People Behind the Science Podcast

By Dr. Marie McNeelyScience

People Behind the Science Podcast episodes

October 21, 2019 524: Dr. Elizabeth Haswell: Researching How Plant Cells Sense and Respond to Internal Forces
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Dr. Elizabeth Haswell is a Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-Simons Faculty Scholar. She received her B.S. degree in biochemistry from the University of Washington and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco. Afterwards, Liz conducted postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology before joining the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis where she remains today. In addition to being named an HHMI-Simons Faculty Scholar, Liz received a National Science Foundation Early Faculty Career Development (CAREER) Award. In our interview she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:14)
In her free time, Liz enjoys traveling, hiking, hanging out with her family, and reading. She also co-hosts a plant biology podcast called The Taproot.
The Scientific Side (5:59)
Liz’s research examines how the molecules, cells, and tissues within plants can sense and respond to forces. In particular, she studies a type of proteins that is really sensitive to mechanical signals called mechanosensitive ion channels. Liz is working to understand how mechanosensitive ion channels sense and respond to internal forces within plant cells, such as turgor pressure (i.e. the water pressure within cells).
A Dose of Motivation (7:29)
“Do science out of curiosity and delight, not for status and productivity.” – Ellen Daniell
“The culture of overwork is just the patriarchy trying to keep you down.”
What Got You Hooked on Science? (12:06)
Though they weren’t scientists, both of Liz’s parents worked as academics at Washington State University. Liz grew up in a house full of books in a small college town, and she was able to travel with her parents when they went on sabbatical every seven years. From an early age, she thought she would go into academia. There was a brief period in high school where Liz wanted to be an interior decorator, but taking her first biology class sparked her love for biology. Liz was able to take some classes at Washington State University, and she realized that she wanted to do scientific research. When started her freshman year in college, Liz put her CV in the mailbox of every faculty member in the Biology Department, hoping to be hired to work in a lab. A new professor hired Liz to help set up his laboratory, and through his research, Liz’s passion for plant science was cemented.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (21:33)
As a postdoctoral fellow, Liz had a very tough time identifying a productive project. She was transitioning from working with a relatively simple, unicellular yeast to working with more complex, multicellular plants. This was a big change, and she didn’t appreciate how much longer the timelines for all of her experiments would need to be in this new organism. Liz experienced multiple major failures where she had to completely scrap her project and start over on something completely new. It took 3-4 years before she finally found a project that worked. This was extremely demoralizing, and she had to battle through thoughts that maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a scientist. In addition, when Liz started her faculty position, she didn’t publish any papers for four years. Her projects were working, but she had started multiple projects, and each took a long time to get going. At the time, Liz didn’t really appreciate that scientific journal articles were critical for her to be successful in getting grants and being awarded tenure. She was attracted to the ideal of publishing one really big paper, rather than thinking strategically about publishing a few smaller papers as well to keep her publication record going.
A Shining Success! (27:08)
About two years ago, Liz decided she wanted to incorporate mathematical modeling into her research. This decision was motivated in part by new grant requirements for quantitative computational analyses, but Liz was also really excited to try applying modeling to her research questions. She attended a Cell Modeling Hackathon held at the University of California San Francisco where she met a lot of expert modelers. While there, Liz tried to sell them on the biological problems she was working on and how they could be amenable to modeling. She also sought a collaboration with a fellow faculty member at Washington University who worked in the Physics Department, and she was able to recruit a graduate student interested in working in this area. Recently, one of the modeling projects Liz proposed was funded! She is proud to have developed a new area of research in her lab, formed excellent collaborations, and received financial support to pursue the project.
Book Recommendations (3:24, 7:36)
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell, The Overstory by Richard Powers, Every other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists by Ellen Daniell
Most Treasured Travel (29:49)
This past July, Liz travelled to Glasgow, Scotland to attend a scientific meeting. She arrived a week before the conference began with her husband and 9-year-old daughter. They had an amazing time hiking a portion of the West Highland Way trail. The scenery was beautiful, the people were wonderful, and the weather was great. After their week-long hiking excursion, Liz’s husband and daughter went home, and she was able to fully immerse herself in science at the meeting.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (31:57)
In graduate school, Liz and her labmates would report their progress from the past week in their weekly lab meeting. Before each lab meeting, they would get together to pick a weird word that everyone had to work into their short presentation. They never told their advisor about this tradition, and it was hilarious to see how everyone worked the secret word into their presentation. In her own research lab, they go out for a lab dinner every time a paper is published. They also plan a lab retreat every summer at Liz’s cabin and have lab holiday parties.
Advice For Us All (37:32)
Slowing down and working carefully will save you so much time in the long run. When you are frustrated with a problem, stop and listen to advice from others. Also, don’t let anyone tell you who or what you should be as a scientist. There are so many different kinds of scientists in the world.
Guest Bio
Liz and her research group are working to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which plants perceive force, with a particular focus on mechanosensitive ion channels. Liz is a Reviewing Editor for The Plant Cell, the Director of Research for the NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, an AAAS Council Delegate in Biological Sciences, and serves on both the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee and the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee. As part of her mission to advocate for an academic culture that values sustainability, diversity, and authenticity, she co-founded and co-hosts the Taproot Podcast–which “digs beneath the surface of a recent publication in plant biology to tell the story behind the science”. The Taproot is currently in the midst of its fourth season. She and her husband Greg love to hike, cook, and travel with their spicy 9-year-old daughter Maia.
The post 524: Dr. Elizabeth Haswell: Researching How Plant Cells Sense and Respond to Internal Forces appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
42 min
October 14, 2019 523: Dr. Karen Daniels: Physicist Figuring Out How Materials Deform and Fail
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Dr. Karen Daniels is a Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. She received her BA in physics from Dartmouth College. Karen then worked for about three years as a science teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn before enrolling in graduate school at Cornell University where she earned her PhD in physics. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Duke University before joining the faculty at NCSU in 2005. Karen has been awarded a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to support a yearlong sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany. In addition, Karen was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the Equity for Women Award from NCSU, and the LeRoy and Elva Martin Award for Teaching Excellence. She has also been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:27)
Travel is a passion for Karen. While traveling, she loves hiking on mountain trails, eating delicious food, discovering new foods that she can try to make at home, reading books, knitting, and interacting with new people and places.
The Scientific Side (5:45)
Karen’s lab investigates the physics of how materials change state (e.g. from solid to fluid), how they deform, and how they may ultimately fail. She studies these questions across a variety of length and time scales, from microscopic phenomena that occur in less than a second to shifts in land that occur on geologic timescales and may lead to landslides.
