Faculty-Led Research at La Selva

 By Emma Vazquez

      In the first week upon returning to La Selva after spending three weeks in San Pedro, a suburb of San Jose, Costa Rica, we OTS students were quickly re-assimilated to life in the tropical rainforest with the task of completing our Faculty-Led Projects (FLPs). Coming into this past week, I had not the slightest idea that I would spend hours collecting and analyzing animal fecal samples, making my way through uncharted non-forest and forest habitats in the surrounding community collecting phytotelmata, or holding a bag for bat-specific parasites to be dropped into- but in retrospect, I enjoyed every minute of data collection.

            Initially, the prospect of completing the FLPs felt daunting. My class was divided into a series of three groups with the goal of working closely with one visiting professor to complete a research assignment, group paper, and later, present our results to other OTS staff and our peers. Data collection for each of the three projects took place over the course of three days, in which each student had the opportunity to contribute to the other faculty-led projects by assisting with lab work and data collection in the field. While having only one week to develop and complete a relatively in depth research assignment felt like a large undertaking, having the guidance of the research professionals, who each led one project, proved beneficial in various ways. It provided us with the unique opportunity to learn from experts in the field, have some wonderfully “geeked” out discussions ranging from how to contract terrifying zoonotic diseases to the importance of minimizing arthropod disease vectors in residential areas, and ultimately, working with OTS staff made the seemingly impossibly ambitious assignment much more manageable.

            Through the faculty-led projects I feel as though I learned a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes in terms of field research and further than that, I learned a ton about my classmates and the importance of group dynamics and teamwork in performing a research experiment and writing a group research report. Though the task was often stressful and at times frustrating, there is something to be said about being surrounded by a team of students and staff, who are not only capable and brilliant as individuals, but are also able to maintain positivity and composure for the good of the team (despite, how late at night it is and how much more the report needs to be completed).

            Reflecting upon my FLP experience I feel as though I gained valuable insight on what performing field research entails. Despite the long hours spent collecting samples in the hot sun (and later, analyzing them in the lab), I found the opportunity to work under the guidance of research professionals crucial to my development as a student and (hopefully) future professional in the field of health research.

 

Photo taken by Steven Whitfield