Biography:
Justin Bernstein is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History.
"I am a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History (and an incoming assistant professor at Slippery Rock University)! My research interests lie in determining how species diversity and distribution patterns have changed over time and what extrinsic processes and intrinsic phenomena have led to these changes. I use snakes as a model system to test hypotheses regarding speciation scenarios and investigate biodiversity patterns. While my research primarily relies on genomic data, I also incorporate environmental and morphological data for an integrative approach. My work focuses on taxa from Southeast Asia, a region with continental and oceanic islands with complex geological histories shaped by tectonic events, sea level fluctuations, shifts in ocean currents, and paleoriver dynamics. By studying these taxonomic and geographic systems, I highlight how geological processes—such as tectonic shifts and paleoriver catchment events—and evolutionary phenomena, including introgression, coevolution, and selection, have shaped present-day faunal assemblages."
What first inspired you to pursue research or STEM?
I believe that STEM helps to understand and preserve the things around us we take for granted. Biodiversity, nature and wildlife, landscapes, outdoors activities, and the many resources we use are things we all enjoy, but not many understand how all of these are being impacted by current threats of global change. Understanding how species evolve and what species we share this planet with are the first steps to determining how we can best preserve biodiversity. In addition, educating others and equally providing resources and opportunities are needed within STEM and the places we work. I aim to help fill these gaps and mentor the current and upcoming generations on biodiversity/evolutionary research though my own work.
How did you find your first research opportunity?
I got into a Masters program at Villanova University, in which my advisor was a leading researcher in herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles) and systematics (evolutionary work). This was my first open door into research and I never turned back!
What was the biggest challenge you faced entering the research world?
One of the most difficult parts of entering research is the fact that not everyone learns and absorbs information in the same way, and not everyone mentors and teaches in the same manner as well. Thus, the approach a mentor takes may not be conducive to a particular student's learning. Navigating these types of relationships (mentor-mentee) can be a bit of a dance to identify what works best for both parties. Additionally, the research world can be very high pressure at times. Identifying how to best allocate your time (for your career AND personal life/health), find colleagues that you work well with and trust, and understanding how to be and remain ethical and moral within the research world takes time, practice, and guidance as well.
What surprised you most about working in a research environment?
The freedom - yes, there are a multitude of factors that can serve as limitations and sometimes these limitations are very institution- or location-dependent. However, I was amazing to see that we can often explore our own ideas and develop a path for ourselves that targets our own research interests. It is something that stems from our own natural curiosity, and to have this be a career is incredible. I also was equally surprised to see how few outside of research understand how research is done. Now, this is something that does not surprise me, so I believe that scientific communication is critical to bridge the general public's understanding of what research is being done, who is doing that research, when research can be trusted (was it done ethically, morally, and correctly?).
Can you share a meaningful moment or accomplishment from your experience?
My most meaningful moments or accomplishments of my research experience has not been publishing my work, it has been the mentoring of students. I have had the fortunate opportunity to mentor a number of students both locally and internationally. I have watched these students develop skills that allow them to conduct their own research, publish their findings, and develop transferrable and personal skills that have brought them into the next phases of their careers. I have developed a strong bond with these students and found that my mentoring did not just impact their careers, but shaped who they are as individuals. I had a student once who had told me that our work together was one of the only safe places that they could be themselves, and it really taught me that what we do is not just about our career or our passions, sometimes it is about life itself and how it can change lives.
What advice would you give to high school students hoping to get involved in research?
Dive in! Understand that this will be something that requires work, effort, endurance, and without a doubt some stubbornness. However, it is part of the process and it gives you the opportunity to engage with a topic in a certain way that not many others are able to or have the opportunity to. Find a mentor who is working on something you align with and ask how you can get involved and learn. From there, it can snowball into a wonderful, educational experience and may open up more doors to other opportunities!
How has your research experience shaped your goals or identity as a scientist/student?
My research experience has brought me around the world. I have international collaborations in 8 different countries and I have visited these countries for field work or institutional visits. Through my travels, I have come to understand the gaps that are present in our field. Not just in the science itself, but the dispersal of resources, opportunities, and knowledge. In my more recent years as a scientist, I aim to help fill in the gaps we have in the field and provide opportunities and resources where it is needed (or needed more) to create collaborative dynamics and potential for growth and development outside of the intellectual questions of the field of science I am in.
If you had to describe your research experience in three words, what would they be?
Invigorating, collaborative, and fun!
Note: Consent was received to sharing full name and position