queen Hypothesis
- protective effects of microbiomes
- bioactive molecules derived from microorganisms
- environmental microbiology
- virology and coevolution of viruses, vectors, and hosts
- phytoplankton ecology
- microevolution and population genomics
- benthic ecology
- extremophiles
- tissue regeneration
- plant physiology and hormone signaling in plants
- speciation of marine invertebrates
- invertebrate zoology and invertebrate trait evolution
- epidemiology and pathogen coevolution
- coevolution of the host and parasite
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to see a more concise description of my research interests, check out the 'about me' section:
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I was informally introduced to research in 2022 when I became an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Introductory Medical Microbiology lab at the University of Rhode Island, which was offered to me based upon academic merit. This opportunity was the first that opened doors for me, as I hadn't personally known anyone who has their PhD or anyone who is actively in graduate school who I could talk to about pursuing higher education beyond my undergraduate degree.
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Following this experience, it had occurred to me that I needed to get more hands-on research experience in order to seriously pursue my newfound goal of performing biological research in some capacity. This was an incredibly difficult task, due to my accelerated academic timeline, socioeconomic limitations, and the imposed challenge of COVID-19 eliminating many of the research opportunities that were once accessible pre-covid. Upon failure after failure, rejection after rejection, I finally found a lab that had an undergraduate position I could occupy. This lab was the Puritz Laboratory of Marine Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Rhode Island, where I worked under the guidance of PhD student Megan Guidry for a year and a half, eventually assuming the role of full-time research assistant. In this lab, I studied the effects of multiple coastal stressors (hypoxia and coastal acidification) on larval and juvenile Eastern oysters.
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After my departure from the Puritz Lab, I became a member of the 2024-2025 member of the Louisiana Graduate Network in Applied Evolution at Louisiana State University. In this position I will be paired with one of ten mentors and will have the opportunity to perform independent research, in addition to going through a research bootcamp the first month of the program. I just started this position in July 2024 and still am unsure what my research project will be, but I am excited to see how this experience shapes my interests and opportunities for the future.
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For a more in depth description of my research experience and my accomplishments thus far, visit my CV here!