Employee Spotlight: Abby Novak

Meet ORAU employee Abby Novak. Abby is an ORAU contractor working under the National Student Services Contract (NSSC) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As an Avian Toxicology Technician in Duluth, MN, Abby supports EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) along with the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division (GLTED). Abby’s work with both CCTE and GLTED is critical to support the laboratory's research and technical assistance missions.

CCTE provides the science needed to understand the potential effects on non-human species of exposure to environmental contaminants. Within CCTE, GLTED focuses on the development of quantitative laboratory, field, and mathematical methods for predicting exposure to and effects of environmental contaminants.

Abby’s work involves performing quality analysis checks on the MCnest dataset. The dataset is a collection of life history and reproductive measures from a variety of North American bird species. Information from the database will be used alongside both EcoTox data and the lab’s field data as input for the MCnest model to predict reproductive outcomes in populations under stress from environmental contaminants. In addition, Abby is learning how to use R, helping to take biological samples from raptors, and assisting with a variety of side projects.

When asked what her favorite part of working at EPA has been so far, Abby said, “I enjoy summer fieldwork, especially collecting aquatic invertebrates because I like being in the water with waders and seeing all the cool creatures that we find. I’m looking forward to doing more of that next summer. I’m also having a great time learning to handle and take biological samples from raptors at Hawk Ridge.”

Background

Abby graduated from the University of Minnesota in Duluth, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She also minored in psychology. The academic experiences that led her to EPA include 1) her AP Biology class in high school. She realized during this class she wanted a career in bioscience 2) She spent her senior year of high school at the School of Environmental Studies, where the entire curriculum incorporated environmental teachings and 3) during her time at UMD, she worked on several research projects which helped her realize that she is most passionate about wildlife and ecology, especially field research.

Fun Facts:  Abby enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, and camping, as well as road trips to explore national parks and other natural areas. She especially likes to spot wildlife on her explorations. Other hobbies she enjoys are drawing, canoeing, spending time with her friends and pets, reading, and playing Wii. She is currently learning to whittle wood. She also once crawled inside an abandoned wolf den, which was full of porcupine spines.