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Julia Carlin is finding the big picture in something only visible under a microscope.<\/p>\n
The Biology senior\u2018s research into the harmful effects of microplastics on Indian River Lagoon wildlife was the subject of an award-winning presentation given at the SHORE conference Nov. 30 in New Smyrna Beach. Specifically, Carlin\u2019s first-place oral presentation detailed how birds of prey like ospreys are consuming these harmful plastic pollutants \u2014 most likely from the food chain \u2014 and the potential long-term impacts this could have on the environment.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an area of research that still has many unanswered questions, which makes it exciting for Carlin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay on top of how fast the science is moving,\u201d Carlin said.<\/p>\n
Carlin\u2019s post-graduation goal is to go into veterinary medicine, with a focus on wildlife. Her field work in the Indian River Lagoon has opened her eyes to how all species are intricately linked together. That knowledge has fueled her passion for learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowledge cultivates passion,\u201d Carlin said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re starting to connect the dots and see how it\u2019s all interwoven, you want to actively do something to increase awareness. When you\u2019re knowledgeable, you can start creating solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to this latest achievement, Carlin has been recognized as a UCF Distinguished Undergrad researcher of the month, a recipient of a named College of Sciences scholarship, an awardee of a national pre-veterinarinary award, \u00a0and was invited to President Dale Whittaker’s recognition luncheon at the Burnett House for her research work and national pre-veterinary scholarship.<\/p>\n
Second place in poster presentations was awarded to another UCF Biology major, Liz Boggs for her research on microplastics in lagoon sediments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Julia Carlin is finding the big picture in something only visible under a microscope. The Biology senior\u2018s research into the harmful effects of microplastics on Indian River Lagoon wildlife was the subject of an award-winning presentation given at the SHORE conference Nov. 30 in New Smyrna Beach. Specifically, Carlin\u2019s first-place oral presentation detailed how birds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":24031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[34,38,5377,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biology-departments","category-breaking-news","category-research","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n