A Dose of Motivation (7:38)
“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
What Got You Hooked on Science? (11:59)
Growing up with parents and relatives working in STEM fields, Karen always knew what science and doing lab work were like. She had a fantastic opportunity early on to participate in a science program for young students at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In the program, Karen learned how to do experiments and keep a lab notebook. She and a friend had fun doing experiments on Venus flytraps, and Karen felt like she was doing real science. Karen’s dad worked for IBM, and she started learning computer programming on the family computer when she was in grade school. By middle school, she became more interested in her uncle’s microbiology research. Karen started an experiment at school with bacteria and agar plates, but the awful smell of the bacteria led her to end the experiment early. Her interests in physics were piqued in high school when Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time came out. With her interests in science and math, Karen decided to pursue engineering in college. She started by taking a few physics classes, and she ended up enjoying physics so much that she never made it over to the engineering department. In college, Karen worked on a variety of interesting research projects, but she didn’t know what she wanted to do when she graduated. One of her older friends had recently found a great job teaching after having a bad experience and leaving graduate school. Karen decided to become a science teacher. After teaching for a few years, Karen realized she wanted to try graduate school because there were so many questions that students asked that she couldn’t answer.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:37)
The first year of graduate school was really hard for Karen. As a graduate student, you are asked to solve more difficult mathematical problems than you have ever tried to solve before, and there is a lot at stake. One of her assigned faculty mentors was Professor David Lee, who had recently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He saw her walking down the hallway one day looking absolutely terrible. When he asked how things were going, she answered honestly that they weren’t going well. She was staying up late to do problem sets, struggling to get through them, and she was really concerned that taking three years off to teach resulted in her forgetting how to do higher level math. Karen wasn’t sure she was going to be able to make it through graduate school. He told her that he knew exactly what she meant. He had taken time away from his early academic career to fight in the U.S. Armed Forces. When he came back after serving his country, he had the exact same feeling. For Karen, hearing this meant a lot. It convinced her that even though things were hard, they were not impossible.
A Shining Success! (26:39)
Some of Karen’s favorite successes are the small wins you experience when you are working on a tough problem, and you finally figure out a solution. For example, Karen had been struggling with a difficult theoretical problem for a while. While she was practicing cello with her community orchestra, she had an ah-ha moment where she figured out the answer. During a long rest in the piece of music they were playing, Karen frantically scribbled her notes down on a piece of sheet music so she wouldn’t forget. Recently, she and a graduate student had spent over a year trying to make sense of the results from his experiments. The line on the graph had the opposite sign of what they were expecting, and they couldn’t figure out why. They checked the data analysis, the computer code, and everything else they could think of. After putting the project aside for a while, they discovered the explanation. The gel they were using swelled in a particular fluid, and this expansion of the material masked the effect they were looking for. It was really rewarding when they finally figured it out.
Book Recommendations (3:39)
Broken Earth Trilogy Series by N. K. Jemisin
Most Treasured Travel (28:53)
Karen had an amazing experience working on a project at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany on a year-long sabbatical. The city is steeped in scientific history, and it was phenomenal to walk in the footsteps of so many famous scientists who had been there. In addition, numerous high speed rail lines crossed in the center of Germany, so Karen and her husband were able to take a lot of weekend trips to see sights across Europe. The science was great, and the people were also remarkable. While talking about life and culture with her colleagues one day, the discussion turned to a particular German cheese that is created by immersing cheese in a wooden box full of flour and mites. While it was fascinating to learn about how the mites dry and preserve the cheese, Karen was also captivated by the fact that the mix of flour, cheese, and mites flowed like a fluid. She had to see it. Karen went on a road trip across Germany with a group of four other scientists to witness the spectacle in person. They explored the cheese museum, sampled the cheese, and examined the fluid properties of the material. This science-inspired road trip led Karen and her colleagues to write up a scientific paper describing how small mites wiggling around in a bed of grain can fluidize the material.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:30)
In Germany, there is a tradition where a person’s lab decorates their doctoral hat with things that represent their PhD. This hat is then presented to the new PhD to wear to the graduation ceremonies. Karen’s PhD advisor had received his PhD in Germany, and he brought this tradition to his lab. Karen and her labmates had fun decorating each other’s hats, and they thought they did a pretty impressive job on each hat. However, when Karen went to Göttingen, she saw how truly intricate and complex this hat decorating tradition could be. In some cases, students wore miniaturized working versions of a lab apparatus on their heads. These included pumps, lasers, and other complex instrumentation. Many of the hats had to be mounted on bike helmets so they could be supported and strapped on to the wearer’s head. This tradition is a fun way to bring creativity into celebrating all the hard work that goes into earning a PhD. In Karen’s current lab, they have a tradition of decorating a tunnel on campus called the Free Expression Tunnel. Graffiti is welcome on this structure, and they have fun painting a version of a student’s PhD experiments on the tunnel at the end of their PhD to celebrate.
Advice For Us All (37:36)
Try to think about the map of where you’ve been and where you’re going. Chart out a path to get you to your goal, but also be open to side paths that you may not even know exist right now. Some of these side paths are incredible opportunities. With a little planning, you can set yourself up for fortuitous circumstances. Also remember that you can continue being yourself while also being a successful scientist.
Guest Bio
Karen’s lab at NC State investigates a number of problems in the deformation and failure of materials, from fluid flows, to piles of sand, to fracturing gels. Her primary research areas focus on 1) modeling and analyzing forces in granular materials, 2) evaluating how networks control the properties of granular materials, 3) wetting and spreading in liquid metals and soft materials, and 4) uncovering the similarities and differences between conventional fluids, granular fluids, and active fluids. When not working with her students on experiments in the lab, she likes to spend time in the outdoors, which has led her to contemplate the implications of her research for geological and ecological systems.
Photo credit: Brand Fortner
The post 523: Dr. Karen Daniels: Physicist Figuring Out How Materials Deform and Fail appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
41 min
October 07, 2019 522: Dr. Edward Rebar: Generating Genomic Therapies to Treat Huntington’s Disease and Other Conditions
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Dr. Edward Rebar is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Sangamo Therapeutics. Ed earned his B.S. degree in biochemistry from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in biophysics and structural biology from MIT. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the team at Sangamo in 1998. In our interview, Ed shares more about his life and research.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (1:49)
When Ed isn’t at work, he loves being outside with his wife, going to local parks, and visiting National Parks. When walking around observing nature, he tries to understand the story behind what he sees. Ed particularly enjoys exploring and pondering the amazing rock formations in Southern Utah.
