Megan Damico

University of North Carolina at Greensboro – Environmental Health Sciences PhD Candidate

[email protected]
megandamico.weebly.com | Twitter: @MicrobialMeg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-damico-7b522b160/

EDUCATION
PhD University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), Greensboro, NC
Environmental Health Sciences, GPA: 4.0. Estimated graduation date: Fall 2023

BS Biomedical Sciences. Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Allendale, MI

Emphasis in Microbiology
Degree awarded: April, 2018

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Doctoral Research
Dissertation title: Determining the Factors Driving Strain and Community Dynamics in the
Honey Bee Gut Microbiome
Department of Biology, Greensboro, NC
Advisor: Dr. Kasie Raymann
Committee Members: Dr. Louis Marie Bobay, Dr. Amy Adamson, and Dr. Manuel Kleiner (NC
State)

S.U.P.E.R Summer Research Fellow – Summer 2017

Project title: Investigating the Lactobacillus species in Social Bees
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)
Advisors: Dr. Nancy Moran and Dr. Joanne Holley

Undergraduate Researcher – 2016-17

Project title: A Wax Moth Larvae Model for American Foulbrood in Experimental
Bacteriophage Therapy of Apis mellifera
GVSU Department of Biomedical Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Steven Hecht and Dr. Anthony Nieuwkoop

CERTIFICATES

Jan 2021 Certificate in Science Policy and Advocacy from UC Irvine’s Public Policy Prep
in coordination with NSF Ridge-to-Reef, The Journal of Science Policy and
Governance (JSPG), and the Union of Concerned Scientists
Nov 2020 WikiScientist Certification Science Policy and Advocacy, National Science Policy
Network Wiki Fellow

Jun 2020 Graduate from the North Carolina Science Festival and Morehead Planetarium
IMPACTS Science Communication Fellowship program

Jun 2020 Wikipedia Scholar in COVID-19 Response by State – North Dakota

Representative

GRANTS, AWARDS, and FELLOWSHIPS

Jan 2021 AWAITING RESPONSE – Graduate Women in Science Fellowship ($10,000)
Jan 2021 UNCG Biology Department Student Research Support Grant - “Elucidating the
drivers of fine-scale dynamics in the honey bee gut microbiome” ($500)
Oct 2020 UNCG Biology Department Student Research Support Grant - “Elucidating the
drivers of fine-scale dynamics in the honey bee gut microbiome” ($450)
Sept 2020 National Science Policy Network, Chapter Development Grant ($1000)
Feb 2020 National Science Policy Network Professional Development Award ($400)
Jan 2020 UNCG Biology Department Student Research Support Grant – “Elucidating the
drivers of fine-scale dynamics in the honey bee gut microbiome” ($427)
Jan 2020 UNCG Biology Department Student Travel Support Grant – “Elucidating the
Factors Driving Community Structure and Dynamics in Host-Associated
Microbiomes” ($250)
Jan 2020 UNCG Gladys Strawn Bullard Leadership and Advocacy Award - Biology
Department nominee ($1000)
Sept 2019 NC Morehead Planetarium and NC Science Festival IMPACTS graduate student
fellowship award for community outreach ($180)
May 2019 UNCG Biology Department Student Travel Support Grant – “Does host lifestyle,
genetics, and/or bacterial warfare impact the composition of the honey bee gut
microbiome community?” ($125)
Jan 2019 UNCG Biology Department Student Research Support Grant – “Investigating
factors of Strain and Community Composition of the Honeybee Gut
Microbiome”($490)
Sept 2018 UNCG Biology Department Student Research Support Grant – “The Impact of
Miticides on the Honeybee Microbiome” ($531)
Aug 2018 UNCG Moore Fellowship ($3000)

TEACHING and MENTORING EXPERIENCE

Sept 2019 Mentor/Organizing committee member of Piedmont Young Birders in
-Present association with T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Chapter and the Piedmont Bird
Club
 Mentor students through bird-related activities relating to conservation,
identification, and advocacy
 Coordinate and develop field activities and trips for student participants
 to explore nature and birds in North Carolina
Aug 2019 Graduate student mentor for Raymann lab undergraduate research assistants,
-Present Ciara Aumend, Drew Greenstein, Gretel Leon, Taylor Monk-Watkins, and Kala-
Renee Williams
 Guide students through scientific methods of my dissertation aims
 Lead students on field work trips for sample collections
 Provide hands-on molecular work experience in the laboratory setting
with sample processing and data analysis
Aug 2018- Teaching assistant at UNCG for introductory biology courses (BIO-105) and
Present microbiology (BIO-481), Greensboro, NC
 Prepared lectures for two, three-hour laboratory classes a week
 Created online curriculum for microbiology 481 students in Fall 2020
 Led experiment execution for 24 students per class
 Graded lab reports and quizzes each week for lab topics

