One of Morgan Merrill-McNeal's dearest passions has always been pigeons. After taking a deep dive into the world of feral pigeons—in fact taking care of them in various locations—they learned that their feathers are incredible bioindicators. Armed with this knowledge, they began to wonder what pigeons could tell us about pollutants.

For a long time Merrill-McNeal has worried about the state of microplastics in our environment and how many of them we may ingest without even knowing it, so, when they applied for a research grant with the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), the proposal developed naturally. They decided to use their special interest, pigeons, to research microplastic exposure and the immediate environment's impact on consumption.

Merrill-McNeal's Science Research Initiative (SRI) classes and SRI internship experience prepared them for this experiment, but hands-on experience played just as much of a role. They began this program with knowledge in chemistry, polymerase chain reaction, pigeon behavior and writing and research skills. However, through the program they learned new lab management skills, processes specific to chemical labs, public speaking skills and how to do better scientific and creative writing. They also learned how to put together scientific papers, research proposals and posters.

Occasionally things went wrong—Merrill-McNeil's test tubes sometimes exploded in the incubator, leading to reliance on organic solvent extraction instead of enzymatic hydrolysis—but they insist these setbacks were never in vain. Reflecting on advice they were given during the program, Merrill-McNeil said, “Even when things are going wrong, you still have something, and you've come so much farther than you thought you would.”

Merrill-McNeil encourages research-curious undergraduates to always apply for all opportunities available. “Even if you don't get in, the only thing you've lost is a little time,” they said. “And if you do get in, it could be groundbreaking—if not for the entire world of science, at least for you.” This study, for example, has never been done before, and Merrill-McNeil thinks it could be a gateway study that leads to a deeper understanding of microplastic exposure.