HWS News
21 October 2024 • Research Students Explore Scientific Work at Cornell AgriTech By Colin Spencer '19
Experience in field and lab provides insight into scientific careers.
Five students recently gained scientific research experience working at the Cornell AgriTech station in Geneva.
Ava Lee ’25, an environmental studies major, took on various roles, combining phenotyping and examining hemp tissue cultures in the lab with farm tasks like crop maintenance and weeding. In addition, she handled computer-based responsibilities, including photographing for the Germplasm Resources Information Network and managing data in Excel.
“My experience has paid off because I learned a lot about using the R computing language and Excel, as well as so much about plant biology,” says Lee.
Lee, who worked under Vegetable Crop Germplasm Curator Rebecca Povilus of the United States Department of Agriculture, says she participated in the internship to see what a career in research would be like.
Andrew Painton ’25, a biology major, spent his time at Cornell AgriTech evaluating different methods to treat fire blight disease on apple trees. Continuing his research from last year, Painton spent the summer exploring applications of a fungicide known as Actigard to four different cultivars of apple trees. These trees were then evaluated for the presence of disease to determine which treatment was most effective.
“I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in biology and this research experience has given me a foundation for the work I may be doing as I enter graduate school,” says Painton. “I hope this experience will enable me to continue developing useful skills for graduate education.”
“Working in the program allowed me to engage with real-world research, sharpen my technical skills and gain insights into how agricultural research contributes to broader scientific and environmental goals,” Says Kevin Frost '25.
Painton worked under Kerik Cox, an associate professor at Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Pathology and part of the Plant-Microbe Biology Section at Cornell AgriTech.
Under the guidance of Research Geneticists Tyler Gordon and Zachary Stansell, along with Vegetable Crop Germplasm Curator Rebecca Povilus, Kevin Frost ’25 focused on planting and cultivating hemp. A biology major, Frost also collected tissue samples for germination trials and gathered data on seed collections using near-infrared spectroscopy.
“Working in the program allowed me to engage with real-world research, sharpen my technical skills and gain insights into how agricultural research contributes to broader scientific and environmental goals,” says Frost. “It also gave me a deeper appreciation for the collaborative nature of scientific research and the practical applications of biological research in agriculture.”
Katherine Colvin ’25 and Hannah Hartung ’25, both biology majors, also worked on research at Cornell AgriTech over the summer. Colvin worked with Benjamin Gutierrez, Ph.D., an apple and tart cherry curator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit and Hartung worked with Fred Gouker, a research geneticist in plants in the USDA’s Grape Genetics Research Unit.
The partnership between HWS and Cornell AgriTech provides students with the opportunity to learn from Cornell faculty, graduate students and scientists, learn the latest scientific techniques and work with researchers from across the globe. This provides students with the knowledge and experience to prepare them for a career in science.
Top: Andrew Painton '25 prepares to transfer fungal samples as part of a study of diseases that affect apple trees in order to test various treatments.
