Profile
Hannah Chu
My CV
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Education:
University of California, Riverside
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of NY — Forensic Science B.S. minor in Mathematics
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About Me:
While I enjoy studying fruit flies during work, in my free time, I love to draw, read, and take care of my plants. I also have a very cute black cat named Tycho!
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Hi all! I am a New York City native living in Riverside, California to study fruit fly puberty! I currently live with my boyfriend and my very cute black cat, Tycho. Tycho loves water more than anything else — his favorite activity is sitting in the sink to drink water from the faucet.
I really enjoy science communication, which means talking with people who don’t have a background in science about the research that is being done in the scientific community. In my free time, I enjoy embroidery, drawing, and playing the guzheng (a Chinese harp-like instrument). My favorite genre of music is indie rock, and I enjoy going to concerts every few months. I also grow my own vegetables and have a lot of houseplants!
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A few years ago, I found myself in a dark, cold office taking a small container of maggots (baby flies) from an unfamiliar man. This was the first crime case I helped investigate and started my path down insect studies. I wanted to learn all about how insects grow into adults, from worm-like creatures to the adult flies we see landing on poop in the park.
This pushed me to go to more school to study the specific things that cause insects to grow up — insect hormones! We use fruit flies, a model insect, to figure out how hormones can stop or accelerate the rate at which insects grow up. Some things I do in the lab every day are looking at flies under the microscope, dissecting insect brains, and using dyes to stain insect organs.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up around 8AM and make breakfast (usually eggs and toast!). Then I take my coffee and go to my office to check emails and talk with my coworkers about some of the experiments we are doing. On days I have class, I will go to class and learn with my friends. After class I go to the lab to look at flies under the microscope to separate the males and the females. On days I don’t have class, I spend all day in the lab doing various fun experiments!
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My Interview