Zellie Lipman ’26: Nudibranch Research Intern at American Museum of Natural History
By Zellie Lipman ’26
"Our mission: To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe" - AMNH website
This summer I interned in the Goodheart Lab at AMNH in NYC. I used a process called DNA barcoding to characterize novel species of nudibranchs, a type of sea slug, from Western Australia. The process involved taking tissue samples from the museum specimens, extracting their DNA, amplifying certain genes using PCR, checking the amplification using gel electrophoresis, sending PCR to get sequenced, and building phylogenetic trees to infer species and relations using the sequences.
These skills are foundational for my long-term goal: a career in biological research, and I was also able to attend some behind-the-scenes events at AMNH, building my professional network. I am working to continue this project to my first publication. I loved learning all about the incredible diversity within sea slugs!
Internship funded by Richard G. D'Auteuil '82 and Kimberly A. Labbe '82 Internship Fund