Our Mission
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In 2018, the UW Microphiles Club started an undergraduate microbiology journal to showcase the diversity of microbiology to all audiences while providing an opportunity for students to develop their skills in scientific writing. Thanks to outstanding work on the part of the entire team, the 5th issue is available online, the 6th issue and beyond will be physically printed, and Microphiles will continue hosting its annual Night with Microbiology Showcase Event!
The future of this journal is up to us. The Microphiles Journal is committed to providing support for those who wish to learn more about microbiology or team up to create, write, illustrate and design a microbiology journal. It's a great opportunity to get involved with the community, develop your ability to communicate your findings, and strengthen your resume. We welcome freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and you do not have to be a microbiology major to participate! |
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Letter from the Editor 2024-2025
Dear Reader,
We are thrilled to present the seventh issue of the Microphiles Journal! Microphiles continues to be a place where students can develop their scientific skills and their passion for microbiology simultaneously, and the improvement in each student’s writings and illustrations has been evident over the course of the year. We are proud to provide a low-stakes space for undergraduates to explore their interests, as well as to create a greater sense of community with students from a wide array of experience, levels, and disciplines.
We had many goals for our team this year, from general professional development to issue-specific aims–such as honing in time management, accountability, and leadership skills, to prioritizing inclusivity, intersectionality, and accessibility in each article. We can confidently say that, with the dedication and commitment from our incredible team, we have improved in each of these missions. As you read this year’s edition, you will see pieces of our character embedded within each page.
This edition is a piece of everyone who has granted it a second of their time, and it reflects your love for knowledge as much as it reflects your capacity to do difficult things. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all for the patience and hard work you have put in, and we hope our paths cross with you once again.
The Microphiles Journal could not have come into existence without the efforts of Dr. Karen Thickman, our faculty advisor for as long as this journal has been alive. Dr. Thickman, your commitment to furthering undergraduate curiosity, exploration, and success is heart-warming at least and positively life-changing at best. You have shown us another, often unspoken, side to the responsibility an educator holds, one that goes beyond ensuring retention of information and extends into encouraging ambition, dreams, and curiosity. We could not have hosted an event as large as our Night with Microbiology without you, and we hope to employ the lessons we’ve learned from you in all our future endeavors as mentors and role models.
Lastly, to our Lead Editor, Lisel Shyam, our Lead Illustrator, Esther Wang, and our Lead Publisher, Chan Loui: We have been shot with an arrow of fortune to work with you this year. Thank you for your ingenuity, your ideas, your flexibility, and your humor. Thank you for the countless hours you have poured into creating this edition, this incredible team, and this unforgettable bond. Words cannot express our gratitude enough, and we believe that next year’s edition can only be strengthened by your skills.
We have a range of incredible articles for you to read, ranging from bacterial altruism to the emergence of a novel endosymbiotic organelle to the future of synthetic life, and with each sentence, you will learn too about the brilliant people who have worked with us this year. Thank you for picking up this year’s edition of Microphiles, and we hope you cannot put it down.
Yours,
Lucia Jiang & Harini Vijay
Co-Editors in Chief
We are thrilled to present the seventh issue of the Microphiles Journal! Microphiles continues to be a place where students can develop their scientific skills and their passion for microbiology simultaneously, and the improvement in each student’s writings and illustrations has been evident over the course of the year. We are proud to provide a low-stakes space for undergraduates to explore their interests, as well as to create a greater sense of community with students from a wide array of experience, levels, and disciplines.
We had many goals for our team this year, from general professional development to issue-specific aims–such as honing in time management, accountability, and leadership skills, to prioritizing inclusivity, intersectionality, and accessibility in each article. We can confidently say that, with the dedication and commitment from our incredible team, we have improved in each of these missions. As you read this year’s edition, you will see pieces of our character embedded within each page.
- To our Writers, who have explored beyond their comfort zone the topics they would otherwise not have the time to give thought to, we are in awe of your intellectual curiosity.
- To our Editors, who have painstakingly spent time breaking down each sentence and know these articles as well as they know their own minds, you inspire us to likewise chase improvement in everything we do.
- To our Illustrators, who breathe air into each edition, we are honored to guide and bring to fruition ideas that we could only dream of.
- To our Publishers, who bring the whole puzzle together in a kaleidoscope of artistry, creativity, and passion, you show us that there is beauty in collaboration.
- To our Graduate Editors, who have treated this journal with the same priority they treat their research, you have shown us the joys of mentorship that we hope to embody in our own careers.
This edition is a piece of everyone who has granted it a second of their time, and it reflects your love for knowledge as much as it reflects your capacity to do difficult things. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all for the patience and hard work you have put in, and we hope our paths cross with you once again.
The Microphiles Journal could not have come into existence without the efforts of Dr. Karen Thickman, our faculty advisor for as long as this journal has been alive. Dr. Thickman, your commitment to furthering undergraduate curiosity, exploration, and success is heart-warming at least and positively life-changing at best. You have shown us another, often unspoken, side to the responsibility an educator holds, one that goes beyond ensuring retention of information and extends into encouraging ambition, dreams, and curiosity. We could not have hosted an event as large as our Night with Microbiology without you, and we hope to employ the lessons we’ve learned from you in all our future endeavors as mentors and role models.
