Name:  Catherine (Catie) Wram

Hometown:  Ankeny, Iowa

Major and graduation date:  Microbiology and Genetics, May 2016

Favorite ISU class:  MICRO 477 – Bacterial-Plant Interactions; MICRO 430 – Prokaryotic Diversity and Ecology

Job Title & Company:  Graduate Research Assistant at Oregon State University and USDA Horticultural Crop Research Unit, Corvallis, Oregon

Major Job/Position Responsibilities:  As a graduate research assistant my major responsibilities are to conduct my own research for my PhD dissertation and assist others in the lab with their research projects; including visiting field sites, sampling for nematodes, and harvesting grapes for field trials.  I am also the president of the graduate students in my department so I am responsible for coordinating visiting speakers for department seminar, facilitating professional development opportunities and social activities for my fellow students.

What you like most about your job/position?  I love that my job includes doing innovative molecular biology, visiting vineyards in eastern Washington, and playing in the dirt!

What advice would you give to current students pursuing a career in Agriculture and Life Sciences?  Don’t be afraid to explore outside your own field!  I use the skills and knowledge I learned in microbiology classes in my research about plant parasitic nematodes everyday – something I never thought I would be interested in studying, but have found it to be very fulfilling.