It takes a colorful guy to study parrot feathers, but Max Schroeder is just quirky enough to fit the bill. As one of the few undergrads answering tough questions in the field of avian research, Schroeder is primed to fly high as the next great bird expert

 

While other students may dismiss avian research as, er, for the birds, Schroeder is making award-winning strides in his undergraduate research on bird feather immune defenses. And though his choice of disciplines may seem on the esoteric side, Schroeder says he gets excited about avian research because it’s largely uncharted territory.

 

“You’re asking something unknown,” the polite, quick-witted, straight-A student says in a phone interview. “No one else knows the answer.”

 

Three years into his degree, Schroeder’s C.V. already stands out. Besides working on three papers for publication in scientific journals, Schroeder has traveled to multiple conferences to share his research, including the North American Ornithology Conference in 2006.

 

While helping another student with a project Schroeder independently found a means to speed up measurement of bacterial feather decay through a new protein analysis method last summer. This could have serious implications for how any scientist studies feathers. Ed Burtt, Schroeder’s academic mentor and a zoology professor at Wesleyan, says all these accomplishments are remarkable for a student who is only a junior.

 

“He’s outstanding, really outstanding,” Burtt says, “and quite personable too.”

 

How did Schroeder become so bird brained? When he was in high school in Cleveland, he read two bio-thrillers by Richard Preston, The Hot Zone and Devil in the Freezer, which encouraged him to think about how life works on a microscopic level.

 

“I’ve always been interested in medicine and helping people; research more than clinical work,” Schroeder says. Leaving the nest and winging to Ohio Wesleyan, a short trip from his home—and, luckily, not too far from the field where his beloved Cleveland Indians play— was the perfect chance for him to dig into the field.

 

Schroeder received fliers about the Avian Microbiology Research Program at Wesleyan before his freshman year but paid them little mind. “I thought that it was not something I would be interested in and dismissed it,” Schroeder says.

 

But after a professor and a fellow student recommended the program, Schroeder took Burtt’s honors tutorial the spring of freshman year. That class offered research experience, and Schroeder’s interest in birds piqued. One Saturday morning a month, the class went to Burtt’s house, caught birds in the field and sampled their feathers for microbes.

 

Through research projects arranged around the school year and summer, Schroeder has investigated feathers’ properties, such as preening oil, a secretion that may defend many birds against bacteria (Schroeder compares it to humans washing their hands).

 

Schroeder has also found that red pigment within parrot feathers may protect the feathers from bacteria. Scientists believe that bright feathers attract mates, but they may also serve another purpose: to protect against disease. Schroeder is writing an article about this with two professors to be submitted to a journal this summer.

 

Schroeder now serves as an assistant to that first freshman seminar where he became so interested in avian microbiology, an inspiration to the young scientists clawing at the unknown. Schroeder will pursue a PhD in microbiology after college but is not certain where his research will take him. Already an undergrad high flier, he should find success wherever he lands.

 

 

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