The Scientific Side (5:34)
Ed and the team at Sangamo are developing genomic medicines. They use different techniques including gene therapy, ex vivo genome editing (using cells sourced from outside the body), in vivo genome editing (using a patient’s own cells within their body), and in vivo targeted gene regulation to downregulate genes of interest.
A Dose of Motivation (7:18)
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Greek Proverb
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:38)
From a young age, Ed’s father encouraged him to develop and his thoughts and ideas. This has been very helpful in science. For Ed, science allowed him to explore things that were new, interesting, and cool. His interests guided him towards science throughout his school years, and they continue to guide the projects he pursues today. As Ed progressed through his career in science, he was drawn to the idea of being able to have an impact and help people. These goals led him to working in industry in a clinical research field.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (16:27)
In early graduate school, Ed encountered a major challenge. He was working on a new project, seemed to be doing things that made sense, but nothing worked. The project he was working on involved engineering zinc finger proteins (key for editing genes and modifying gene expression) by expressing them on the surface of a phage. Phages are viral vectors that can be used for genetic engineering. This was a completely new area of research, and no one had ever done this project before. Ed spent a lot of time trying to get the experiments to work, but it was extremely difficult. When an experiment failed, he came up with about 30 different things that might have gone wrong, and he had to systematically work through these to troubleshoot. Eventually, Ed managed to get the system to work, and he was able to use it for this thesis research.
A Shining Success! (19:47)
In recent years, it has been exciting to see the therapies they have developed translated to the clinic where they have potential to provide real benefits to patients. A tremendous amount of work goes into developing these therapies, characterizing their specificity and activity, and completing the necessary testing to get them approved for applications in patients. It is so rewarding to get to this point where these therapies are being used by patients, and the team has an opportunity to talk with the patients and hear their stories.
Book Recommendations (21:01)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Most Treasured Travel (23:15)
Through his work, Ed has had an opportunity to travel to many beautiful and exotic locations around the world. However, the scientific meetings that have been the most vividly memorable and emotionally impactful were the ones where he or a colleague were presenting something really new. Being in the room when a new idea is presented for the first time is amazing. There is this feeling of electricity in the air, and you can see how people react to hearing these new findings for the first time.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (25:16)
Over the years, many students from the nearby University of California, Berkeley worked at Sangamo through their intern program. Ed had a chance to work with some of these talented students, and it was refreshing having them bring their perspectives and energy to the projects at Sangamo. There were many fun and funny moments, and they still keep in touch with these former interns who have now gone on to accept great positions in science. In addition, the team at Sangamo has company picnics, town hall meetings, and regular beer hours where the team can hang out and get to know each other outside of the lab.
Advice For Us All (29:11)
In your work, you should closely examine the details and develop your own point of view. It has been wonderful for Ed to work with colleagues he respects in a field that he enjoys. His work provides stimulating problems to solve which have the potential to have a big impact in the world. If you can find these things for yourself, you can be happy in your career.
Guest Bio
Throughout his career, Ed’s research interests have focused on the challenge of achieving highly precise, efficient and specific addressing of gene regulation and genome editing events to chosen genomic sequences. Ed’s graduate studies centered on the development of methods for designing zinc finger proteins with new sequence binding preferences. Later work included the establishment of new gene editing platforms as well as the engineering of gene regulation and genome modification reagents for Sangamo’s therapeutic programs. In a recently published study (Nat Biotechnol 37 945), Ed and his team demonstrated a new approach for optimizing gene editing specificity via the counterintuitive strategy of slowing down catalysis. Outside of work, Ed enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife Melissa and two mini Australian Shepherd puppies. He has visited most major national parks, and recently hiked the Wave.
The post 522: Dr. Edward Rebar: Generating Genomic Therapies to Treat Huntington’s Disease and Other Conditions appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
31 min
September 30, 2019 521: Dr. Joyce Ohm: Examining the Role of Epigenomics in Development and Disease
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Dr. Joyce Ohm is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. She was awarded her PhD in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University. Afterwards, Joyce conducted postdoctoral research in oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Roswell Park, she served on the faculty at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In our interview Joyce tells us more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:08)
In her free time, Joyce enjoys cycling, as well as hiking and kayaking with her two adorable dogs. She recently cycled 500 miles from New York City to Niagara Falls in the Empire State Ride, and it was an amazing experience.
The Scientific Side (3:32)
Joyce’s research examines the epigenomics involved in development and disease, particularly in cancer. Epigenomics is the study of how your cells package and store the information in your genome. Individual cells within your body package the genome differently to be able to most efficiently use the genes they need. This is important during development, but there are also problems with the epigenome in cancer.
A Dose of Motivation (5:53)
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” – Albert Einstein
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:38)
Joyce lost her mother at a very young age to a rare form of cancer, and this tragedy sparked her desire to learn more about cancer and to make a difference for people with cancer. Initially, Joyce planned to go to medical school after college. Her only exposure to research as an undergraduate student was a summer project where she studied the mating habits of tree swallows. This involved spending long hours in the field waiting for birds to fly into bird boxes. The work was interesting, but she knew this was not what she wanted to do. When it came time to apply for medical school, Joyce really struggled with the essay questions that asked her to explain why she wanted to become a physician. Her medical school applications sat incomplete for weeks. Joyce just couldn’t articulate why she wanted to be a physician. She planned to apply to a few graduate schools as a backup plan in the event that she didn’t get accepted into medical school. It struck her how much easier it was for her to describe her scientific and research interests in the graduate school applications. As she thought more about life as a physician, Joyce realized she didn’t want to do it. She submitted her graduate school applications and started her journey as a cancer researcher.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (24:12)
Towards the end of graduate school, Joyce’s advisor asked her to work on a patient’s sample that came into the lab. This was a really unusual patient with stage 4 carcinoma who was among the first to be treated with a particular drug. The patient responded incredibly well to the drug initially. However, the patient later relapsed and passed away. Joyce’s task was to try to understand why the patient stopped responding to therapy. She began by trying to look for mutations in the tumor that may have occurred over the course of treatment and could have caused the lack of therapeutic response. Joyce found a mutation, and they thought they were on the right track. However, when they reviewed the original sample from when the patient was responding to therapy, the mutation was detected in that sample as well. They analyzed the original sample over and over again under varying conditions for the next six to nine months because they were convinced had been an error. In the end, they had to re-think their hypothesis.
