I am Alexandria Kurowski, a Master’s student in the Liston Lab. Integrating my lifelong passions for computers and plants, my research focuses on employing computational methods to characterize transposable elements (TE’s) in [Gentner’s fritillary](https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/Q0V6) (Fritillaria gentneri). This involves comparing TE’s across different species and utilizing TE profiles to gain various insights into Gentner’s fritillary, including the evolutionary origin.
Born in Livingston, Montana, I obtained my GED at 22 and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Plant Biology from Montana State University in 2023. Before coming to OSU, I gained practical experience through blue-collar jobs, primarily in landscape construction and snow removal. Beyond my academic pursuits, I engage in diverse interests, including being an amateur artist, science-fiction writer, hobbyist programmer, and (pretty good) cook.
In addition to my primary research, I have secondary goals involving machine learning applications for processing large amounts of biological data and achieving expertise in at least one, if not multiple, plant species.