Meet Stephany Virrueta Herrera, an Illinois Natural History Survey graduate student who is earning her PhD in the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology program at the University of Illinois.
1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a doctor or a nature show host when I grew up.
2. What drew you to your current field of study?
My love of birds, interest in conservation and learning more about the evolution and origins of organisms drew me to my current field of study.
3. What do you love about your work at PRI?
What I love about my work at PRI is that I am able to work on studying the organism that I am most interested by, and that I have the opportunity to collaborate with other amazing researchers.
4. How will your work impact future generations?
My work will allow us to better understand the vast diversity of parasites on birds and the ways in which hosts and parasites evolve with each other.