A Shining Success! (28:19)
Joyce and her team are studying soft tissue sarcomas. Researchers in other laboratories discovered that mature cells can be re-programmed back to an embryonic state where they could then go on to become any kind of cell. Joyce was interested in the cells that began this process but didn’t completely re-program. They discovered that these partially de-differentiated cells are similar to cancer. Joyce and her team grew these cells out and discovered that they formed small round blue cell tumors that had a lot of non-coding RNA fusions. It took months to confirm that these non-coding RNA fusions were real and not just a sequencing artifact. They submitted a paper on this project, and Joyce also submitted a few small grant applications. She was excited that these grant applications were discussed by the review group and received pretty good scores. The lab still has a lot of work to do in this area, and Joyce will be re-submitting these grants, but it was a victory to be acknowledged and taken seriously by RNA biology experts.
Most Treasured Travel (32:36)
A few years ago, Joyce traveled to India with a few of her colleagues from the University of North Dakota to give a presentation at the Indian Science Congress. They flew in to Delhi, went to Bangalore, and attended the conference in Mysuru. After the conference ended, they took a few extra days to see the Taj Mahal in Agra and the spice markets in Delhi. The food, the different smells, and the people were all amazing.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (34:55)
Early in Joyce’s career, she and her lab mates had fun with dry ice and shooting pipette tips at targets in the lab. She also remembers attending a conference where one guest spent most of the evenings of the event using an illuminated hula hoop. At Roswell Park where Joyce currently works, they have three fantastic annual fundraising events that bring everyone together. One is the Ride for Roswell, a single day cycling event that draws in about 8,000 cyclists. Another is their 11 Day Power Play event where about 2,500 people participate in shifts to play hockey non-stop for eleven days. The event Joyce most recently participated in with her colleagues was the Empire State Ride event where they cycled across New York State.
Advice For Us All (39:47)
One way to make a difficult decision is to flip a coin. You don’t necessarily do what the coin tells you to, but you gage your reaction in that moment when you first see the result. There is either that moment of confirmation or that feeling like maybe you should try again. That is the voice you listen to. Then embrace your choice. With the right attitude, you could be happy in a lot of different places and situations. Also, if science is something you are thinking about or could be passionate about, give it a shot. For many scientists, a research career is a labor of love, and you never know what you may be able to contribute until you try.
Guest Bio
After completing a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology with Dr. David Carbone at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2003, Joyce accepted a post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Baylin at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine studying abnormal epigenetic gene silencing of tumor suppressor genes in cancer. Dr. Baylin is a pioneer in the field of epigenetics and this was a tremendous opportunity for Joyce to initiate a series of projects which link aberrant epigenetic programs with the normal epigenetic remodeling that is essential in order for a stem/progenitor cell to properly differentiate. Joyce then established her independent laboratory at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences and helped to build an NIH funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence focused on studying the epigenomics of development and disease. Her overall training has helped to lay a strong foundation in epigenetics, as well as genome-wide expression, methylation, and chromatin analysis platforms.
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43 min
September 23, 2019 520: Dr. Molly Gale Hammell: Deciphering Genome Differences Associated with Diseases Like ALS
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Dr. Molly Gale Hammell is an Associate Professor in Quantitative Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Molly received her PhD in Physics and Astronomy from Dartmouth College. She then conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Victor Ambros at the University of Massachusetts Medical School before joining the faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Molly was named a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar in 2014, and she was awarded the Ben Barres Early Career Award in 2018. In our interview Molly shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:16)
In her free time, Molly loves gathering a group of friends together to attend some of the many fantastic live music concerts in the New York City area.
The Scientific Side (3:06)
Molly sequences genomes and analyzes genome sequences to understand which differences in our genomes are due to random variation between individuals, and which are associated with diseases. In particular, she focuses on studying elements of the genome associated with neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
A Dose of Motivation (4:00)
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt
What Got You Hooked on Science? (6:13)
Science fascinated Molly from an early age. When she was 14 years old, she participated in an after-school program in nuclear physics where she had the chance to do mini-experiments with a nuclear reactor. This experience helped cement her interest in physics and showed her some of the really cool instruments used in science. As an undergraduate student, Molly had an amazing internship working at a particle accelerator. Later in graduate school, she analyzed data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Her PhD thesis research investigated the distribution of galaxy clusters in the early universe, taking into account what was known about visible light from stars, dark matter, and dark energy. Dark matter and dark energy were exciting emerging areas of physics at the time. While Molly was reading physics articles in scientific journals, she stumbled across articles on the sequencing of the human genome and understanding the “dark matter of our genomes”. Molly discovered that about 98% of our genomes are not actually genes, and she had to know more. She decided to switch her field of study to biology and sought a postdoctoral opportunity where she could re-train as a biologist.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:53)
In science, there are so many potential variables you could test that the likelihood of your first idea being wrong is very high. One line of research in Molly’s lab focuses on better understanding “jumping genes” or transposons, which are viral-like sequences of DNA that can extract themselves from one spot in the genome, move to another spot, and insert themselves there. Transposons make up about half of our genome. Looking back, Molly has had ideas on what was going on in the control of transposons that turned out to be completely false. When they did all of the experiments and reviewed the data, they ended up proving themselves wrong.
A Shining Success! (17:05)
For years, Molly and her group have been working to better understand the connection between transposons and the disease ALS. They believed that in ALS, there may be a failure in the mechanisms that normally keep transposons dormant. As a result, the transposons are activated and begin moving around within the genome, potentially causing problems. Previously, they seemed to never have quite enough data for the statistics to work out properly. At the end of her studies, there would be hints and promising leads, but they could never make conclusive connections. Connecting with a large consortium with data on many samples from ALS patients changed everything for Molly and her lab. It was just before Thanksgiving two years ago when they finally finished processing and transferring all of the data. The numbers were in, and about 30% of the samples had exactly the signature they were looking for! Molly ran from her office to find someone in the department to verify that she was interpreting the results correctly, and it was confirmed!
Book Recommendations (20:26)
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren and Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane
Most Treasured Travel (21:25)
Visiting Barbados for a conference was among Molly’s most memorable travel opportunities for science. McGill University has a research lab on this amazing Caribbean island, and they hold excellent conferences there. The schedule is packed in the mornings and evenings with 90 minute lectures, but the afternoons are left open to give attendees a chance to explore the island. While there, Molly had a wonderful time swimming with sea turtles, snorkeling, exploring the coral reefs, sampling the local rum, and cliff jumping into the ocean.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (23:09)
During Molly’s years as a postdoc, they put up a Christmas tree in the hallway each year around the holidays. Everyone was invited to decorate the tree, but there was a rule that you could only make decorations out of things you could find around the lab. It was amazing to see the elaborate and creative things people put together out of lab gloves, test tubes, paraffin tape, and other lab supplies. In her current lab, Molly celebrates birthdays and lab successes with delicious cupcakes from local bakeries.
