Gavriela Carver is a participant in the Museum's Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP—pronounced "shrimp"). As a high school junior she spends up to four hours each week during the school year working in a Museum science lab.
The program offers New York City high school students like Gavrila the chance to join ongoing research projects led by Museum scientists. These research projects cover topics including conservation biology, evolution, genetics, anthropology, astronomy and astrophysics, and Earth and planetary sciences.
Under the guidance of Jairo Arroyave, a Department of Ichthyology postdoctoral fellow, Gavriela works on a project studying the evolutionary relationships within a large multi-family clade of catfishes. Eventually, her analysis of DNA-sequence data will be incorporated into a research paper slated for publication. For Gavriela, the opportunity to take part in ongoing scientific research has enhanced her interest in a career in science.
Learn more about the program here.