October 2022 ABI Student of the Month: Rakhay Burtzlaff

Hello, I'm Rakhay Burtzlaff, a senior ABI undergraduate student. I've always been interested in the past, and how genetics map the progression of life through time. Most of all, I love the ancient and unusual, which is why I was excited to focus my practicum research on moon jellyfish. My research is focused on the effect of environmental factors on the physiology of moon jellyfish. Specifically, the process of reverse-development, which allows the jellyfish to go back on its lifecycle to repair damage.

As an ABI student, being able to design the direction of my studies gave me a good idea of what I'd like to do post-grad. For these past two years, I've learned so much about paleobiology through the classes I was able to take. In addition, designing and performing my own experiments also let me understand what I'd really like to do in the future. I'll be going for a Phd in genetics to continue my path of research.
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