Advice For Us All (28:12)
There isn’t just one way to be a good and successful scientist. Diversity in backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and specialties is important in science. Find mentors who can support you and help you reach your career goals. Also, it’s important to foster a love of science in everyone.
Guest Bio
Molly’s research is mainly focused on understanding the impacts of jumping genes in our genomes. Most recently, her work has focused on how jumping genes (transposable elements) contribute to the neurodegenerative disease ALS. Her laboratory works with many large scientific consortia: scientists from all over the world who are pooling their scientific resources and expertise to try to understand what starts the process of neurodegeneration and whether new therapies might be able to help stop or slow down the progression of these diseases. Outside of work, Molly enjoys all of the perks that living outside of New York City on the Long Island Sound has to offer: from live music to paddle-boarding to curling up with a good book.
The post 520: Dr. Molly Gale Hammell: Deciphering Genome Differences Associated with Diseases Like ALS appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
33 min
September 16, 2019 519: Dr. Kim Tieu: Exploring Causes, Degenerative Mechanisms, and Potential Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease
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Dr. Kim Tieu is Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University. He received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Saskatchewan and subsequently worked as a pharmacist for several years. Kim then returned to the University of Saskatchewan to complete his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University. Kim accepted his first faculty position at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and he served on the faculty at Plymouth University in England prior to joining the faculty at Florida International University. In our interview, Kim shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:15)
Kim loves going to the beach to swim, snorkel, and fish with his family. He also enjoys travel, photography, yard work, and tending to his approximately 30 fruit trees.
The Scientific Side (4:25)
In the lab, Kim’s research focuses on three related areas. The first is understanding why people develop Parkinson’s disease (PD). Since the genetic or environmental causes of PD are unknown in about 90% of cases, Kim is studying the effects of environmental toxins on the development and progression of PD. The second major area of research in Kim’s lab examines why and how the dopamine-producing neurons die in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia in people with PD. A third research line in Kim’s lab aims to develop an effective drug therapy for PD.
A Dose of Motivation (6:53)
“We can talk about it all day long, but there’s only one way to find out.”
“Just do it.”
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs
What Got You Hooked on Science? (11:53)
After high school, Kim knew he wanted to go to college, but he didn’t know what he wanted to study. He took a year off to think about his options, and during this time, he worked as a waiter to earn money. Ultimately, he decided to pursue pharmacy. Over the course of his five years in pharmacy school, Kim started to become interested in science. He was particularly fascinated by pharmacology and how the medicines we take can impact the body to have therapeutic effects and produce side effects. Upon graduation, Kim accepted a position as a retail pharmacist. The pay was good, and he worked in this position for several years, but he wasn’t completely satisfied with his career. Kim began to wonder what it would be like to develop a new medication himself. He looked at a few graduate programs in pharmacology, and a tour of the research facilities at the University of Saskatchewan won him over. The lab Kim joined there was developing and testing a series of compounds to treat PD and other neurological diseases.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (21:05)
Maintaining continuous funding to support a lab is a major challenge that nearly ended Kim’s career. Kim was fortunate to get grants when he started his first faculty position and established his own independent laboratory. However, there were major cutbacks in funding when the economy took a turn for the worse around 2007 and 2008. One after another, the grants Kim submitted were not funded. He believed the projects he was proposing were good, but he couldn’t convince the reviewers to fund his work. Kim considered quitting research, going back to Canada, and returning to retail pharmacy. However, he soon received an offer to move to Plymouth University in England. After moving there, Kim was awarded two grants for essentially the same projects that had previously been rejected.
A Shining Success! (23:49)
Kim recently received an R35 research grant for $6.6 million that will fund an exciting research project in his lab over the next eight years. This project will allow Kim and his team to study a protein called dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1) to understand the role the protein plays in PD and potentially use this protein to develop a targeted therapeutic strategy for PD and other brain disorders. In their experiments, they will manipulate the function of the protein to see if it provides beneficial effects in models of PD due to genetic mutations, environmental toxins, or a combination of mutations and toxins. At the end of the project, Kim plans to screen a large library of FDA-approved compounds to potentially identify a drug that may be used to treat PD. Data from one of the students in Kim’s lab was key in writing a compelling grant application for this project, and Kim is also delighted to celebrate that the paper for his graduate student’s project was recently submitted. It took five years and a lot of hard work to complete the project, and Kim is glad it is getting closer to being published.
Book Recommendations (25:36)
COMA by Robin Cook
Most Treasured Travel (27:38)
Attending the World Parkinson Congress in Kyoto, Japan was a wonderful experience for Kim. While there, Kim was able to catch up with his postdoc advisor whom he hadn’t seen in years, as well as some of his European colleagues. Beyond the great conference and scientific conversations, Kim was able to travel with his 13 year old son. Kim and his son spent a few days after the conference exploring the beautiful city of Kyoto and nearby Arashiyama. It was fun to watch the monkeys, marvel at the massive bamboo trees, teach his son to use chopsticks, and spend time together.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (30:30)
When Kim was at the University of Rochester Medical Center, it was a tradition to hold a big picnic in the fall when the new students arrived. The students, postdocs, faculty, and their families would all attend. Every year at the picnic, the students were pitted against the faculty for an intense game of tug-o-war.
Advice For Us All (36:13)
Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect job, but the things you enjoy about your work should outweigh the things that you don’t like about your position. Keep in mind that research takes time. There has been a lot of progress in Parkinson’s disease research, and many dedicated scientists are working very hard to find treatments and potential cures for this devastating disease. For young scientists, if you feel like you have a good research direction that you are really passionate about, don’t give up. Try to stay focused and ensure the quality of your work. Also, don’t forget about work-life balance.
Guest Bio
The long-term goal of Kim’s lab is to understand how genetic mutations, environmental toxicants and the interactions between these two factors cause brain cells to die in Parkinson’s disease (PD). With this knowledge, Kim’s ultimate goal is to develop effective disease-modifying therapeutics for this devastating brain condition. Kim recently received a $6.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) to support his research. Through the NIEHS Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental health Research (RIVER) program, the grant provides outstanding investigators the flexibility and stability to conduct transformative research with continuous funding for eight years. This project will allow Kim to continue his focus on the role of dynamin related protein-1 (Drp1) in PD. Drp1 is a protein that plays a role in the splitting of mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell). However, based on his lab’s recent discovery of a new function of Drp1, Tieu will also research its role in the accumulation and spread of toxic proteins in the brain. By the conclusion of this project, Kim would like to identify a safe and effective strategy to target Drp1 as therapy for PD. When he is not at work, Kim appreciates spending time outdoors. He relocated his family to South Florida so that they could enjoy the sun and fun with fishing trips and beach days! Upon moving to Florida, Kim got an early lesson in gardening thanks to Hurricane Irma taking down most of the fruit trees in his yard (which are now happily thriving once again!).
