Aimee Tran

A young woman wearing glasses holds a notebook while out doing fieldwork. A stream and trees are in the background.

(Photo: Karsten Moran)

BS’25, Biology (Flor)

By Kenna Caprio

Aimee Tran, BS’25 (Flor), has been doing biological fieldwork since childhood. Only, back then, she didn’t quite realize what it was — or that it would lead to her college major and to her career path — she was just curious about science and liked using a microscope. During her undergraduate studies, she participated in research opportunities through ecology, cell biology and microbiology classes. “Fieldwork allows us to apply what we’ve learned in lectures and generate data of our own.”

FDU Magazine: When was your first time going out into the field for class?

AT: The Fall 2023 semester, for an ecology course with Professor (James) Salierno, a prerequisite for Marine Ecology. We made observations about organ­isms living in the wooded areas of campus and at Loantaka Brook, recording environmental conditions.

FDU Magazine: What research did you do at Loantaka Brook for the Marine Ecology course?

AT: We stepped into the stream to collect algae, scraping samples from rocks and taking environ­mental measurements: salinity, light levels, flow rate of water, temperature, stream depth, pH, dissolved oxygen and nutrient levels. We noted any organisms we spotted: fish, birds and clams, and shrubbery or vegetation near the stream. In the lab, we viewed the organisms under the microscope; identified the types of algae; and determined if the populations were increasing over time. We hypothesized that as nutrients and temperatures increase, more types of algae will appear, therefore increasing diversity due to changing environmental conditions. We tested this hypothesis as we collected more data.

FDU Magazine: What are the benefits of working with your professors outside of the classroom?

AT: Working with professors outside of the class­room is one of the best experiences at FDU. You get hands-on experience with devices that professional researchers use, and we apply different methods of statistical analysis to our observations.

FDU Magazine: What are your career goals? What area of the field do you want to work in?

AT: My college electives helped me realize I want to pursue microbiology. Microbiology is quite a broad field, however, so I hope to focus more on bacteriology or virology.