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Olney Central College alum Robert Wray engaged in cutting-edge research this sum-mer as an intern with the prestigious Genes, Ecosystems and Organisms REU at Harvard University.
Wray, a senior zoology major at Southern Illinois University, was one of just 25 students selected — from more than 550 applicants nationwide — to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates.
“When looking for REUs for this summer, I applied to about 10,” said Wray, who was surprised by the honor. “I applied to Harvard on a whim never expecting to get it because it is an Ivy League school after all. It still blows my mind that I was chosen.”
The immersive 10-week summer program is designed for undergraduate students majoring in the life sciences and geared toward students, like Wray, who are interested in pursuing a PhD in evolution, ecology and environmental biology.
Hosted by the Departments of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Human Evolutionary Biology, the experience enables students to engage in multidisciplinary research projects, professional development workshops and networking activities.
Wray and 11 fellow students were selected to focus on Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, which includes animal, plant and fungal biology.
“I personally have been working in the Hecht Lab, studying behavior in domestic dogs,” Wray explained. “Particularly, I chose to research attachment behaviors in Golden Retrievers during a period of separation and reunion with their owner.”
The preliminary results noticed a significant correlation between the household size and the number of times the dog vocalized. Additional attachment behaviors monitored included touching the door and physical contact with the owner.
“We noticed that the larger the household size, the less frequently the dog vocalized during the separation period,” Wray pointed out. “We assume this is because the dogs from larger households may not be as attached to any one member of the house. Dogs from larger households also spent less time making contact with their owner during the reunion period.”
Wray shared his research in a scientific poster presentation at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium in Hartford, Conn. His team is continuing to gather data and hopes to publish its findings next year.
Wray said the experience has helped solidify his future plans.
“The program has given me a better idea of what it means to do research,” he said. “I was already interested in pursuing animal behavior and behavioral ecology as a field and this opportunity has been very topical and relevant to my goals. Obviously going forward having the name Harvard on my resume will look impressive and will perhaps help me obtain future opportunities.”
Along with the academic challenges, Wray enjoyed the opportunity to explore Cambridge and Boston while connecting with other undergraduates.
“It’s been really fun talking with and getting to know the other students in the program, learning about their research and hanging out with a few of them outside of their labs,” he added.
Wray said OCC provided a solid foundation for his educational journey.
“OCC was helpful in giving me an idea of what college life was like,” he said. “I learned at OCC the value of joining different student organizations and participating in things. Some of the classes I participated in at OCC gave me a good basis for classes I took at Carbondale. And of course, OCC gave me the ability to get halfway through my bachelor’s degree without paying university prices.”