The post 519: Dr. Kim Tieu: Exploring Causes, Degenerative Mechanisms, and Potential Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
40 min
September 09, 2019 518: Dr. Jessica Tracy: Examining Emotions and How They Affect Our Actions
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Dr. Jessica Tracy is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Emotion and Self Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. In addition, she is a University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business Distinguished Scholar and author of the book Take Pride: Why the Deadliest Sin Holds the Secret to Human Success. Jess received her B.A. in psychology From Amherst College, and she was awarded her M.A. and PhD in social-personality psychology from the University of California, Davis. After a brief postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Davis, Jess joined the faculty at the University of British Columbia in 2006. Jess is a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. She has also been the recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Salary Award, the University of British Columbia Killam Research Prize, the Outstanding Early Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Career Salary Award. In our interview, Jess shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:34)
In her free time, Jess enjoys being outdoors in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Some of her favorite outdoor activities are hiking, running, visiting the beach, and skiing.
The Scientific Side (3:15)
Jess conducts research in the field of social and personality psychology. Her lab focuses on better understanding the self-conscious emotions we feel when we are evaluating ourselves. Some examples of self-conscious emotions are pride and shame.
A Dose of Motivation (4:33)
When you see the demon, put your head in the mouth of the demon.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (12:18)
Initially, Jess was interested in English, writing, reading, and political science. She planned to attend law school after college and become a lawyer. However, her first psychology course in college piqued her interest in science. The class had over 200 students enrolled, and the content was all lecture-based, but she was fascinated by the topics they covered. In her junior year, Jess took a course on personality, and learning about the theories of key people in the field of psychology had a big impact on her. Through these courses, Jess discovered that she could build her career studying theories about the mind and how it shapes our conscious and unconscious behavior.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (22:02)
Jess has overcome a variety of challenges in her career, including getting a faculty position, being awarded tenure, and getting her research papers published. In terms of research papers, nearly all of Jess’s best papers that she has been most proud of were initially rejected. Every rejection feels like a huge failure, but there is often a way to turn it around. By talking to editors, doing new experiments, collecting additional data, performing new analyses, revising, re-submitting, and sometimes sending the paper to a different journal, Jess has been able to ultimately get these papers accepted.
A Shining Success! (25:13)
An interesting research project begun by one of Jess’s former students was completed last year. The study examined whether the feeling of disgust evoked by morally wrong behavior involves physiological sensations like nausea, or whether it is more a way for people to describe that morally wrong behavior makes them angry or upset. This is a difficult question to study, but the student designed an experiment using ginger root to inhibit nausea in some participants. Participants either took a pill with ginger root or a placebo pill, and then they reported their level of disgust for a series of morally questionable scenarios. Participants who took the ginger root pill found the scenarios less morally wrong, but only for scenarios that were not very clearly morally wrong. For the gray area scenarios, those who had nausea inhibited with ginger root rated the scenarios as less wrong. This suggested that when participants couldn’t make a clear cognitive judgement, they may take into account their physiological sensations in judging disgust. However, when Jess’s group replicated the study, the results were not as clear cut. Journal editors considering their paper were concerned about whether the findings were consistent enough. Jess and her team decided to do one last replication with a major study, a huge sample size, and pre-registered predictions. With these data in hand, they were able to resubmit the paper and get it accepted. It took a lot of work, but they discovered something new about how moral psychology and emotions work.
Book Recommendations (8:06)
Take Pride: Why the Deadliest Sin Holds the Secret to Human Success by Jessica Tracy, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
Most Treasured Travel (30:09)
During graduate school, Jess traveled with her advisor to Burkina Faso in West Africa to determine whether a facial expression of pride was universally recognizable as pride to people outside of the U.S. who do not interact with Western culture. They traveled to a small tribal village where residents lived in mud huts and there was no electricity or running water. About 40 villagers participated in their study, many traveling 5-10 km by foot to get to the research site. Jess and her advisor had hired people from the community to read the script and ask participants questions because the participants weren’t able to read. Her advisor’s partner translated their English script to French, and then the community members had to translate from French to the two local dialects that don’t have a written language. On the day of the study, there was little Jess could do to help, but it was amazing to watch the study unfold. Remarkably, the expression was recognized as pride by the people in this community.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (35:03)
Jess’s lab has adopted the tradition of holding lab meetings every other week. These meetings have a serious side where they discuss research, give presentations, and provide feedback, but they are also fun as well. In addition, Jess and another lab director host a joint holiday party each year that includes an intense dessert competition. Members from both labs try to make the best desserts, and there is a judging process to choose a winner. Beyond all the tasty desserts they get to sample, Jess and her fellow lab director bring other food to make it a fun and festive event.
Advice For Us All (39:24)
You should try to finish every paper and project that you start. There may be a few exceptions where you should cut your losses and move on, but it is generally a good strategy. For faculty members who have been granted tenure, try to think about more than just publishing research papers. Now that some of the pressure to publish is lightened, you can take time to think about what really excites you, potentially explore a slightly different field, and try to answer bigger, broader questions.
Guest Bio
Jess is a social-personality psychologist, which means she studies why people behave the way they do in social situations, and why people are different from one another. Her primary area of expertise is in emotion science, and she has focused most extensively on understanding the causes, consequences, and evolutionary functions of the “self-conscious emotions” of pride and shame. These are the emotions we feel when we think about who we are and who we want to be, and whether we are living up to our standards for ourselves; they are very dependent on our sense of self, our identity. Jess’s work thus explores the nature of self and its evolution, and how humans came to experience this small set of emotions as a way of helping us regulate some of our most important social behavior. When she’s not busy in the lab, Jess loves hiking, skiing, and beer-tasting with her partner Kristin, also a social psychologist, and her 10-year-old daughter, Harper, in their beautiful home city of Vancouver, B.C. (Harper skips the beer tasting).
