This week’s PhDetails #92 is with Paige Byerly who does her PhD at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Paige is originally from Alaska and moved to Seattle for school when she was 18. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Washington and then ended up going back to school for a BSc in Conservation Biology at the University of Idaho. At UI, Paige did a senior thesis on kit fox and coyote resource competitive overlap in the Great Basin Desert as well as a project on genetic fingerprinting of endangered Greater Sage Grouse. After graduating, she worked for a year in UI's Laboratory for Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Genetics, where she did molecular work on a lot of different species, mostly canids like grey wolves, then went to Louisiana for her PhD. You can find Paige on Twitter @paigebyerly!
Well let’s start off talking about completely unscientific stuff: What is your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?
David Bowie
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
Radiohead
Favourite movie?
The original Star Wars trilogy, Jurassic Park
Do you listen to podcasts?
I do a lot of labwork and GIS work so I listen to a TON of podcasts. I really like true crime and creepy stuff: my favs are The Last Podcast on the Left, My Favorite Murder, Someone Knows Something, The Trail Went Cold, & Crime Junkie. For lighter fare, My Brother My Brother and Me, Reply All, and How Did this Get Made.
Where do you study and who is your supervisor?
I’m at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and my advisor is Dr. Paul Leberg.
What year of your PhD are you in?
Year 5
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
My first year was funded via a university fellowship, years 2-4 through an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and now I’m a TA as well as a part-time GIS Analyst for the USGS Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center.
Do you have any publications?
I have one peer reviewed paper in the Canadian Journal of Zoology: HERE, as well as a general article in American Scientist: HERE.
Did you do a masters?
Nope! I have a BA in English Literature from the University of Washington and a BS in Conservation Biology from the University of Idaho, where I did my first research project (on kit fox and coyote resource competition in the Great Basin Desert).
Do you do fieldwork? What is the best fieldwork you have ever done and what made it great?
I’ve done a lot of fieldwork! My favorite has been for my dissertation research on roseate terns in the Virgin Islands. It’s partly the setting—I love coasts and islands and tiny tropical ones are the best—but also because it’s so exciting getting to conduct research I’ve developed. It’s incredibly stressful, but the rush you get when months of planning pay off is indescribable!
How many PhDs did you apply for – what were you looking for?
I applied for 2: at the University of Toronto and the one I’m in now. I was working for a conservation genetics lab at the University of Idaho at the time and was looking for a PhD advisor that worked in applied population genetics.
What is the most bodged piece of equipment you have had to use during field/labwork – did it work?
Haha, I had to google the word “bodged”—I like it! At my old job as a molecular technician in Idaho, we used a salad spinner to spin down plates of DNA prepared for sequencing to make sure that all the liquid was condensed at the bottom of the well. I tried doing it for my PhD work here at the lab in Louisiana because I lost the key to the equipment room with the fancy centrifuge, and for some reason my salad spinner didn’t work.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
Make sure you talk to past and current graduate students in the labs you are looking at! Ask the professor first—if they say no, it’s not a good sign. Be really honest with yourself about the lab culture, location, etc. This is a huge commitment, and 5+ years is way too long to be miserable.
How often do you meet with your supervisor?
We have weekly lab meetings, I don’t meet with him one-to-one very often.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
One of the reasons I wanted to work with my advisor is because of his fast response rate. He’s very busy, so I rarely see him in person, but he typically responds to emails within an hour. I like to work independently and try to problem solve myself before going to him, but it’s great to know that I won’t be left struggling for long if I hit a roadblock.
What do you think are the worst supervisor traits?
I don’t like being micromanaged, I prefer working independently and at my own weird schedule. I’ve heard of labs where the advisor makes random visits to make sure that their students are physically in the lab for the full day—if I’m in writing mode I like working from home, and I need the freedom to do that!
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
I use a suite of non-traditional research methods to investigate causes of decline in an understudied seabird population.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
Getting funding from the NSF to do a 2-month research stint in a conservation genomics lab at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Have you had an academic lowpoint of the last year – if so what happened?
Having a funding delay which has prevented me from returning to the National Zoo to complete my research!
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
Peter and Rosemary Grant—they gave a talk at my university in Idaho and I got to briefly meet them.
Which academic idol/scientist would you most like to meet?
Jane Goodall was an early and important inspiration to me and I would probably cry if I got to meet her!
Who has been your academic role model/inspiration and why?
Dr. Lourdes Mugica from the University of Havana, Cuba. She’s done amazing conservation work in her country against some major obstacles, including the fall of the Soviet Union, which devastated the economy of Cuba and hindered her research for a long time. Dr. Mugica works directly with farmers to show them how native wildlife benefits them economically and is dedicated to ensuring that conservation efforts are beneficial to both wildlife and to the people that live in those ecosystems.
