A research scientist’s role is to design, carry out and analyse the results of scientific experiments in order to increase our understanding of a certain research topic. In my role, I use DNA metabarcoding, observational and review-based techniques to understand the foraging preferences of pollinating insects, including bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies. Pollen is collected from the body of the insect and the plant DNA extracted in the lab and sent off for sequencing, to find out which plant species are being visited by the pollinator.
