Congratulations Outstanding Senior: Olivia Fernflores

Olivia works in the Gutenkunst Lab studying population genetics. She first got involved in research through UBRP and has also been part of the Beckman Scholars Program. In the Gutenkunst Lab, Olivia’s project is focused on inferring joint demographic histories and distributions of fitness effects in populations of wild mice. Most recently, Olivia is working on using gene ontology classifications to separate the mutation data into categories and then repeating her joint distribution of fitness effects analysis on different categories of mutations to look for biological drivers of the shape of the distribution of fitness effects.  

For Olivia, research is driven by her fascination with the unknown. "I really like the combination of biology, data science, and programming and how they work together. I enjoy using technology with biology," she explains. The challenge of working through unknowns to discover answers particularly motivates her. 

When asked how MCB enhanced her problem-solving skills, Olivia emphasizes the value of her diverse experience. "Because I work in a dry lab, having classes and data from wet lab helps me put everything together." Through extensive reading of scientific papers, she's developed strong analytical skills and learned from others' problem-solving approaches. Her methodical nature serves her well: "Being an MCB major has taught me how to tackle seemingly unsolvable problems. The program gave me tools and techniques to break down complex problems into manageable steps." 

Like many students in challenging scientific fields, Olivia faced significant hurdles during her undergraduate years. "When I took MCB 473 with Dr. Capaldi in my sophomore year, I remember being completely lost at first. I had to quickly learn wet lab techniques!" This experience, though daunting, proved valuable – her early exposure to research helped her understand the experiments she would later read about in papers. "It made me realize that my experience in research and in my classes had given me transferable skills that I could apply to other areas of biology."  

Olivia is from Los Osos, CA and came to the University of Arizona on a four-year academic scholarship. “I knew I would have a lot of opportunities being at a large school. U of A has the honors program, lots of undergraduate research opportunities and strength in the biological sciences. It has the perfect blend of opportunities.” 

Olivia wants to continue her education by studying for a PhD in MCB. We wish her all the best and hope she chooses to stay at the University of Arizona for the rest of her graduate studies!