Lilith South
I have always loved biology, and the microbial world especially fascinated me, as I was learning about an invisible world that exists right under our noses. Once I learned how complex and diverse microbes are, I needed to explore more about them. I love the science community and discourse around discovery, and I can not imagine a career path that doesn't involve being an academic.
Research description
Generally speaking, we do not have a great understanding of biodiversity at the microbial scale, yet microbes make up a significant majority of life on earth. I aim to help our understanding of biodiversity by focusing on particularly poorly understood lineages: intracellular parasites (Microsporidia and Mikrocytida). Most of my PhD work uses targeted environmental sequencing approaches to discover new species and to determine what environments they inhabit. My Public Scholars Initiative work aims to determine engaging ways to communicate current topics in microbial biodiversity to a broad audience.
What does being a Public Scholar mean?
Being a Public Scholar means that I am applying my personal knowledge and expertise, as well as those from my network of colleagues, to better the broader community.
In what ways do you think the PhD experience can be re-imagined with this Initiative?
As academics, our research is often so specialized that it is meaningless to most people. Our findings are rarely communicated to the greater community and hardly has much of an impact. Any science communication effort is often viewed as additional volunteer work on top of an already busy workload. The Public Scholars Initiative allows PhD students to shift the outcomes of their research into forms that benefit the community directly and allows this work to be incorporated into their dissertations.
How do you envision connecting your PhD work with broader career possibilities?
I have always enjoyed natural history and science museums for how they creatively convey scientific concepts to a broad audience. In my career, I aim to combine research and science communication, ideally through museums or similar institutions. Part of my training and learning for my PhD is learning how to best engage people when sharing scientific concepts in these types of settings.
How does your research engage with the larger community and social partners?
Microbial biodiversity is rarely discussed in educational settings, and often the information lags decades behind the current consensus. In my Meeting Microbes project, I am applying my knowledge and expertise from other microbiologists to develop educational activities highlighting microbial diversity and complexity. I am currently developing and testing these activities for use in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which will be able to continue to use the activities and materials long after I have finished my PhD. The aim for these activities is to inspire wonder and foster an appreciation for microbial diversity and complexity.
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I have always loved biology, and the microbial world especially fascinated me, as I was learning about an invisible world that exists right under our noses. Once I learned how complex and diverse microbes are, I needed to explore more about them. I love the science community and discourse around discovery, and I can not imagine a career path that doesn't involve being an academic. Graduate school is a stage in that career path that is challenging yet rewarding.
Why did you choose to come to British Columbia and study at UBC?
UBC has excellent researchers — some are the best in their fields — and I wanted to be a part of this community to learn from the people here. The university also hosts the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which I have had the privilege of working with and learning from during my PhD work.