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Apr 1st 2020
M.E. Damico, L-M. Bobay, and K. Raymann “Does host lifestyle, genetics,
and/or bacterial warfare impact the composition of the honey bee gut
microbiome community?” Virtual University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Graduate Student Research and Creativity Expo (Greensboro, NC)
th
Jun 18 - M.E. Damico, L-M. Bobay, and K. Raymann “Elucidating the Factors Driving
nd
22 2020 Community Structure and Dynamics in Host-Associated Microbiomes” NC
American Society for Microbiology Microbe National Conference (Chicago, IL) –
Virtual poster presentation due to COVID-19 pandemic
Oct 19th M.E. Damico, L-M. Bobay, and K. Raymann “Does host lifestyle, genetics,
2019 and/or bacterial warfare impact the composition of the honey bee gut
microbiome community?” NC American Society for Microbiology Regional
Conference (Greensboro, NC)
rd
Apr 3 2019 M.E. Damico, L-M. Bobay, and K. Raymann “Defining the factors that shape
the Honeybee Gut Microbiome composition” University of North Carolina at
Greensboro Graduate Student Research and Creativity Expo (Greensboro, NC)
Apr 12th M.E. Damico and Steven Hecht “A Wax Moth Larvae Model for American
2017 Foulbrood in Experimental Bacteriophage Therapy of Apis mellifera” Grand
Valley State University Student Scholars Day (Allendale, MI)
Sept 2nd M.E. Damico, E.V. Da S. Motta, and N. A. Moran. “Studying the Lactobacillus
2017 Species in Social Bees” University of Texas at Austin Summer Scholars
Research Scholars Poster Session (Austin, TX)

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Mar 8th American Society of Microbiology Presenter, “Growing your roots: starting an
2021 advocacy group on your campus” virtual presentation (Greensboro, NC) –
Invited Keynote
Jun 11th Morehead Planetarium Teen Science Café Virtual Presenter “Bugs in Bugs:
2020 Exploring the microbial world of the honey bee gut microbiome” (Greensboro,
 NC) – Invited speaker
Apr 14th Public Doctoral Proposal Virtual Presentation “Determining the Factors Driving
2020 Strain Level Dynamics in the Honey Bee Gut Microbiome” (Greensboro, NC)
Feb 22nd Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Conference “Elucidating the
2020 Factors Driving Community Structure and Dynamics in Host-Associated
Microbiomes” (Appalachian State University, Boone, NC) – Accepted oral
presentation
Dec 6th Outreach speaker at Wiley STEAM Middle School “We are Many! Microbial
2019 Communities in Action” NC IMPACTs Program (Winston-Salem, NC)
Oct 18th Outreach speaker at Graham Middle School “We are Many! Microbial
2019 Communities in Action” NC IMPACTs Program (Graham, NC)
Oct 10th Guest Lecturer for BIO-112 (Introductory Biology 2) “Metabolism and Digestion
2019 of Mammalian Species” (UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC)

CONFERENCES ATTENDED
Nov 14-15th National Science Policy Network Symposium – attended virtually
2020
Sept 12th Reclaiming STEM Workshop and Conference, National Science Policy Network
sponsored attendee – attended virtually
Jun 26th AAAS STPF Energy/Climate Affinity Group, “From Concept to Action: A
2020 Pathway to Climate Justice” – attended virtually
Jun 18th- American Society of Microbiology Microbe National Conference, Chicago, IL –
22nd 2020 Poster presentation – attended virtually
Jun 4th 2020 AAAS Mini-CASE Virtual Workshop – attended virtually
Feb 22nd Southern Appalachian Beekeeping Conference, Boone, NC – Oral presentation
2020
Dec 9-10th National Science Foundation, Deciphering the Microbiome, St. Paul Minnesota
2019 - attended virtually
Oct 19th American Society for Microbiology Regional NC Conference, Greensboro, NC-
2019 Poster Presentation – poster presented
Apr 3rd 2019 UNCG Graduate Student Research and Creativity Expo, Greensboro, NC -
poster Presentation
Mar 23rd North Carolina ComSciCon-Triangle Workshop, Raleigh, NC
2019
Feb 16th Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Consortium, Charlotte, NC
2019
Oct 19-20th UNC-Chapel Hill Microbiome NGS Data Analysis Workshop, Chapel Hill, NC
2018

SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES
Jan 2021 Reviewer for mBIO – Journal of the American Society of Microbiology
Sept 2019 Reviewer for mSphere - Journal of the American Society of Microbiology
Jul 2019 Reviewer for ISME- Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology
Dec 2018 Reviewer for Molecular Ecology

SCIENCE POLICY & ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP & COMMITTEE POSITIONS

