Research key preparation for pursuing doctorate, Penn State undergrad says

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Seeing the “huge juxtaposition” between streams flowing near her childhood home in Lancaster County impaired by pollution from intensive agriculture and the seemingly pristine creeks tumbling down the forested mountains around her family’s cabin in Mifflin County led Bridget Reheard to study how contaminants in waters affect aquatic organisms and aspirations for a career working to protect natural resources.

A Penn State Millennium Scholar and Schreyer Honors College student who was awarded a 2024-25 Goldwater Scholarship, Reheard will graduate this summer with degrees in both wildlife and fisheries science and geosciences. She will attend Duke University this fall to pursue a doctoral degree in integrated toxicology and environmental health, supported by a U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program Fellowship.

Looking back on her studies at Penn State, she cited her undergraduate research experiences as instrumental in preparing her for the future.

“I think if I had just taken classes, I would be less prepared to be a scientist because conducting undergraduate research trains you to search for answers and deal with gray areas,” she said. “Undergraduate research has solidified my interest in aquatic toxicology and genetics and has greatly prepared me for attaining higher education. Having the background and knowledge that I do and having been able to identify a field that matters a lot to me will prove pivotal as I search for programs that match my interests and goals.”

Combining classes in two majors, one offered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the other by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, with related research led to a comprehensive education. She added that she had opportunities to conduct a wide range of research on water quality and aquatic organisms during her time at Penn State.

“I was able to merge my wildlife and fisheries science degree with geoscience in a way that made a lot of sense to me, focusing  on my overarching interest in the effects of contaminants on aquatic life, which has led me down a path toward a [doctorate] in toxicology,” she said.

Reheard’s undergraduate research activities included serving as a research assistant on a project that assessed yellow damselfish aggression and patterns of behavior in response to elevated dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations in water that reflect theoretical future conditions; serving as a research assistant assisting with DNA extractions of ash and chestnut tree leaf tissue; and working as an independent researcher studying responses of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate communities to removal of a dam on a medium-sized stream in central Pennsylvania.

She also served as a research assistant assisting with the sorting and identification of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates from the Midwest and Southwest. She first worked with the Duke University Marine Lab, helping evaluate changes to genes in Atlantic killifish in response to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund site along the Elizabeth River in Virginia. Then, she served as an intern with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, determining the levels and toxicity of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances compounds on sheepshead minnows.

Her thesis research project explores the implications of hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale formation on small stream geochemistry, aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish communities.

Guided by her advisers — C. Paola Ferreri, associate professor of fisheries management, and Susan Brantley, Atherton Professor and Evan Pugh University Professor Emerita of Geosciences —  Reheard has been analyzing water samples seeking evidence for a “brine signature” unique to the Marcellus formation.

“I am studying how potential releases of these hypersaline brines via well pad spills or poorly constructed impoundments may alter water chemistry and affect aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates — think insects, crustaceans, etc., that live on the stream bottom — and fish communities in Sproul and Tiadaghton state forests in Pennsylvania,” she said

She selected five Sproul streams and seven Tiadaghton streams to sample water and aquatic organisms.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Bridget and watch her make her highly ambitious senior thesis project a reality,” Ferreri said. “Bridget is exceptional in her ability to make connections across multiple disciplines, like geoscience and fisheries science, and her perseverance in finding ways to explore those connections. Her thesis research is a great example of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human impacts on freshwater ecosystems. I am excited to see her future research contributions.”

Somehow, Reheard found time to engage in club activities, too. She has served in multiple officer positions of the Penn State student chapter of The Wildlife Society. The organization is meaningful to her, she said, as it provides a way to engage students interested in wildlife careers from a professional and hands-on perspective. She also is part of the American Women in Geosciences, the Geosciences Club, the Gamma Sigma Delta Honors Society and Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. She said she also enjoys playing soccer with the Centre Soccer Association.