Jordyn Radke was ready to move back to Canada.

Then the University of Arkansas at Little Rock offered the long-distance runner a scholarship. While considering her options, Radke noticed a comforting detail about Little Rock: It had a hockey rink where she could play in her spare time.

Rather than leave the country, Radke transferred to UALR from a university in Tennessee.

She doesn’t regret the decision.

Radke, who competed in track and cross-country, finished her undergraduate coursework, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology in December of 2011. After working in a local laboratory for about a year, she re-enrolled at UALR to pursue her master’s degree in molecular biology, a degree she’s on pace to earn this month.

“I’ve always been interested in the medical side of biology,” said Radke, who also worked as a teaching assistant at the university.

During her graduate studies, she studied the genome differences of two varieties of tomatoes — one that was nutrient rich but not commercially viable because of its low yield and another that was a good producer.

The research has potential to improve human nutritional health.

“We were interested in how these plants responded to changes in light intensity,” said her faculty adviser, Dr. Stephen Grace, associate professor of biology. “Jordyn really did some amazing stuff.”

She used advanced techniques like next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to compare and relate the plant chemistry to the genes that were responsible for the differences.

“We’re still finding things in her data that we didn’t expect,” Grace said.

An impressive result of Radke’s work is that researchers involved think they found the genes responsible for high concentrations of the red pigment lycopene in one of the tomato varieties.

Lycopene has been linked to numerous health benefits, and researchers think it might reduce the risk of some types of cancer.

That discovery could eventually lead to the introduction of better crops.

Grace said he has no doubt that Radke’s work will be published in peer-reviewed science journals.

“It was definitely something I think she should be proud of,” Grace said. “I think it’s going to make people notice the excellent research going on at UALR.”

At first, though, Radke wasn’t sure the project was a good fit for her future plans.

“I didn’t really see the connection between human and plant (research), initially,” Radke said.

However, Grace helped her discover that the genome study process is similar for plants and humans, and the type of lab research Radke was doing prepared her for the career she was seeking.

Even before her expected December graduation, Radke secured a job as a toxicologist with the Arkansas State Crime Lab, a full-time position she started in August.

People who only think of a biology major as a pathway to teaching or future medical studies are missing out on some fascinating possibilities, Radke said.

She encourages undergraduate students to spend as much time in a lab as they can, because that research can open doors for them.

“It was such a positive experience,” she said.

As was the case with Radke, Grace said, graduate work also has the potential to lead to some great career opportunities.