Discovering His Passion for Science
How Mentorship and Hands-On Experience Cultivated a Love of Plant Science for Israel Scott
By: Jazmine Robinson
Edited by: Sarah Sharman
Finding your place in the world of science can be a journey of discovery. For this month’s Faces of Innovation installment, we talked with Israel Scott, a BRIDGES lab fellow at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, about how he’s navigating that journey. He shares insights on the importance of hands-on experience, identifying your passions, and the power of mentorship. Israel is currently training in the lab of Alex Harkess, PhD, under the guidance of postdoctoral fellow Charity Goeckeritz, PhD. They study a type of plant reproduction called apomixis.
Jazmine Robinson: What led you to pursue science, specifically plant research? What has your journey looked like?
Israel Scott: In the past, I’ve worked with plants, I’ve worked outside, and I’ve worked in labs that are totally inside. What I desired to do was to figure out a middle ground where I could work with plants and spend time outside in the sun while also still having the ability to work on the bench in the lab.
I was led to Alex Harkess’s lab specifically because of the HudsonAlpha greenhouse. This would allow me to work directly with plants semi-outdoors and do research. When I worked in other research labs, it was primarily sitting down indoors, but this gives me the best of both worlds. I get to take care of the plants, spend time in the sun, and do the research.
Jazmine: You mentioned previous lab experience. What is your academic background, and what did you do prior to coming to HudsonAlpha?
Israel: I studied biomedical science at Oakwood University here in Huntsville. Initially, my goal was to become a physician. After graduating in 2021, I wasn’t totally sure if I wanted to pursue medical school. It seemed like an expensive, time-consuming step to take when I wasn’t certain that it would be the perfect path for me, so I took a gap year to try to figure out if that was really what I wanted to do. Then, my gap year turned into two gap years.
Jazmine: What did you learn about yourself during those gap years?
Israel: During my first gap year, I was a medical assistant and quickly determined that I definitely didn’t want to be a doctor. Then, I guess I was just stalling, and I went in a drastically different direction—I went to work on a farm.
Jazmine: A farm? Tell me more about that.
Israel: So, the farm is an interesting story. I had a friend in Hawaii who was participating in a program called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). WWOOF connects volunteers with organic farmers. As volunteers, we learn how to work the farm and grow our own food, and they provide meals and housing for us, but we don’t get paid any money.
I never expected my time there to have such an impact on my career trajectory; I just thought I would go to Hawaii for six months with my friends and enjoy the experience. When I got there, I was assigned to an aquaponics farm. An aquaponics farm is an eco-friendly farming method that combines fish farming and growing plants without soil. We raised fish, and the bacteria in the tanks break down fish waste into nutrients. The nutrient-rich water is used to irrigate plants in a hydroponic growing chamber. The plants filter and purify the water, which is then recirculated back to the fish tanks.
It’s basically just a closed system of fish and plants. I was fascinated by that experience and really liked it. I was outside all day, and it was hot and hard, but I didn’t mind. When I compared my time working as a medical assistant to being on the farm, I realized that I liked the farm a lot. Yet, I still considered myself a scientist, and I wanted to utilize those skills as well.
When I returned from Hawaii, I began working at one of Alabama A&M’s research farms. There, I began taking care of the plants that the Swaminathan Lab utilizes in their projects, which led me to learn more about HudsonAlpha.
Jazmine: What are some of the most valuable lessons or skills you’ve gained through your research experiences?
Israel: What I really like about working at HudsonAlpha with Charity is that she has given me a lot of autonomy. I know what our goals are, and she’s taught me well enough to know how to achieve those goals. So on any given day, I know what to do, and I can work towards those goals on my own. I appreciate that she’s given me that freedom and taught me the things I need to know to handle the project on my own.
I think that encourages and strengthens leadership—the ability to take control of the whole project and do as well as I can with it.
Jazmine: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a trainee?
Israel: As a trainee, I don’t know a lot, but I’m learning every single day. Charity has taught me a lot since I first came here, and I have obtained a great deal of knowledge, however, there’s still so much more to learn. I feel like the biggest challenge is trying to learn as much as I can, while I can. I’ve been very blessed because Charity is wonderful, and she teaches me so much. But at the same time, it’s a lot, and that’s the hardest part, just being able to keep up with all of the things. Papers are published daily, and even if you read 20 papers, there will always be 20 more right after that. Knowledge is endless, so my goal is to learn as much as I can and do my best with what I know in order to make decisions for the project.
Jazmine: Now that you’ve gained some experience, do you have an idea of your long-term goals in the field of genetics and genomics?
Israel: Long term, I plan to pursue plant science. I am learning a lot about genomics right now at HudsonAlpha, and I will be able to utilize all the knowledge I’m gaining, but I don’t think that genomics will be a specialty of mine. I think that’ll be something that will support my skills rather than be my skill. I haven’t applied to any graduate programs yet, but I do plan to apply and obtain a master’s degree in the plant sciences.
Boosting Retention, Interest, and Diversity through Guided Experiences in STEM (BRIDGES) is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 2225832.
