Eleanor Wachtel

Undergraduate Researcher

Eleanor is a second-year undergraduate in the Honors College at the University of Utah studying Biochemistry. In her freshman year, she participated in the U’s SRI program where she did work with seed genetics in the lab of Gary Drews.  She received a SPUR grant in the summer of 2022 to work in the Steffen Lab, where she studied nectar microbial composition before and after pollination. This strictly biological work interests Eleanor, but she also wanted to pursue a different lens of research, which is what drew her to the Elde Lab. She is currently working with lab post-doc, Katie Deets on research concerning the model species tetrahymena and how they react to virus exposure.

Eleanor has also been a Math tutor at the U’s Math center and is still considering a minor in Math. Beyond that, she loves the interdisciplinary approach of the Honors College, letting her break up a STEM-heavy schedule with history and literature classes. Eleanor is also a peer mentor in the Honors College where she leads a weekly discussion group for incoming freshman.  In her spare time she is usually outside, whether it is skiing, hiking, or going to the desert. She is also proudly a handler for the U’s competitive women’s ultimate frisbee team, Spiral Jetty. As a native of Columbia, South Carolina, she has thoroughly enjoyed the wildly different seasons Utah has to offer and loves having a reason to own a winter jacket!