Rising star: University researcher achieves firsts in sea star research
July 9, 2024
![juvenile six rayed sea stars](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_1440x564/public/images/LeptasteriasDevelopment_1200x700.jpeg?h=93c8ae4a&itok=twxfFgIm)
Photo Credit:
Berenice Baca
With faculty support, a student expands class project into a graduate research project.
It’s not often that one gets to throw starfish a birthday party. Some species — like the six-rayed sea star Leptasterias — are notoriously difficult to keep alive in the lab, making even first birthdays a rarity. So when San Francisco State University researcher Berenice Baca achieved the seemingly impossible feat of raising Leptasterias specimens for an entire year, her lab made sure to celebrate.