Ainsley Skinner

Just days after walking across the Commencement stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in biology, Ainsley Skinner will board a plane bound for the Galápagos Islands — a fitting postscript to a college experience defined by scientific exploration, global learning and personal growth.

The two-week trip, led by biology professors Jennifer Fish and Alison Hamilton, is the final chapter of a semester-long course on evolution and development in the Galápagos. For Skinner, who has spent much of her undergraduate career immersed in evolutionary biology research, the chance to walk in the footsteps of Charles Darwin is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.

“These islands have changed our understanding of biology and populations as we know it — and now we’re actually going there,” says Skinner, an Honors College student from Littleton, Massachusetts. “Seeing some of the organisms that we’ve learned about, the marine iguana and all these animals endemic to the islands, will be amazing.”

At UMass Lowell, Skinner’s passion for science thrived in both the classroom and the lab. Under the mentorship of Associate Professor Natalie Steinel, she conducted research on the threespine stickleback fish — a key emerging model in evolutionary immunology.

With the support of a $1,500 Honors College Student Fellowship, Skinner explored the fish’s gills as an immunological organ, offering new insight into how adaptive immunity may have evolved in vertebrates. Her work ultimately became the foundation for her honors thesis.

“Professor Steinel has been incredible. She gave me the tools and the confidence to pursue real research,” says Skinner, who also spent a summer in the lab as a Kennedy College Science Scholar.  

Skinner was active in the Biology Research Club and the Disability Advisory Committee, where she helped promote accessibility and inclusion on campus.

“I struggled with learning in high school due to anxiety and ADHD, until I got the help I needed,” she says. “There's a lot of resources on campus that I want to make sure that students are aware of, because I know they really helped me.” 

As a junior, she received scholarships from the Honors and Kennedy Colleges to study abroad in Cuba — an experience that left a lasting impact.

“The people are very poor — I think the average monthly salary is about $20 — but they were some of the nicest and happiest people I've ever met,” she says.

As Skinner looks ahead to life after graduation, whether in ecology, biotech or graduate school, she is confident in the foundation she has built at UML.

“I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned and experienced here,” she says. “This trip to the Galápagos is definitely the cherry on top.”