Stephanie Barton

Rising Senior
Biology Major
West Virginia University
CEINT Research Site: Wiesner Lab - Duke University

I first became interested in applying for the REU summer internship program with CEINT during my junior year at WVU, in which I was assigned a capstone project. The purpose of the capstone is for students to act in the capacity of a principal investigator by completing funding proposals, designing an experimental project, and reporting observations and conclusions in the form of a scientific manuscript. My group chose to conduct a project that explored the interactive effects of nano-titanium dioxide and daphnia pulex on the hopping rate, heart rate, population growth, carapace size, and overall biomass of daphnia magna. This project peaked my interest in the field of nanomaterials, especially in the risk assessment aspect that Dr. Wiesner and his students are dedicated to researching here at Duke. One of his students, Lauren Barton, has also been an enormous influence on my desire to pursue research on nanomaterials. As a role model and my older sister, Lauren’s enthusiasm and dedication to her work has excited me on researching the potential environmental implications of nanoparticles.