From the windswept, frozen valleys of Antarctica to the flourishing, rain-fed slopes of Maui, students in the BYU Department of Biology are shining brightly. The College of Life Sciences’ emphasis on experiential learning provides opportunities for students like Abigail Borgmeier (PhD ’26, BIO) to uncover the secrets of free-living nematodes at McMurdo Station, Micah Taotafa (BIO ’24) to investigate the ecological impact of water diversions in Maui, and Olivea Fisher (BIO ’26) to contribute to specimen categorization at the renowned Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. Though their scientific pursuits span continents and disciplines, each student is a luminous example of the Department of Biology’s dedication to lighting the world through hands-on research, cultural immersion, and service-driven science.
Soil Science at the Edge of the World
Borgmeier’s Antarctic experience exemplifies the kind of immersive research the College of Life Sciences strives to make available to its students. The McMurdo Station, located in the 0.4 percent of Antarctica that is ice-free, provided Borgmeier with access to soil containing nematodes—tiny roundworms that have evolved to survive in extreme climates. “The station feels like a small town during the height of the Antarctic summer,” Borgmeier remembers with a smile. “It’s a really cool environment—and it’s the one place I go where everyone asks me about the worms.”
As Borgmeier knows, there is a lot to say about these little worms. “Nematodes form the backbone of soil ecosystem functioning because they play so many key roles in the belowground soil food web and, therefore, in broader ecosystem functioning,” Borgmeier explains. “Studying the structure of nematode communities gives us a powerful lens into how ecosystems are working.” It is a testament to the power of education that in one of the coldest, most remote places on earth, Borgmeier’s research is shedding light on the hidden networks that sustain life.
Borgmeier feels incredibly lucky to have worked at the station with Dr. Byron Adams and a team of thirty scientists from more than ten different institutions. She studied how nematode soil interactions shift in response to climate-related stressors, such as warming and whiplash events—a work she found incredibly fulfilling.
Data-Driven Community Improvement
On the opposite end of the climate spectrum, Taotafa spent two weeks conducting fieldwork with Dr. Seth Bybee and Dr. Rachel Wood on the verdant island of Maui, exploring the impact of water diversions on the local ecosystems and wildlife. “We didn’t only want to gather field data,” Taotafa explains. “We also wanted to explore the cultural history of the Hawaiian people.” Engaging with this history allowed the group to better understand the significant effect of water diversion on the Maui locals.
For about 100 years, water has been diverted from the east side of the island—where it rains the most—to the west side for agricultural, commercial, and later even tourist use. Much of that diversion benefited large sugar cane and real estate corporations. Recently, however, the east side won back rights to a significant portion of the water. This was a huge victory for locals, whose small-scale agriculture is still a vital part of community life and sustainability. Controlling the water is synonymous with greater self-sufficiency. When communities can grow their own food, steward their own resources, and pass on traditional practices, they become more resilient in the face of climate change, rising costs, and economic uncertainty.
“It was really meaningful to realize how our data could help strengthen the locals’ case,” Taotafa shares. “It will help them not only to regain but also to retain those water rights for future generations. It made me realize that what we’re doing isn’t just about science and numbers. There are real people behind the data, and the outcomes actually matter to them.” Taotafa’s experience demonstrates how scientific data gains meaning when grounded in cultural understanding. It was a clear reminder that this research isn’t just theoretical; it’s making a real difference in people’s lives.
Small Specimens with Great Potential
Meanwhile, in Leiden, Netherlands, Fisher used scientific data for a different purpose: identifying specimens at the renowned Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Working with Bybee in the research lab attached to the museum, Fisher marveled at the wealth of knowledge stored there. “We handled ancient collections from all over the world,” Fisher recalls, “specifically working with dragonflies and damselflies from the Philippines.” Her work involved sorting and categorizing thousands of insect specimens and identifying, labeling, and entering them into the museum’s system.
One of the most demanding projects involved organizing and relabeling insect collections transferred from the Amsterdam Museum, many of which lacked proper classification. In another project, she helped extract DNA from dragonfly specimens collected in Russia for the GEODE Project, an international effort to genetically catalog dragonfly species. “It’s so exciting to know that our work contributed to both preserving biodiversity and advancing global research,” Fisher says.
Because insects play an essential role in the ecosystems of the world, preserving insect species and studying their evolutionary history helps scientists understand how ecosystems respond to environmental change, climate stress, and human development. Through her work to shine a light on forgotten specimens, Fisher finds a strong sense of purpose. Her work, like that of her peers, demonstrates the vital role students play in preserving biodiversity and advancing global research.
Reflecting Light Through Experience and Faith
After returning from their experiential learning opportunities abroad, Borgmeier, Taotafa, and Fisher report feeling a renewed sense of direction and purpose. Actively applying the science learned in the classroom to the real world provided them with a powerful reminder of why they began their journey into the sciences in the first place. “My curiosity, my passion for science, and my desire to help others ground me,” Taotafa shares. Each student’s experience was deeply personal, shaped by their unique motivations and the insights they gained along the way.
For Fisher, her experience was magnified by her testimony of how closely science and religion are linked. “The more I learn about biology—about the world and how it works—the more my faith grows,” she says. At BYU, students are not only trained to discover light and knowledge but to reflect it. By blending rigorous inquiry with lived experience, the students of the Department of Biology continue to light the world.