McKenna Quirk receives grant through the VPREDGE Internship Program

McKenna Quirk received a grant through the VPREDGE Internship Program. This program is based in the Montana State University Honors College and works to aid undergraduate students in the development of independent projects that will kickoff their careers as undergraduate researchers at Montana State University. McKenna will be using this grant money to purchase supplies to analyze the genomes of mites that infect the ears of American pikas. In analyzing these genomes, she hopes to answer questions about the taxonomy of the mites and their population patterns. The mites will be identified initially through using both standard microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. She will then be collaborating with researchers from the University of Colorado at sample collection sites in Montana to collect new samples of mites for DNA processing and analysis.