Lastly, to our Lead Editor, Lisel Shyam, our Lead Illustrator, Esther Wang, and our Lead Publisher, Chan Loui: We have been shot with an arrow of fortune to work with you this year. Thank you for your ingenuity, your ideas, your flexibility, and your humor. Thank you for the countless hours you have poured into creating this edition, this incredible team, and this unforgettable bond. Words cannot express our gratitude enough, and we believe that next year’s edition can only be strengthened by your skills.
We have a range of incredible articles for you to read, ranging from bacterial altruism to the emergence of a novel endosymbiotic organelle to the future of synthetic life, and with each sentence, you will learn too about the brilliant people who have worked with us this year. Thank you for picking up this year’s edition of Microphiles, and we hope you cannot put it down.
Yours,
Lucia Jiang & Harini Vijay
Co-Editors in Chief
Letter from the Editor 2023-2024
I am incredibly happy to present the sixth issue of the Microphiles Journal, our largest and greatest issue yet! Each year, the Microphiles Journal is proud to present a fully student-run and created collection of works, and I can proudly say that I believe this issue to be our best yet—we had an unprecedented number of students on our team, as well as more articles than ever before. The Microphiles Journal continues to be a place where students can develop their scientific skills and their passion for microbiology simultaneously, and the improvement in each student’s writings and illustrations has been evident over the course of the year. We are proud to provide a low-stakes space for undergraduates to explore their interests, as well as to create a greater sense of community with students from a wide array of experience levels and disciplines.
This year, we have been able to extend our journal reach to greater lengths than ever before. For the first time since the pandemic, we have re-established official Registered Student Organization (RSO) status and held in-person meetings, proving our dedication to building and transforming the journal with each year that continues. Additionally, through greater use of social media platforms and advertising, we were able to garner interest from undergraduates across the UW and received over 50 applications to the journal team, more than ever before.
This year’s issue of the journal would not have been possible without our incredible undergraduate members. To our writers, whose personal passions are visible in their writing, to our editors, who helped refine and develop each piece you see here, to our illustrators, whose stellar artistry brings this journal to life, and to our publishers, who brought everyone’s work together more beautifully than we could have imagined, I want to extend a huge thank you. It is with these individuals’ hard work and dedication that we are able to present such an outstanding product, and I am proud of every single one of them for the commitment they have shown not only to the journal but to their teams. Our undergraduates have truly used this opportunity to build connections with each other, encouraging their teammates to be the best writers and illustrators they can be.
Furthermore, I want to thank our RSO advisor, Karen Thickman, for her endless guidance and help in facilitating this journal throughout the years, as well as our wonderful graduate editors for volunteering their free time to advise our undergraduate writers. Finally, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to our 2023-2024 student leads, Grace Wallen, Jessica Wang, Lucia Jiang, and Olivia Yau, who were each vital in managing and creating an issue that we are all immensely proud of. Without this wonderful team, I cannot imagine having put out this amazing product, and I am so happy to have had them by my side in this process.
This year’s group of undergraduate writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers has put in an immense amount of time and dedication to make this issue the best that it can be, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Shima Shaporifar
Editor-in-Chief
This year, we have been able to extend our journal reach to greater lengths than ever before. For the first time since the pandemic, we have re-established official Registered Student Organization (RSO) status and held in-person meetings, proving our dedication to building and transforming the journal with each year that continues. Additionally, through greater use of social media platforms and advertising, we were able to garner interest from undergraduates across the UW and received over 50 applications to the journal team, more than ever before.
This year’s issue of the journal would not have been possible without our incredible undergraduate members. To our writers, whose personal passions are visible in their writing, to our editors, who helped refine and develop each piece you see here, to our illustrators, whose stellar artistry brings this journal to life, and to our publishers, who brought everyone’s work together more beautifully than we could have imagined, I want to extend a huge thank you. It is with these individuals’ hard work and dedication that we are able to present such an outstanding product, and I am proud of every single one of them for the commitment they have shown not only to the journal but to their teams. Our undergraduates have truly used this opportunity to build connections with each other, encouraging their teammates to be the best writers and illustrators they can be.
Furthermore, I want to thank our RSO advisor, Karen Thickman, for her endless guidance and help in facilitating this journal throughout the years, as well as our wonderful graduate editors for volunteering their free time to advise our undergraduate writers. Finally, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to our 2023-2024 student leads, Grace Wallen, Jessica Wang, Lucia Jiang, and Olivia Yau, who were each vital in managing and creating an issue that we are all immensely proud of. Without this wonderful team, I cannot imagine having put out this amazing product, and I am so happy to have had them by my side in this process.
This year’s group of undergraduate writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers has put in an immense amount of time and dedication to make this issue the best that it can be, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Shima Shaporifar
Editor-in-Chief
