Student in lab

How Do I Find My Research Passion? 

Evolution and Ecology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, Plant Biology—no matter your discipline, there are plenty of research opportunities at the College of Biological Sciences.

Our faculty members provide the foundational research necessary to advance life sciences across its many disciplines. Their work helps protect our oceans, feed the future, combat cancer, decode learning and memory and much more.

But how do you find the research that’s right for you?

It all starts with identifying your scientific interests, but that doesn’t mean you have to come to UC Davis with your mind set on a specific area of research. You’re here to find your passion, and a great way for freshmen and transfer students to do that is by enrolling in the BioLaunch first-year experience program. BioLaunch provides students the chance to learn about research opportunities with faculty-student lunches and guest lectures in the Exploring Biological Sciences BIS 005/198 course.

But even if you’ve finished your first year on campus, there are many ways to find your research passion. It’s helpful to take an inventory of the classes you enjoy most. If there are topics that you have a natural affinity for, they may be good options for research areas.

Discover your curiosity

Often, interest in a specific research area can by spurred by curiosity. Before becoming an endocrinologist, Assistant Professor Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, studied studio art and psychology. But while painting a mural at the Dallas Zoo, a mystery concerning animal behavior shifted her career towards the life sciences.

As Calisi Rodríguez said when it comes to a career in the sciences, “There is no specific path, only the path you make.”

Your personal experiences can also inspire research interests. Such was the case with College of Biological Sciences Dean Mark Winey, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Winey studies centrosomes, cellular structures responsible for organizing microtubules in the cell’s cytoplasm. His interest in the microscopic aspects of biology was inspired by his younger sister, who as an infant was diagnosed with an inherited metabolic disease. Winey was amazed at how doctors diagnosed his sister’s illness. It inspired him to pursue research that would benefit human health.

“Living systems are beyond complex,” Winey said. “That was the core of my interest, just trying to understand very complex living systems.”

College of Biological Sciences students are also finding their passion based on personal connections.  

  • Engineering stronger ligaments: neurobiology, physiology and behavior undergrad Alec Avey was an outside linebacker on his high school’s football team, but a torn rotator cuff stopped his play. Now, as an undergraduate researcher in Professor Keith Baar’s Functional Molecular Biology Lab, Avey examines and modifies ligaments in Petri dishes in hopes of finding new therapeutics to aid ligament recovery.
  • Identifying marine invertebrate habitats: evolution, ecology and biodiversity undergrad Emily Meyers became fascinated with marine science at a young age thanks to her parents encouraging a love for the outdoors. Recently, Meyers received a fellowship that allowed her to conduct senior thesis research at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, where she studied the invertebrates that live in seagrass beds.
  • Exploring enzymology'18 Biochemistry and molecular biology graduate Bita Shahrvini got involved in research at UC Davis at the end of her first fall quarter. Her classes had reinforced her interest in biochemistry, and she found herself particularly intrigued with enzymology, the study of enzymes.

“There’s so much that we’ve understood but also so much more to understand,” Shahrvini said of her interest in biochemistry research. “The complexity of life is something that humanity has been interested in since the beginning, so understanding the science behind it is intriguing to me.”

  • Studying cancer at the chromosomal level: genetics and genomics major Mackenzie Noon identified numerous labs of interest but narrowed his search after attending Professor Ken Kaplan’s “Road to Research” seminar hosted by the Biology Academic Success Center. Noon's research concerns disruptions to cellular processes that result in cellular structures commonly found in cancer cells.

Student clubs and organizations

Another way you can identify potential research interests is by joining one or more of the 800-plus student clubs on campus. Here’s a list of student organizations registered specifically with the College of Biological Sciences. 

Identifying your passions will bring you one step closer to an undergraduate research position.