La Sierra undergrad bio students shine at top-tier Israel conference

Led by their biology professor, intrepid and renowned herpetologist Lee Grismer, the duo trekked for two weeks through Malaysia’s steaming jungles and across limestone karsts to find and study undiscovered gecko species that live in reclusive hiding places. Despite their undergraduate standing – Kaatz is a second-year biology student and Del Pinto is a senior -- their abilities are on par with that of students far ahead of them in graduate programs, a fact that landed the pair among a roster of top academic presenters at a prestigious global symposium in Tel Aviv, Israel in May. The La Sierra students’ summer work in Malaysia continues to build upon and hone their knowledge, scientific skills and research which they put on display during their presentations in Israel. 

While in Malaysia, Kaatz hoped to collect a species of gliding gecko for further analysis this coming school year while she works on a writing a scientific paper about her Tel Aviv presentation topic. Del Pinto’s field work included attempting to find additional members of the Gekko smithii species of gecko on which she presented, a species which hadn’t been captured on Malaysia’s Penang Island in more than 100 years when she nabbed the animal in the summer of 2017.

Kaatz and Del Pinto were the only undergrads out of 18 presenters from around the globe attending Gekotta Mundi II at Tel Aviv University May 26-28. The conference aimed to showcase latest research and findings in gecko biology and attracted an audience of the world’s foremost herpetologists.

Kaatz and Del Pinto’s presentations focused respectively on the morphology of the Cyrtodactylus metropolis gecko species and on the genetic variation of Gekko smithii which Grismer and Del Pinto captured in August 2017. Working with Lee Grismer and his son, Jesse, an assistant biology professor at La Sierra, Kaatz focused on anatomical research while Del Pinto studied genetics. “We were combining the two data sets to tell a common story and it turned out the story was really interesting,” Lee Grismer said. 

Kaatz discussed the different morphologies of a Southeast Asian clade of Cyrtodactylus and how the animal’s morphology matches their habitat preference. Morphological analyses were performed to assess the relationships between their anatomical structures. “We found that although one species, Cyrtodactylus metropolis lives in the karst [limestone formation], it actually carried its ancestral swamp morphology with it to the karst. It didn’t separate out with all the karst dwellers,” Kaatz said. 

Del Pinto focused on the genetic variation found in Gekko smithii following months of research that included numerous statistical genetic morphological analyses. “For my research project I looked at Gekko smithii specimens and DNA samples from varying regions and analyzed their body characters as well as their genetics. These factors showed significant variations,” Del Pinto said. The scientific expedition to Malaysia in August included searches for the species in places it hadn’t previously been collected, she said. 

Center stage

The undergraduates gave their individual presentations on different days, standing on a large stage, a giant screen behind them showing colorful gecko photos and research data. Afterward they answered pointed questions posed by highly respected gecko biologists in the audience.

“I was really nervous because they’re talking in front of some of the best herptologists in the world,” said Lee Grismer who also served as a conference committee member. His anxieties were put to rest as his students each gave solid performances and masterfully handled questions, prompting some scientists to presume the students were in doctoral programs. “You want to keep an eye on that duo,” Grismer said.

Jesse Grismer was unable to attend the Tel Aviv conference due his involvement in a National Geographic Explorers grant expedition in Uzbekistan where he collaborated with other researchers to study endangered species in sand dune habitats.

“I’m in Uzbekistan texting like a proud dad, ‘you can do it,’” he said. “I felt so guilty I wasn’t there to hang with them.”

Both students described anxieties and performance butterflies in the days and hours leading up to their on-stage appearance. 

“I have never been so nervous in my whole life,” Kaatz said. “It took a lot for me to get the courage to just say, ‘Ok, Grismer thinks I can do this, I can do this.' Once I got up there and I started saying my presentation, I settled into it.”

“I felt just constant excitement leading up to the conference,” Del Pinto said. “I felt I was jumping out of my seat because we spent months on that project. …It was just wonderful to actually truly represent [the Gekko smithii species] and give them the attention that they deserve.”

Support system

In preparation for Tel Aviv, the Grismers spent the quarter leading up to the conference with their students explaining how analyses work and how to read historical papers. The week before the students’ journey to Israel, they also had Kaatz and Del Pinto present during HerpFest, a conference in Southern California involving top-tier scientists that included poster and award sessions. Lee Grismer is a co-founder of the conference that started in the 1980s.  

For all their biology students, the Grismers hold weekly paper discussions on current research and ask the students to analyze the published papers to determine whether the data supports the hypotheses. Such exercises are typically carried out at the graduate level. “It’s awesome and rewarding to see them apply it to real life situations,” Jesse said.

Administrative and departmental support is also an important factor in the success of academic programs and their students. At most universities, costs for high-level conference participation is typically reserved for graduate students. However Kaatz and Del Pinto’s registration fees were waived by the conference and their additional expenses were covered by La Sierra’s College of Arts and Sciences through its dean, April Summitt, Lee Grismer said. The students also received broad support from other professors in the biology department who recognized the significance of the experience.

“That’s the keystone of the story here,” said Jesse. “That wouldn’t happen at any other university. It’s really inspiring leadership. Decisions like that can motivate faculty.” 

Pivotal impact

While in Israel, Del Pinto and Kaatz toured the region with a conference group taking in the geography and its mesmerizing sites which included a beautiful sunset over the Red Sea and an expansive view of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia at one stop. They trekked into the deserts of Israel on herpetological expeditions with Israeli students and scientists as guides, including a nighttime research trip through sand dunes. They tracked vipers and geckos and caught a few animals including a Stenodactylus petrii, a tiny Egyptian sand gecko. “Catching my first Stenodactylus petrii was thrilling and it was probably the cutest gecko I have ever seen,” Del Pinto said.

Her first encounter with the storied Red Sea was an emotional moment for the California native. “When I stepped foot in the Red Sea, realization hit me. I was in Israel, I was across the world standing in the Red Sea. That moment brought tears to my eyes as we watched the sunset and enjoyed the cool water.”

Del Pinto, a 21-year-old Long Beach resident, and Kaatz, age 23 and a resident of Loma Linda arrived at La Sierra with different backgrounds and interests.

Del Pinto is a graduate of the California Academy of Mathematics and Science, a magnet high school in Carson, Calif. A few of her relatives have worked or studied at La Sierra and she enrolled initially in its pre-veterinary program. But through her involvement with the Grismers’ labs and with other faculty in the biology department, the prospects of working in a veterinarian’s office paled in comparison to the excitement of catching fast-footed geckos and uncovering new species and knowledge about them. 

Kaatz, whose family members have also studied and worked at the university, initially enrolled in a pre-nursing program then later re-enrolled as a biology major aiming for a career as a wildlife biologist. She sought out Lee Grimer’s lab upon the recommendation of others. 

“I’m still not one hundred percent sure what direction I want to go into,” she said. “I didn’t expect to fall in love with herpetology as much as I have.”

No matter her path, Kaatz’s success at the conference in Israel proved deeply impactful. “I’m genuinely happy with how my life is going,” she said. “I feel like I have a purpose and something I’m actually good at. I feel really blessed to have met the Grismers and to kinda’ join their family because they are just the best people.”

For Del Pinto, the experiences in Israel and connections with leading scientists and conservationists also proved pivotal. It capped months of work with the Grismers, La Sierra biology professor Nate Sutter and Fulbright Scholar Evan Quah, a Malaysian colleague of the Grismers.

“Tel-Aviv was a trip that truly changed my life,” she said. “The opportunity to not only share this research, but to present it at a conference with outstanding biologists was more than I could’ve asked for.”