Ellie Snyder recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a postdoctoral researcher. Her connection to the INHS began during her undergraduate years in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois, where she worked in Ed DeWalt’s aquatic entomology lab. After graduating, she gained hands-on experience as a stream-ecology technician and later an eDNA technician. She went on to complete her PhD at the University of Notre Dame, where she studied the movement of environmental DNA (eDNA) in freshwater ecosystems. With an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Ellie is now back at INHS to explore the potential of eRNA in fish monitoring, collaborating with Mark Davis and Sarah Molinaro.
Q&A with Ellie Snyder
Q: What are you looking forward to most in your new role at PRI?
A: I'm most excited about working with the amazing scientists here. The INHS is home to incredible research. A close second would be learning new skills, like DNA metabarcoding.
Q: How old were you when you first became interested in science? What sparked your interest?
A: I’ve been fascinated by the natural world from a very young age. One of my earliest memories is being obsessed with the PBS show Zoboomafoo when I was around five. I even wanted to be a farmer because I thought it meant working with animals all day! Every summer, I caught tadpoles and raised them in a tank, which I consider my first venture into aquatic science.
Q: Who or what drew you to study stream ecology?
A: I kind of fell into aquatic science by chance. As an undergrad, I was interested in ecology and conservation but didn’t have a specific focus. Everything seemed exciting! I applied for a work-study job at the INHS working with aquatic insects, and that experience set me on this path.
Q: What is a common misconception about your field?
A: When I tell people I study eDNA, they usually ask, "What is that?" Now I’ve learned to start by asking if they’ve heard of it and explaining when they haven’t.
Q: What challenges have you faced in your career?
A: Like many others, the Covid-19 pandemic was a huge challenge. It hit during the first year of my PhD, right before I was set to run my first experiments. That first year was a major hurdle.
Q: What do you wish more people understood about science?
A: I wish people understood that science is always evolving. It’s not just fixed facts in a book; our understanding grows as we gain new information. That’s why it might seem confusing when scientific consensus changes.
Q: What advice would you give to future scientists?
A: Everyone feels imposter syndrome. It’s easy to think everyone knows more than you, but you’ll develop your own unique skill set. You have value, even if you don’t feel like the “smartest” person in the room. If someone has different knowledge or skills, they could be a great collaborator!
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: I like trying new recipes or garden while listening to audiobooks, going for runs while listening to Chappell Roan’s album for the thousandth time, or rock climbing—no audio needed for that!