Gard enjoys summer fellowship at prestigious marine lab

    BAR HARBOR — Houlton High School graduate Ashley Gard spent last summer in search of hormones — not at a college dorm, but in the tiny water flea Daphnia pulex. Her research project was part of a 10-week fellowship at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), a marine laboratory which draws leading scientists and students from around the world.
    The daughter of Michael and Angela Gard of Houlton, Ashley is currently a junior at the University of Maine majoring in biology and biochemistry.
    “I honestly could not have had a better summer than the one I spent at MDIBL,” said Gard. “I wanted exposure to marine research, specifically in a field to which I had not been previously exposed, and I wanted to conduct interdisciplinary work.”
    Gard worked with Dr. Andrew Christie, who studies the neuroscience and hormones that control behavior in crustaceans as diverse as lobsters and water fleas. At the Bar Harbor lab, research is conducted on marine organisms to promote biomedical understanding. For example, learning about the variation in nerve sheathing among crustaceans may lead to treatments for diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
    Gard was one of twenty-six college students from across Maine and the U.S. to spend the summer in MDIBL’s dormitories and conduct research. “From Andy and other collaborating scientists, I learned what it was like to live the life of a research scientist, to write and apply for grants, to understand the dynamics and politics of the scientific world, and to manage time spent in the lab along with time spent outside of laboratory,” said Gard. “Having the opportunity to work with Andy this past summer was an amazing experience.”
    According to Dr. Christie, “Ashley was a really wonderful person to have in the lab: bright, motivated, and socially gifted. She was completely unflappable.”
    Gard said she has “been inspired to further explore marine biology and to gear my biochemical interests towards that of endocrinology and peptidergic control.” After graduation, she plans to work in a laboratory setting and then apply to graduate school.
    Founded in 1898, MDIBL is one of the leading marine research institutions in the world. This nonprofit, independent research institution has a three-fold mission to promote research and education in the biology of marine organisms; to foster understanding and preservation of the environment; and to advance human health.