Tauras Vilgalys: Advancing Through Research
Recent biology graduate Tauras Vilgalys is now at Duke University, pursuing his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Anthropology – a rigorous academic track that can take upwards of six years to complete.
While such a program may seem daunting to some, Tauras feels that his time at Loyola Marymount University prepared him for what lies ahead.
As Tauras explained, the experience he gained doing research at LMU is what gave him both the self-assurance and skills to succeed in the competitive graduate program. Due to his strong background at the undergraduate level, Tauras’ studies at Duke come fully funded and with a handsome stipend.
“I’ve always had a great interest in genetics, human behavior and evolutionary fitness,” Tauras said. “And I very much want to try to better understand human evolution.”
His wide range of experiences includes everything from working with coastal reef sharks to forest fires. But Tauras says none of these experiences would have been possible without the help of funding he learned of through LMU.
“LMU has helped me discover what I want to do with my life in a way that I’m not sure would have occurred had I attended a different school,” Tauras said.
The Seattle native says he was attracted to LMU because of the research opportunities it offered and its selective honors program. During his time at LMU, he was accepted into the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates.
“The possibility of being able to do four years of research was very appealing to me,” Tauras said,” not to mention being the lead on my own projects.”
Outside of his classwork, Tauras was active in a number of extracurricular activities, including Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit Honors Society), Ultimate Frisbee Club, the Biological Honors Society, and he says that he enjoyed taking critical and creative arts classes where he was able to approach things outside his usual scientific perspective.
“I developed great relationships and had some wonderful defining experiences at LMU,” Tauras said.
Looking ahead, Tauras says his goal is to one day be on tenure track at a Research I University, doing more research.
Tauras sums up his time at LMU in true scientific fashion, short and sweet: “Busy, wonderful, quick.”