Do you have a favourite paper?
MacArthur’s “Population Ecology of Some Warblers of Northeastern Coniferous Forests”. It’s a really nice marriage of classic natural history methods of observation with more sophisticated mathematical and theoretical concepts to describe niche differentiation and population regulation of similar species occupying the same ecosystem.
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
I went to BirdsCaribbean in Cuba in 2017 and loved it—among other things, it was the most diverse conference I’ve gone to, with amazing representation of languages and cultures from across the Caribbean. It was inspiring to see the passion and dedication of so many researchers and managers working in their home countries to conserve native fauna and restore degraded landscapes!
What hours do you typically work?
I typically work 8:30-5 M-F and about 4-5 hours on Sunday. This has varied considerable over the course of my PhD.
How do you avoid procrastinating?
If an email or task will take less than 5 minutes I do it right away. I don’t like having a lot of small unfinished stuff on my plate, it really stresses me out, so it’s a good motivator to take care of things as they come.
What motivates you in your day to day PhD life?
Finishing!
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your PhD?
My favorite activity is reading, so I’m not a very exciting person! I don’t really have any hobbies—I like reading, spending time with my husband, hiking, traveling, and eating. The hardest thing for me is to make sure that my quality time away from work is actually quality time, without feeling guilty about not working or being stressed from PhD stuff.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your PhD what would you wish for?
I’ve had some funding issues that have delayed my research over the past year and a half, so I all I really want is to have my grant money released so I can finish!
What would be your dream job?
A research biologist focusing on the conservation and ecology of island fauna
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A research biologist for a federal agency.
What essential tool hardware/software could you not do your PhD without?
R. What an incredible free tool!
Where is somewhere you would like to work in the future?
Southeast Alaska—I am from there and would like to move back, despite hating winter
Do you have a favourite organism?
Otters, species not important. They are all wonderful. I currently work with seabirds but started in carnivore research and would love to get back into it.
If you could change one thing about your group/department structure what would it be?
My department isn’t that social, I think we could benefit from a monthly get together or some more coordinated activities like a journal club, etc. It’s hard because our department is all of Biology (vs some more cohesive departments I’ve been in like Natural Resources, Wildlife, etc.), so we have very broad research focuses, which makes it hard to generalize.
What major question in your subject area is yet to be addressed – why is it important and why isn’t anyone addressing it?
In general, there’s an idea that colonial animals like seabirds and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) are buffered against population declines because they appear to be so abundant. We don’t start to notice changes in these populations unless they are drastic, like the seabird die-offs in Alaska over the last few years. It’s been addressed but, still bears repeating, that a goal of keeping common species common should be an important focus of conservation, so that we aren’t just directing resources towards species when they reach a critical point.
Well let’s start off talking about completely unscientific stuff: What is your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?
David Bowie
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
Radiohead
Favourite movie?
The original Star Wars trilogy, Jurassic Park
Do you listen to podcasts?
I do a lot of labwork and GIS work so I listen to a TON of podcasts. I really like true crime and creepy stuff: my favs are The Last Podcast on the Left, My Favorite Murder, Someone Knows Something, The Trail Went Cold, & Crime Junkie. For lighter fare, My Brother My Brother and Me, Reply All, and How Did this Get Made.
Where do you study and who is your supervisor?
I’m at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and my advisor is Dr. Paul Leberg.
What year of your PhD are you in?
Year 5
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
My first year was funded via a university fellowship, years 2-4 through an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and now I’m a TA as well as a part-time GIS Analyst for the USGS Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center.
Do you have any publications?
I have one peer reviewed paper in the Canadian Journal of Zoology: HERE, as well as a general article in American Scientist: HERE.
Did you do a masters?
Nope! I have a BA in English Literature from the University of Washington and a BS in Conservation Biology from the University of Idaho, where I did my first research project (on kit fox and coyote resource competition in the Great Basin Desert).
Do you do fieldwork? What is the best fieldwork you have ever done and what made it great?
I’ve done a lot of fieldwork! My favorite has been for my dissertation research on roseate terns in the Virgin Islands. It’s partly the setting—I love coasts and islands and tiny tropical ones are the best—but also because it’s so exciting getting to conduct research I’ve developed. It’s incredibly stressful, but the rush you get when months of planning pay off is indescribable!
How many PhDs did you apply for – what were you looking for?
I applied for 2: at the University of Toronto and the one I’m in now. I was working for a conservation genetics lab at the University of Idaho at the time and was looking for a PhD advisor that worked in applied population genetics.
What is the most bodged piece of equipment you have had to use during field/labwork – did it work?
