Nicholls Biology Graduate Student Presents Research in Switzerland

Nicholls biology graduate student Taylor Andrzejak presented her research work titled “Microbial Ecology and Antibiotic Resistance of Public Boat Launches in Southeast Louisiana” at the 18th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, held from Aug 14-19, 2022.

ISME18 is the 18th edition of its non-profit symposium organized by the International Society for Microbial Ecology that takes place every two years. The conference is the front runner in the field of microbial ecology, with an average of around 1,750 international scientists that attend the conference.

“I would like to stress how honored I am to have represented Nicholls at both the national and international level! I am extremely grateful for the expansive opportunities and connections that the Nicholls Department of Biological Sciences and my advisor, Dr. Boopathy, have offered during my time in the marine and environmental biology masters program,” Nicholls biology graduate student Taylor Andrzejak said, “I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students for their support, and everyone who provided assistance with my research efforts.”

Taylor Andrzejak is a second year Marine and Environmental Biology Graduate student with a research focus in microbial ecology. She studies the effects of antibiotic resistance in water and biofilms at public boat launches in Southeastern Louisiana. Taylor plans to continue to work in the microbial ecology field focusing on water quality management.

“I am very proud of Taylor’s achievements. She represented Nicholls on an international level in prestigious science meetings. Her presentations at these conferences were very well-received by Microbial Ecologists,” Nicholls Alcee Fortier Distinguished Service Professor & John Brady Sr. & John Brady Jr. Endowed Professor Dr. Ramaraj Boopathy said, “Taylor’s quality of research is on par with students’ presentations from well-known international universities. This shows the quality of research done here at Nicholls.”

Taylor also received the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Diversity Travel Award. This national award is given to two students annually. Taylor attended the 72nd SIMB Annual Meeting and Exhibition in San Francisco from Aug 7-10, 2022, to be presented this prestigious award and to present her work on antibiotic resistance in the environment.

Awardees are considered exceptional members of the SIMB community and made outstanding contributions to the industry demonstrating great promise in their work and careers. The Diversity Travel Award was established to promote diversity and increase participation of underrepresented minority groups in SIMB amongst the graduate students making presentations at the SIMB Annual Meeting.

ISME Symposia are open to everyone with an interest in Microbial Ecology. The symposia usually attract 1500-2500 delegates, representing over 50 countries. ISME serves the wider-community and seeks to help and promote microbial ecology in all aspects. To learn more about ISME, please visit https://www.isme-microbes.org/what-microbial-ecology.

To learn more about Nicholls State University Department of Biological Sciences, visit https://www.nicholls.edu/biology/.