Orli Algranatti had no prior research experience when she arrived at UC Davis. Yet even as a first-year, she leaped at the chance to work in a lab, “because you never know where new opportunities could lead you to.”
In the latest edition of Face to Face, Chancellor Gary S. May sits down with Algranatti, a fourth-year animal science major and president of the Vet Aide Club for the past two years. The club’s mission is to provide its members with real-life career opportunities, like internships at the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, to be competitive in animal care fields. Algranatti hopes to earn a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine.
Over a casual and engaging conversation, May asks Algranatti about starting her research as a first-year student at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was able to go out of my comfort zone, especially from moving across the states and coming here and just opening myself to new opportunities,” Algranatti said.
Algranatti started doing toxicology research related to animals before connecting her findings to potential impacts on humans. The experiences have been “super amazing and motivated me to continue doing research as well as presenting at really big conferences,” Algranatti said. “Hopefully we can save some lives.”
Stick around to the end to hear Algranatti’s questions for May, including the chancellor joking about his time as an undergraduate research student “back when the Earth was cooling.”