Haha, I had to google the word “bodged”—I like it! At my old job as a molecular technician in Idaho, we used a salad spinner to spin down plates of DNA prepared for sequencing to make sure that all the liquid was condensed at the bottom of the well. I tried doing it for my PhD work here at the lab in Louisiana because I lost the key to the equipment room with the fancy centrifuge, and for some reason my salad spinner didn’t work.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
Make sure you talk to past and current graduate students in the labs you are looking at! Ask the professor first—if they say no, it’s not a good sign. Be really honest with yourself about the lab culture, location, etc. This is a huge commitment, and 5+ years is way too long to be miserable.
How often do you meet with your supervisor?
We have weekly lab meetings, I don’t meet with him one-to-one very often.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
One of the reasons I wanted to work with my advisor is because of his fast response rate. He’s very busy, so I rarely see him in person, but he typically responds to emails within an hour. I like to work independently and try to problem solve myself before going to him, but it’s great to know that I won’t be left struggling for long if I hit a roadblock.
What do you think are the worst supervisor traits?
I don’t like being micromanaged, I prefer working independently and at my own weird schedule. I’ve heard of labs where the advisor makes random visits to make sure that their students are physically in the lab for the full day—if I’m in writing mode I like working from home, and I need the freedom to do that!
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
I use a suite of non-traditional research methods to investigate causes of decline in an understudied seabird population.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
Getting funding from the NSF to do a 2-month research stint in a conservation genomics lab at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Have you had an academic lowpoint of the last year – if so what happened?
Having a funding delay which has prevented me from returning to the National Zoo to complete my research!
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
Peter and Rosemary Grant—they gave a talk at my university in Idaho and I got to briefly meet them.
Which academic idol/scientist would you most like to meet?
Jane Goodall was an early and important inspiration to me and I would probably cry if I got to meet her!
Who has been your academic role model/inspiration and why?
Dr. Lourdes Mugica from the University of Havana, Cuba. She’s done amazing conservation work in her country against some major obstacles, including the fall of the Soviet Union, which devastated the economy of Cuba and hindered her research for a long time. Dr. Mugica works directly with farmers to show them how native wildlife benefits them economically and is dedicated to ensuring that conservation efforts are beneficial to both wildlife and to the people that live in those ecosystems.
Do you have a favourite paper?
MacArthur’s “Population Ecology of Some Warblers of Northeastern Coniferous Forests”. It’s a really nice marriage of classic natural history methods of observation with more sophisticated mathematical and theoretical concepts to describe niche differentiation and population regulation of similar species occupying the same ecosystem.
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
I went to BirdsCaribbean in Cuba in 2017 and loved it—among other things, it was the most diverse conference I’ve gone to, with amazing representation of languages and cultures from across the Caribbean. It was inspiring to see the passion and dedication of so many researchers and managers working in their home countries to conserve native fauna and restore degraded landscapes!
What hours do you typically work?
I typically work 8:30-5 M-F and about 4-5 hours on Sunday. This has varied considerable over the course of my PhD.
How do you avoid procrastinating?
If an email or task will take less than 5 minutes I do it right away. I don’t like having a lot of small unfinished stuff on my plate, it really stresses me out, so it’s a good motivator to take care of things as they come.
What motivates you in your day to day PhD life?
Finishing!
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your PhD?
My favorite activity is reading, so I’m not a very exciting person! I don’t really have any hobbies—I like reading, spending time with my husband, hiking, traveling, and eating. The hardest thing for me is to make sure that my quality time away from work is actually quality time, without feeling guilty about not working or being stressed from PhD stuff.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your PhD what would you wish for?
I’ve had some funding issues that have delayed my research over the past year and a half, so I all I really want is to have my grant money released so I can finish!
What would be your dream job?
A research biologist focusing on the conservation and ecology of island fauna
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A research biologist for a federal agency.
What essential tool hardware/software could you not do your PhD without?
R. What an incredible free tool!
Where is somewhere you would like to work in the future?
Southeast Alaska—I am from there and would like to move back, despite hating winter
Do you have a favourite organism?
Otters, species not important. They are all wonderful. I currently work with seabirds but started in carnivore research and would love to get back into it.
If you could change one thing about your group/department structure what would it be?
My department isn’t that social, I think we could benefit from a monthly get together or some more coordinated activities like a journal club, etc. It’s hard because our department is all of Biology (vs some more cohesive departments I’ve been in like Natural Resources, Wildlife, etc.), so we have very broad research focuses, which makes it hard to generalize.
What major question in your subject area is yet to be addressed – why is it important and why isn’t anyone addressing it?
In general, there’s an idea that colonial animals like seabirds and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) are buffered against population declines because they appear to be so abundant. We don’t start to notice changes in these populations unless they are drastic, like the seabird die-offs in Alaska over the last few years. It’s been addressed but, still bears repeating, that a goal of keeping common species common should be an important focus of conservation, so that we aren’t just directing resources towards species when they reach a critical point.
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