It’s cold outside, with snow on the ground and ice-coated sidewalks. But around Isabel Smalley, the windows are dripping with humidity. Inside the greenhouse, it’s warm and balmy, sunlight bathing the plants, wooden benches, and tables in a golden light that contrasts the frigid morning outside. Automated windows open to shed extra heat. Smalley stands surrounded by ferns and succulents. Although these particular ferns aren’t her study subjects, it seemed fitting to be near them for the interview: her undergraduate research will soon culminate in naming a new fern species.
Before coming to UMD, Smalley was unsure of her career path. Initially an English major, her focus shifted after taking general biology and computer science classes. “I found a passion for evolution and plants,” she said. “I really got inspired.”
She switched to a double major in Biology and Computer Science.
Combining the two fields made perfect sense to Smalley. To study evolution and genetics, “you need to have some really complicated computer programs,” she says. “And that software doesn’t always work, so by using my computer science background, I can change the software or alter it to better study plant genetics and plant evolution.”
Smalley was drawn to UMD because, “Duluth was beautiful, everyone on campus seemed really friendly, and I loved how accessible undergraduate research was.” Since 2021, she’s been working with Amanda Grusz, PhD, an expert on ferns who serves in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering as an associate professor of biology and director of the Olga Lakela Herbarium.
“I was really fortunate to join Dr. Grusz’s lab early,” she said. Initially, it was just Smalley, Grusz, and one other undergraduate student, “diving into science, which was really cool.”
Since then, the group has grown, together exploring and experimenting to uncover the mysteries of fern evolution. “I’ve done four different projects in the lab, mostly focused on cryptic diversity or finding new species within a genus or species complex.”
According to Grusz, Smalley is “undertaking a taxonomic and evolutionary study to reveal a new species of desert fern from southwestern North America.”
“The integrative skills of Isabel's chosen degree programs are allowing her to combine molecular biology and supercomputing,” says Grusz, “to take the very first steps toward sequencing a genome of the new species.”
In addition to lab work for the project, Smalley joined her mentor in the field to survey this new species’ populations and determine its geographic distribution. Early on, Smalley and her co-researchers expected they were dealing with a new species, but she had the opportunity to distinguish and name it. “That was really fun,” she said.
“Every plant has a preserved specimen somewhere that defines that species, like a dictionary,” she says. “And so my job was to determine what applies to the definition of this fern and what doesn’t.”
That’s part of the experience that’s been so rich for her. “I love the community of undergraduate research and UMD overall. It feels like the professors are so supportive and the lab is so supportive, and that's why I love it,” said Smalley.
Smalley’s research has enriched her entire UMD experience. “Undergraduate research can really change your perspective,” she said. “In all my classes, I think about how it applies to my research. Even though computer science doesn’t directly apply to plants, we learn about evolutionary algorithms and how nature inspires statistical problems that apply to various fields.”
“Cultivating a relationship with your professors can really prepare you for whatever next step you want to take. I couldn't have gotten to where I am today without the help of Dr. Paul Bates, or Dr. Amanda Grusz, and my computer science advisor, Dr. Jomara Sandbulte.”
After graduation, Smalley hopes to pursue a career in bioinformatics or continue her studies in a statistical phylogenetics lab. “UMD has prepared me for that in a lot of different ways,” she said. “When I came to UMD, I never thought I’d be able to do all this. I love it so much. I want to spend the rest of my life doing it.”
Footer image: Isabel Smalley uses a hand loupe to examine a wild fern near the UMD campus in Duluth. Header image: Smalley examines a fern in the UMD greenhouse. Alongside her work in the Grusz Lab, Smalley completed a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergrads fellowship at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell, and a Biology Undergraduate Research in Science and Technology (BURST) fellowship at UMD in 2024.