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Kat Mars, Bio-Med Science Academy student

Whale Research Intern Kat Mars

Many research opportunities are available at Northeast Ohio Medical University, including research internships for high school students attending the STEM+M high school on campus. Kat Mars, a student at Bio-Med Science Academy, is studying whales as an intern with Ingalls-Brown Professor of Anatomy Hans Thewissen, Ph.D.

What are you working on?

KM: So far, I’ve been working on a couple projects, because Dr. Thewissen’s lab is always working on something different. When I first started I was doing a lot of CT scan imaging. We had a fossil skull of an ancient whale that he had gotten CT scanned in France. My job was to use this program that lays out all the different pictures from the CT scan. Basically, I was tracing the cranial cavity, which is where the brain sits, in order to estimate the size of the brain.

Why would finding the volume of the brain be important?

KM: We’re doing it is because of this thing called encephalization, which is basically a relation of body mass to brain weight. What we’re trying to do is see if that’s consistent with this type of whale. In general, bigger animals have bigger brains, but animals of the same body size may have different brain sizes, because they have a specific need, like extra processing of visual information or greater intelligence. We are trying to determine why whales have such big brains. Their large body size is only part of the answer to that question.

Are you working on anything else?

KM: When the previous intern [Bailey McKenna, who is now at the College of Wooster] finished up, she was compiling a giant spreadsheet of cranial nerves for different species of modern whales. I’m adding on to that. The purpose was to have a reference sheet of what research has been was done to show how many nerve fibers there are in the 12 different cranial nerves. More nerve fibers means that the nerve is more important to the animal, for instance, animals with more fibers in their optic nerve have better vision. It’s meant as just a reference, but we’re adding our own data in it for bowhead whales.

Are you enjoying the work?

KM: Some days are easier than others. A lot of the research is in these old crusty books, and there’s a lot of searching I have to do through the library or Ohio Link or the NEOMED archive to find them – and reading the books is also sometimes difficult. But when I find the information it’s really rewarding.

Talk to me more about what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis.

KM: I don’t really have a set routine because of all the things we work on. For the first couple months I would go in and work on the CT machine, doing imaging. For a couple weeks I was doing the reference sheet; now I’m back to imaging again. It really depends on what my job for the day is.

Sometimes the other people in the lab have things I can help them with or observe. One time I got to help one of the lab techs, Denise, take a groundhog skeleton out of a flesh-eating beetle tank, which was really cool. I’ve also helped the research assistant, David, to sand and polish bones to make microscope slides.

I have to know why the groundhog skeleton was in the flesh-eating beetle tank.

KM: Most of what we study is anatomy. Usually we want to look at the skeleton, so instead of cleaning it ourselves, it’s more precise to put it in this fish tank containing a species of beetle that eat the flesh. We’ve used the beetles to skeletonize different things, including the fluke of a whale.

What is it like to work in a lab environment?

KM: At first, I felt like I was coming into this field where I had no experience or knowledge. I thought it would be difficult for me to keep up with them and understand them, but the people I work with are exceptional. They’re really good at being casual about things with me, helping me with questions and making me feel comfortable. Dr. Thewissen usually assigns me some books and articles to read before I start a new project. When I started the cranium 3D reconstruction he gave me a book on dog anatomy, because it’s similar to whale anatomy.

Do you feel like you’re learning a lot?

KM: Yes, I know a lot of really weird whale facts now.

Would you like to share one?

KM: A lot of whale bones and teeth grow in layers, so when you cut them you can tell how old they are.

Are you enjoying your internship?

KM: I’m having a great time at my internship. I love all of the people I work with so much. I always talk about it at home; everyone there thinks I’m so much smarter than I am.

Liam Martin, a senior at Bio-Med Science Academy and an intern in the Office of Marketing and Communications, contributed this article.