Michelle Legaspi

Michelle Legaspi, Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University I am driven by my desire to appreciate and learn from our natural environment in order to help integrate more sustainable systems into our lifestyles. I received my B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida. As an undergraduate, I spent 3 years working for the US Department of Agriculture analyzing chemically-mediated signaling interactions between plants and caterpillars in order to better understand plant defense mechanisms and increase agricultural crop yields without the use of harmful pesticides. I became increasingly interested in environmental research after studying abroad in New Zealand and Fiji learning about human impact on the environment. After graduation, I worked with the Student Conservation Association teaching environmental education and building hiking trails in Massachusetts. I aim to combine my scientific knowledge and passion for the outdoors to tackle our environmental problems. Dr. Kaury Kucera, Lecturer and Postdoctoral Associate, Yale University I love science research and education because I work to fix important problems including contamination of our environment by persistent waste. I earned my Ph.D. at Yale University using x-ray crystallography to study the structure of two parasite proteins. Currently, I work with undergraduate students to study biological activities and bioactive natural products from endophytic fungi. Besides mentoring undergraduates it is my privilege to work with Michelle to identify and study the enzymatic proteins used by fungi to degrade complex polymers. The Waorani people are indigenous to the Ecuadorian Rainforest where we collect endophytes. They believe that where there is a poison in the jungle you can also find a cure. I do this research with great faith that a remedy for plastic and synthetic rubber waste accumulation already exists in our environment and is waiting to be discovered and effectively harnessed.

June 2013