As part of the NIH Protein Biotechnology Training program, trainees complete an internship with a biotechnology company for 8 to 12 weeks. Some of the program’s trainees had the privilege of completing an internship at Qualterra, a locally based agricultural R&D company developing technologies for sustainable and cost-efficient practices. Four trainees, Albina Makio, Corbin Chapman, Kaylee Vosbigian, and Kris Rapeta, reflect on their roles within the company. Each of these trainees come from various research backgrounds in the Molecular Plant Sciences (MPS) and Multidisciplinary Program in Infectious Diseases (MPID) programs; trainees from other disciplines are encouraged to reach out to Qualterra.
Why choose an internship at Qualterra?
Most trainees chose Qualterra for different research purposes, and Qualterra wanted to connect with experts around Washington. For Kaylee, this internship offered her more insight into extracting viral RNA from whole plant tissue, while allowing her to stay close to friends and family during her internship. Her work on understanding mechanisms behind tick-borne viruses and her interest in the nuance of familiar techniques applied to plant biology made her an ideal candidate for the internship.
One of Kris’s reasons for choosing Qualterra was for the company’s developments in biochar and identifying the beneficial effects contributed by biochar soil. He appreciated his project at Qualterra for giving him the opportunity to explore the bioengineering of biochar while characterizing morphological differences, since he had prior interests in the concept.
What new skills can trainees acquire from an internship at Qualterra?
Albina and Corbin were tasked with projects requiring qPCR and CAST for variant validation of different cultivars throughout the state of Washington. Albina has plenty of experience working on understanding the pathogenic mechanism of human herpes virus and other human viruses, but she was seeking another application to apply qPCR interpretation to another system. She became more proficient in interpreting qPCR and CAST data for agriculture application.
Corbin had some prior experience with qPCR and CAST from his experience studying white wheat variants. However, his project at Qualterra required techniques from his background but applied to cherry cultivars. He quickly adapted to his project due to the familiarity, which allowed him to spend more time communicating with the cherry farmers in the state of Washington. He’s grateful for gaining the perspective of communicating with customers of a biotechnology company.
How can an internship at Qualterra expand a trainee’s network and scientific communication proficiency?
Qualterra facilitates collaborative learning environments by encouraging each team to set up additional meetings and social events. Albina appreciates the leaders of the company for always staying curious about their projects on a weekly basis. Laura Wood, director of Plant Production at Qualterra, met with interns to stay engaged with their projects and foster an industry relationship after completing their internships. Kris had a fortunate opportunity to participate in a customer-centric talk covering marketing and presentation of Qualterra’s products. With this workshop, he was able to convey his findings to customers while presenting his Qualterra research project post-internship.
Opportunities at Qualterra are not exclusively for WSU researchers, but long going ties with the university makes Qualterra a trusted company that ensures their employees will be a part of fulfilling and realistic industry projects.
If you are interested in Qualterra or wish to know more about the company, connect with Qualterra and Sharol Marcec on LinkedIn or check Qualterra’s website!
