Ph.D. student Seth McWhorter began his career studying salamanders in kudzu patches during his undergraduate degree at the University of North Georgia. But, he switched his focus to cyanobacteria after assisting in cyanobacterial research as an aquatic biologist at Voyageurs National Park. Since then, he began work in Susan Wilde’s lab, where he conducted a thesis project examining the accumulation of cyanotoxins (toxins produced by cyanobacteria) in fish tissues at Voyageurs. He now works at the EPA as a student contractor assisting in research regarding the novel cyanotoxin that Wilde discovered—Aetokthonotoxin. Richard Zepp, McWhorter's supervisor at the EPA, is a leading researcher in light effects on environmental contaminants. For McWhorter's dissertation, he aims to determine the interaction among plastics (comparing unaltered plastics versus plastics aged with UV light), sediments, and aetokthonotoxin in the environment. McWhorter appreciates the diverse career he has undertaken so far, as the variety keeps research fresh. Research Labs/Centers/Committee: Vacuolar Myelinopathy (VM) Research by Dr. Susan Wilde
