The Harvard Gazette recently featured Bellono Lab research on piranha feeding habits in an article titled “They’re less terrifying than you think — but still, those teeth”. The piranha research, led by research assistant Peter Kilian and interns from Northeastern University, centers on how the toothy fish behave while feeding in groups.
Visitors to the Bellono Lab got to meet the piranhas in person during the lab’s Open House in March. The Open House attendees included students and staff alike, and staff members whose backgrounds aren’t in science, had the opportunity to learn about the lab’s research at a poster session after the tour. “We received a lot of feedback after the event, and MCB scientists as well as non-scientists really enjoyed having the opportunity to come and see our unique research organisms and how we care for and house them–and most importantly, when they could come back again,” says Bellono Lab manager Brittany Walsh.
“Having an audience of extended MCB community members helps us see the bigger picture of what we are accomplishing as a lab,” Kilian adds. “I loved talking to everyone that came to the open house and shared ideas and questions about our experiments. Making our research accessible to the broader Harvard community serves to help us improve our work and view our research through different points of view that we may not have considered before.”
