After Tragedy, Fellow Biology Students Step In to Finish Friend’s Research

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Newswise Four names were in the author spot of a Texas Tech University study presented at a biology conference in Sacramento in August.

Senior biology student Tailor Browns name was at the top; she did most of the field research, which examined how oak tree resprouts respond to drought conditions. Joshua Willms, who is now a joint MD/Ph.D. student at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, is second; he helped coordinate all the research. Associate biology professor Dylan Schwilk, whose name is fourth, guided the undergraduate researchers.

Christopher Rodriguez is third. The project was his brainchild. He learned how to use the equipment and wrote a research proposal. He told his friends about this exciting new research hed started, and he made plants and droughts sound exciting.

Just a few months into the research, on Oct. 3, 2012, he suffered life-threatening injuries in a motorcycle accident. He died three days later.

After Rodriguezs death, a few of his friends approached Schwilk and said theyd like to continue Rodriguezs research. It would be their friends legacy. Schwilk allowed himself to be persuaded.

Its not a story of the work almost being done and students chipping in and finishing it, he said. That was their idea, but instead some students who would not have otherwise learned about our labs research became interested in plants and ecology.

Forming a hypothesis Rodriguez hadnt taken ecology yet when he walked into Schwilks lab, but as an undergraduate researcher in Texas Techs Center for the Integration of STEM Education and Research (CISER), he was looking for a research project.

He was interested in ecology and plants, and thats a bit unusual, Schwilk said. Students here tend to be self-described pre-health, so its rare to find those who arent. He came and talked to me and was clearly really interested. He wasnt just looking to pad his resume.

Originally posted here:
After Tragedy, Fellow Biology Students Step In to Finish Friend's Research