Ellen Martinsen, a UVM graduate student in the Department of Biology and a previous
Vermont Genetics Network research fellow, grant recipient, and undergraduate mentor, was
recently awarded the STAR (Science to Achieve Results) graduate fellowship from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ellen's research investigates the diversity and host
distribution of avian malaria parasites using both traditional and molecular techniques. A
research grant and research fellowship from the Vermont Genetics Network funded Ellen through
the initial phases of her graduate research including field collection and molecular method
design including the development of new genetic markers for use in understanding the true
diversity of the avian malaria parasites and their relationships to one another. Ellen's
first publication is now in press in the journal Parasitology and investigates morphological
versus molecular methods of malaria parasite species identification.