Undergraduate research highlight - NIH URISE student Ahira Diaz

Ahira Diaz at the 2023 ABRCMS conference

I am proud to highlight the research efforts of Ahira Diaz, fellow of the prestigious NIH Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE), whom I had the privilege of mentoring in the summer of 2024 at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Ahira came to MLML highly recommended from Dr. Douglas Pace's Ecophysiology Lab at California State University Long Beach and did excellent work during her summer research on bioenergetics in juvenile sunflower sea stars, Pycnopodia helianthoides. Ahira completed an ambitious experiment investigating interacting impacts of food availability and temperature on metabolic rates, consumption, growth, and survival and presented her work at the 2024 Western Society of Naturalists conference in Portland, OR.

Ahira conducting microrespirometry on juvenile sunflower sea stars at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in 2024

I have no doubt that Ahira's sharp intellect, resilience, determination, meticulous attention to detail, and professional work ethic will make her an outstanding scientist. Ahira intends to pursue a doctoral degree after she graduates from CSULB where she hopes to expand upon her research on the physiological ecology of P. helianthoides.

This juvenile sunflower sea star is approximately 1.7 mm across