The post 518: Dr. Jessica Tracy: Examining Emotions and How They Affect Our Actions appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
43 min
September 02, 2019 517: Dr. Michelle Heck: Investigating How Insects Transmit Plant Pathogens And How To Prevent Propagation
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Dr. Michelle Heck is a Research Molecular Biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), an Associate Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the school of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Michelle received her B.A. degree in biology from Boston University and her Ph.D. in biology from Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She then conducted postdoctoral research at Cornell University. Michelle has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the 2014 USDA ARS Herbert L. Rothbart Outstanding Early Career Scientist of the Year Award and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) Award in 2017. In our interview, Michelle shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:31)
Michelle loves spending time with her fantastic, close-knit family. In addition, she is a musician, and she has been having fun watching as her three kids also become interested in music. Beyond music and family, Michelle is an endurance athlete, and she spends a lot of her free time cycling in scenic areas nearby.
The Scientific Side (3:53)
Most people are familiar with diseases that can be spread by insects when they bite humans and other animals, but many people don’t realize that plants can also become sick with diseases that are transmitted by insects. Michelle studies interactions between the insects that infest plants, the pathogens that those insects can transmit, the diseases that can occur as a result, and new ways to control the spread of these diseases. Plant diseases transmitted by insects have an enormous impact in the United States and around the world. One example is citrus greening disease which has spread to infect nearly 100% of citrus trees in Florida. Unfortunately, this disease is causing widespread death of these fruit trees.
A Dose of Motivation (6:23)
“If it is to be, it is up to me.” – William Johnsen
What Got You Hooked on Science? (9:20)
In elementary school, Michelle was a voracious reader and an avid writer. She always wanted to know more about the world. Growing up on Long Island in New York, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory was relatively close to home for Michelle. When she was in ninth grade, Michelle was invited by her science teacher to join the senior class on a trip to visit the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This was her first exposure to molecular biology. Michelle was captivated by the experience of breaking down DNA from a virus that infects bacteria, running the DNA on a gel, and visualizing the DNA in an ultraviolet light box. Each student got to take home a photo of the gel, and Michelle hung hers on her wall at home. This was a transformative experience that fueled her passion for science. However, Michelle was also very interested in music. When she was finishing high school, she was torn between whether to pursue a career in music or biology. After enrolling in college as a vocal performance major, Michelle discovered that she missed science. She changed her major to biology, got involved with undergraduate research, and never looked back.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (21:19)
When Michelle first started doing undergraduate research, there was a lot she didn’t know. She was tasked with isolating a compound that a plant created in response to a fungus in order to better understand the structure and function of the compound. The project involved a lot of organic chemistry that she didn’t really understand at that stage of her training. Michelle was using a process called thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to separate out the compound of interest. If successful, she should have observed a distinct spot on the TLC card where the compound was concentrated. However, all of her cards came out blank, and she couldn’t figure out why. After months of work, she had about 35 feet of clothesline strung up around the lab that was full of unspotted TLC cards. One day, Michelle and a friend were taking photos of themselves around the lab, and Michelle picked up an ultraviolet lamp to pose for a photo. When the ultraviolet lamp illuminated the nearby TLC cards, Michelle was shocked to see a spot appear on all of the cards. She had actually been successfully isolating the compound, but the compound just wasn’t visible in normal light. Michelle was able to scrape enough compound off the cards to proceed with her project and determine the structure of the compound.
A Shining Success! (25:19)
Earlier this year, Michelle was invited to help write the action plan for her national program within the USDA-ARS. The ARS is the research branch of the USDA, and it is organized into different programs based on research areas. The action plan for her program details the next five years of research for scientists working in their program, and writing it is a massive undertaking. It was exciting for Michelle to be selected to articulate her vision for the next five years of research in her field by government scientists. The process involved speaking with a variety of stakeholders to determine problems and priorities, as well as working with other lead writers to put together a cohesive plan. In addition to working on this action plan, Michelle recently celebrated the receipt of funding to purchase a new mass spectrometer instrument for the lab. This new instrument will be an important asset for the lab’s research going forward.
Book Recommendations (29:02)
Insect Molecular Virology Edited by Bryony C. Bonning and The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Most Treasured Travel (30:52)
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a meaningful and memorable place that Michelle always enjoys visiting. It has a serene campus situated on the North Shore of Long Island on the Long Island Sound, and the buildings are steeped in scientific history. This was the place where Michelle first really experienced science in ninth grade, where she attended graduate school, and where she has had an opportunity to teach a postgraduate summer course for several years. It is a wonderful environment for scientists, and when you are there, you really feel immersed in the history and culture of science.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:44)
Michelle maintains her passion for music and singing, and she enjoys going to karaoke with her lab members. There are quite a few musicians and singers in her group, so these outings are a fun way to relax and get to know lab members outside of the lab. When Michelle was in college, she worked in a lab with a particularly formal and reserved professor. She’ll never forget the day that a postdoc named June was (badly) singing “I Believe I Can Fly” aloud in the lab along with music from his headphones. After a few minutes of suffering, the professor finally suck his head into the lab and shouted at June to be quiet because, while he believed June could fly, he certainly couldn’t sing. This outburst made everyone in the lab laugh, particularly because June likely couldn’t hear it over the music on his headphones.
Advice For Us All (37:12)
If you have a passion for something, there will be a job for you in science. You can work to create the opportunities you desire as a scientist. Also, don’t be too attached to your hypotheses. If the data are pointing you a different direction, you have to pursue that direction, even if it means altering or abandoning your initial hypotheses.
Guest Bio
Michelle is a scientist in the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) with joint faculty appointments at Cornell University and the Boyce Thompson Institute. Her research is focused on the biology and management of arthropods and arthropod borne pathogens. Her expertise comes from a variety of fields such as vector biology, molecular biology, proteomics, plant pathology and evolutionary biology. Most recently, Michelle’s work has been focused on developing new strategies to manage citrus greening disease. As part of this work, her lab has been collaborating with the California Citrus Research Board, university and USDA ARS scientists to develop novel strategies to block transmission of the citrus greening bacterium. Her latest research is also focused on developing novel strategies to block transmission of aphid-borne plant viruses that infect a variety of crops such as potatoes, corn and cotton. Michelle has a very active research group and enjoys mentoring and doing science with her talented lab members. Outside of work, Michelle loves spending time with her family. She also loves music, performing, dogs, cooking and long-distance road cycling. If she is not in the lab or out playing with her kids, she can be found cycling around the backcountry roads of the Finger Lakes region in Western NY to unwind and often to find local bakeries for a refueling stop.
