After the museum, I spent the afternoon walking along the harbor and winding through Cobh’s colorful streets. It’s hard to imagine such a quiet town as the launch point of so many life-changing journeys. It was also, incidentally, the first week of actual sunshine I’ve seen since arriving in Ireland. I’m not saying the sun was waiting for Cobh—but I’m not ruling it out either.

In the lab, I've gotten more comfortable with the main techniques I am using this summer. I'm studying the genetic regulation that underlies C. difficile biofilm formation, which leads to a high recurrence of infection for patients. I am performing biofilm assays each week, and now I feel much more confident in these skills and my ability to scale up over the next few weeks. Pasteur is a great environment because everyone here is interested in each others' research and leads with kindness. All in all, I'm having a great time.

So far, my work in the lab has involved using CRISPR/Cas9 to genetically manipulate parasites. We aim to create two strains: 1) a genetic knockdown of ATPTG14 (to understand how the parasites behave when they lack this protein) and 2) an HA-tagged strain. An HA tag on ATPTG14 will allow us to stain against it and visualize whether ATPTG14 exists in the T. gondii mitochondrial inner membrane (as predicted) and if so, where exactly in the membrane it localizes to. The image pictured above depicts HA-tagged ATPTG14 (in red) localizing perfectly to the inner membrane of a parasite’s mitochondrion. I have never done microscopy in this manner before, so this was quite exciting to me! Later in July, we plan to image the parasites using super-resolution microscopy, which will yield cleaner images, so I’m excited for that as well!

To do this, my project involves constructing phylogenetic trees of different genes from sequence data to try to get a sense of their evolutionary histories. I spent the first few weeks of my project constructing these gene trees, and looking for instances of ancient archaeal duplications, where we see two copies of a gene present in the same species. Duplication events often indicate functional innovation, and can be helpful in dating phylogenetic trees. This is because duplication events are further from the root of phylogenetic tree, and thus involves less uncertainty when estimating dates. 

The first half of my time in Bristol was spent mostly identifying phylogenetic gene trees with duplication events, and preparing the programming pipeline used to infer the times of duplication events. With the pipeline now working, I’m now aiming to take a closer look at the genes with duplication events that we’ve selected from a biochemical perspective - which will help us understand whether functional innovation occurred as a result of the duplication, and start to piece together a chronology of how biological traits-such as thermophily, genome organization, and membrane construction-took shape in early Archaea. 

I also spent time at the Ulster Museum learning about the Troubles. I went in knowing very little, and left with a much better understanding, thanks to how thoughtfully the museum incorporated firsthand accounts and personal stories. It captured the tension and complexity of the conflict in a way that felt personal and grounded in lived experience.

The Botanic Gardens were another favorite stop—especially the Global Medicinal Garden. It featured plants used in traditional medicine around the world, organized by continent, and included background on how they’ve been used historically and developed into drugs we're more familiar with now. It reminded me of a pharmacognosy course I loved taking last semester.

While exploring the city, I noticed an art exhibit series called Biosphere, which definitely made me miss home a bit. One exhibit focused on the legacy of Monsanto in both the U.S. and Vietnam. It traced everything from their role in producing Agent Orange to the impacts of glyphosate and how the company’s influence has shaped regulatory loopholes and market monopolies. It also raised concerns about the ethics of requiring farmers to buy GMO seeds annually—not because GMOs are inherently dangerous, but because of the control this system gives to corporations. It reminded me of similar struggles involving DuPont and farmers in southern Ohio, and tied in closely with my broader interests in bioethics and corporate accountability.

From industrial history to medical gardens to global activism, the city wove together a surprising number of threads from different parts of my academic and personal life.

My research has been going well. I recently repeated the standard biofilm experiments to get more biological replicates. This allows us to get a better understanding of how our regulator protein controls biofilm in different contexts. Next, we are testing different biological inducers, including many molecules found in the gut that may 'precipitate' biofilm formation. The process of biofilm is incredibly complex, as by creating an extracellular matrix, it can be taxing to the cell. However, it also protects the cell against bile acids and antibiotic treatment. Thus, different molecules can induce or inhibit biofilm formation, and understanding the genetic regulation behind it is vital to addressing recurrent C. difficile infections. I'll keep moving forward, one step at a time.

One of the most powerful moments of the trip was seeing The Crucible by Arthur Miller on its final day at Shakespeare’s Globe. The performance felt especially resonant given the current political climate in the U.S.—a timely reminder of how fear and rhetoric can lead to the erosion of rights and unjust persecution.

Most meaningful of all was getting to reconnect with family. I was able to spend time with my granduncle, who lives just outside the city, and with my grandfather—both of whom I rarely get to see. Sharing this experience with them added a deeply personal layer to an already unforgettable trip.

Getting here involved learning how to run Gaussian experiments on the MeluXina supercomputer (a process that definitely tested my patience and problem-solving skills), troubleshooting permission issues that made it tricky to transfer and analyze data, and juggling several new pieces of software—each with its own coding language. I even had to reconfigure my own laptop to install the necessary data-analysis tools.

I’ll admit, I felt guilty for how long everything was taking. But now that I’ve overcome this hurdle, I can see just how much I’ve learned along the way—not only about DFT and computational chemistry, but also about resilience and how to troubleshoot in high-performance computing environments without having training in coding or computer science. I may not fully grasp the math behind every step (yet!), but I’m miles ahead of where I started and excited to pick up speed moving forward.

The tour also touched on the lived experiences of soldiers stationed at the fort. Conditions were harsh, and nearly 40% of the British Army at one point was composed of Irish soldiers—many of whom enlisted out of economic necessity. Military service provided consistent food, pay (though very little), and a rare opportunity to travel. One part of the tour that stood out highlighted women who enlisted in disguise, serving for years before being discovered. In one narrative, a man accidentally enlisted while drunk, and his wife disguised herself as a man to find out what happened to her husband. In another narrative, a woman disguised herself as a man to circumvent the barriers against women to receiving medical training. Their stories raised complex questions about survival, identity, and participation in systems of power.

Many Parisians, especially at Pasteur, are taking their vacation this month, so I've had to say some goodbyes over the past week. It's much less busy on campus, and I will definitely miss working with the LPBA team!

I'm nearing the end of our planned project, with a few set of final assays and RNA extractions before I head back to Tucson. I am glad that this ties into my Honors Thesis, so I can continue the same work and consulting Dr. Dupuy even once I return.

For my last day in Bristol, after finishing up in the lab, I went on a walk throughout the city—which, like typical moody English weather, started in pouring rain but ended with clear blue skies. As I passed by all of my favorite spots in Bristol for the last time (this summer, at least), I remember the uncertainty and fear I faced when I first arrived in the city. I still can't believe how much things have changed throughout the summer, where Bristol now feels much more like home.

I'll forever be grateful for all of the friends, memories, and experiences that being in Bristol this summer has offerred to me. Both in terms of my research and personally, this summer has truly been one of the most formative experiences of my life.

After finishing up in the lab, I really wanted to take the weekend slowly. So, I took the TGV to Reims, where I could tour the countryside. With picturesque vineyards and wineries, I felt relaxed and content with all that we've accomplished this summer.

I'll definitely miss Paris, and the entire LPBA team at Pasteur. Special thanks to Carolina (pictured above), for being a patient mentor and friend! I'm extremely grateful to everyone who made this journey possible, and I'm excited to continue this collaboration in the coming months.