Sept 2019 Co-founder of North Carolina Students for Science Policy Coalition
 Leads state-wide science policy and advocacy training webinars for
STEM students
 Organizes and coordinates certificates for students within program
July 28th Vice President of Graduate and Professional Student Affairs committee at The
2020 - UNC Association of Student Governments
Present  Organizes committee initiatives across the 17 UNC institution schools
 Manages committee budget and reviews/distributes grant funding
 Leads committee meetings and responsible for task delegating for Ass.
Vice President of committee.
May 2020 North Carolina Science Debate Media Outreach Coordinator and team member
 Environmental policy and agriculture policy specialist
Apr 2020 National Science Policy Network Graduate Education Committee member
 Co-Authored the curriculum of early career scientists for the National
Science Policy Network. Lessons focused on empowering scientists to
understand how policy is made and how to engage in the policy process
- NSPN SciPol Curriculum website – Module 1, “What is Science
Policy?”
 Assist in policy development meetings surrounding guidelines and policy
efforts to better support graduate students and post-docs at universities
Sept 2019- President and Co-founder of Spartans for Science and Policy (SSP) at UNC-
Present Greensboro
May 2019- Organizing committee member of ComSciCon Triangle ‘20-21
Present  Responsible for organizing the science policy and multimedia art
speaker panels

SCIENCE POLICY & ADVOCACY ACTIVITES & INVOLVEMENT

Feb 10th Guilford County advocacy lead for North Carolina Audubon Society Virtual
2021 Advocacy Day
 Responsible for recruiting constituents for advocacy day
 Contacted and schedule lawmaker meetings
 Assisted in training webinars to prepare constituent advocates for
lawmaker meetings
Jun 24th Virtual participant in the North Carolina Audubon Society Virtual Advocacy Day
2020
May 7th COVID-19 Responses by State Wikipedia Scholars Course participant (6-week
2020 course)
 Reported on North Dakota state response to COVID-19 pandemic

UNCG CAMPUS & NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Nov 2020- Coordinator of Greensboro Science Pub
Present  MC for science pub monthly evening programs
 Assist in talent scouting for new science pub speakers
Jun 2019- Organizing Committee Member of ComSciCon Triangle Workshop 2020-21
Present  Responsible for talent recruitment at local North Carolina universities for
professional panelists
 Organized conference application content and alerted attendees of final
decisions
 Coordinated, ordered, and distributed conference gift items to
conference attendees
Mar 14th Outreach presenter at Jefferson Elementary School, Honey Bee Biology
2019  Prepared two-hour long presentation and interactive activities for 2 nd
graders to engage in
 Created educational and physically active events for students to mimic
honey bee lifestyle while learning about pollinator importance

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS

Aug 2019 - Member of the National Science Policy Network
Present
Jul 2019 - Member of the National Audubon Society and North Carolina Audubon Society
Present
Aug 2018- Member of UNCG Graduate Student Association
Present
Aug 2017- Member of the American Society for Microbiology
Present

PUBLISHED WRITING PIECES

May 2020 M.E. Damico “Pandemic Worsens Student Hunger Crisis” Greensboro News
and Record
https://www.greensboro.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/pandemic-worsens-
student-hunger-crisis/article_4da5418c-b995-5588-aaa5-915b2b4824df.html
August M.E. Damico “Science Policy Explained” National Science Policy Network
2020 Graduate Education Committee Website education.scipol.org

PRESS
Jun 2020 Audubon Flock Adapts Their Advocacy Efforts for (Virtual) Day at the Capital:
Audubon North Carolina’s first-ever virtual Advocacy Day met advocates and
lawmakers where they were, The National Audubon Society
https://www.audubon.org/news/audubon-flock-adapts-their-advocacy-efforts-
virtual-day-capital
Jun 2020 Student Advocates Help Make Advocacy Day a Success: Remote tools like
Zoom help young conservation leaders join Audubon North Carolina to engage in
advocacy, The National Audubon Society
 https://www.audubon.org/news/student-advocates-help-make-advocacy-day-
success
Jun 2019 Portrait of a Scientist Podcast: The Stories Behind Scientists from Academia to
Industry- Megan Damico and Lexi Hoopman
Oct 2017 Grand Valley State University Producing Honey, WWJ50 News Radio-Detroit
Oct 2017 It’s Time to Stock up on West Michigan Honey, Grand Rapids Magazine
Sept 2017 Students Harvest Hundreds of Pounds of Honey from Bees on Campus, GVNow
Magazine
Sept 2017 Students Harvest Hundreds of Pounds of Honey From Bees On Campus, WGVU
NPR Grand Rapids
Mar 2017 The “buzz” around honey bees, GVSU Lanthorn, Allendale MI
http://lanthorn.com/64618/news/news-tea-bees-and-beekeeping/