The post 517: Dr. Michelle Heck: Investigating How Insects Transmit Plant Pathogens And How To Prevent Propagation appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
40 min
August 26, 2019 516: Dr. Uri Tabori: Dedicated to Clinical Care and Conducting Research to Combat Childhood Cancers
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Dr. Uri Tabori is a Staff Physician in the Division of Haematology/Oncology, Senior Scientist in the Genetics & Genome Biology program, and Principal Investigator of The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Uri is also a Professor in Paediatrics and Associate Professor in the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. He received his MD from the Hadassah School of Medicine of Hebrew University in Israel. Afterwards, he completed a Rotating Internship and his Residency in Pediatrics at the Sorasky Medical Center in Israel. Next, Uri accepted a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel. He served as a Staff Physician in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at The Sheba Medical Center for about a year before accepting a Research and Clinical Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada SickKids where he remains today. Over the course of his career, Uri has received numerous awards and honors, including the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Development and Innovation, the New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the Junior Physician Research Award from the University of Toronto Department of Pediatrics, The New Investigator Award from the Terry Fox Foundation, A Eureka! new investigator award from the International Course of Translational Medicine, A Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, and The Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Neuro-Oncology Society. In our interview, Uri shares more about his life, science, and clinical care.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:06)
When he’s not hard at work in the lab or clinic, Uri enjoys spending time with his family, watching American football, and exploring the wilderness of Canada. He is especially fond of canoeing and canoe camping with his family.
The Scientific Side (4:44)
Uri works as a physician treating kids with cancer, particularly brain tumors. Through his research, he is working to identify drugs and make new discoveries that may cure cancers or improve patients’ lives.
A Dose of Motivation (5:36)
“And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make”
-Lyrics from “The End” by the Beatles
What Got You Hooked on Science? (8:56)
As a kid, Uri was certain that he wanted to be a veterinarian when he grew up. He lived on a farm and loved working with cows and other animals. To become a veterinarian, Uri had to follow the pre-medicine track in college. While doing so, he fell in love with practicing medicine to treat humans, and he was particularly drawn to caring for children. Uri’s father always encouraged him to ask questions, and Uri began to realize that he had so many questions about cures and treatments that could only be answered through research. During his time as a resident, Uri covered for a colleague working in a cancer unit, and this sparked his passion for working with cancer patients.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (18:30)
One type of challenge that Uri enjoys is when a research project yields unexpected results. It is really interesting to work through the findings with students to understand why they occurred and what they mean. These situations have resulted in interesting lines of research and discoveries that are now being translated into clinical care. For example, when they were working on a rare genetic syndrome in which people’s cells aren’t able to repair errors made during cell division, they discovered that having too many mutations actually kills cancer cells. Another kind of challenge that Uri faces in his work is translating research from the bench into therapies for patients. Taking a discovery from the lab through the steps of funding, drug development, and clinical trials is extremely challenging in Uri’s field. Since childhood cancer is relatively rare, many drug companies are hesitant to invest in developing new therapies for these conditions. Organizations like Stand Up To Cancer have been instrumental in helping them get solutions into the hands of patients.
A Shining Success! (21:16)
Each student who passes through the lab, advance in their research, collaboration with a colleague, and patient who responds to treatment is a success story. In one memorable patient case, they received permission from a pharmaceutical company to give a particular immunotherapy drug to children for the first time. A doctor in Quebec administered this drug to a brother and sister who were both diagnosed with brain tumors. After about six months of responding to the drug, the brother’s tumor grew back. The doctor added another drug to the treatment regimen in hopes of bringing the tumor into remission. Uri will never forget the day that he was watching TV with his kids at home, and he received an urgent call from that doctor. She told Uri that she could no longer see the tumor. Recurring brain tumor of this type typically cause death in just a few months, and he had never seen one of these recurring tumors disappear.
Book Recommendations (24:02)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Most Treasured Travel (26:04)
A recent trip to India was incredibly inspiring for Uri. He visited two of the largest childhood cancer centers and was amazed at the work they do there. These cancer centers treat about ten times more patients than most large institutes in the United States, and they are so efficient. The doctors he met were amazing clinicians as well. One of Uri’s former trainees is a physician at one of the cancer centers he visited, so Uri got to see the inner workings of the hospital and parts of the town that were off the beaten path. A doctor from the other cancer center is working in Toronto for a year for training, and Uri had an opportunity to work with a patient in this second cancer center to set them up to receive immunotherapy. Uri just recently heard that the patient is responding well to the treatment that their collaboration made possible. Though Uri didn’t get to see much of the cities of Calcutta or Mumbai, he enjoyed spending time with the patients, clinicians, and scientists.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (29:39)
The family of one of Uri’s trainees and friends had an island on a lake in Ontario. Each year, the whole lab used to go to the island for a retreat. There were several little houses that everyone shared, and they all ate together in one big dining room. The trip would last two days, and each person would sign up to prepare a traditional meal from their home country. Lab members were from all over the world, and it was fantastic to get to sample all the different kinds of foods from different countries. Uri and his wife would make Middle Eastern food, including a wide variety of delicious salads.
Advice For Us All (34:36)
To be successful as a scientist/clinician in translational medicine you need to: (1) have passion; (2) make it about patients; (3) have patience; (4) be persistent; (5) have partners and collaborators; (6) have personal humility; and (7) remember it is a privilege to do science and medicine.
Guest Bio
Dr. Uri Tabori maintains an active clinical practice in the treatment of children with cancer, focusing particularly on those with brain tumors. Based on his clinical and research interests, he participates in the development of systems for early detection and intervention in individuals determined to be at high-risk of developing brain tumors. This includes patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 and 2, Li-Fraumeni syndrome and mismatch repair genes. The Tabori lab is focused on combining biological and translational research in pediatric oncology. Specifically, Uri’s lab is interested in studying mechanisms underlying brain tumor immortality and recurrence in the context of predisposition to cancer. Currently, his group is studying 3 major areas. The first is related to telomere maintenance and cancer recurrence in various types of pediatric brain tumors, including pediatric low grade gliomas and pediatric ependymomas. Additionally, Germline predisposition to childhood brain tumors are a significant part of Uri’s research endeavors. One cancer predisposition syndrome he studies is a rare genetic syndrome called balletic mismatch repair deficiency (BMMRD) syndrome. This is the most aggressive cancer syndrome in humans, and nearly all individuals with this genetic predisposition go on to develop one or more cancers before age 18. A third area of research in Uri’s lab revolves around the biology, clinical testing, and development of potential therapies for pediatric low grade gliomas which are the most common childhood brain tumor.
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38 min
August 19, 2019 515: Dr. Meredith Hughes: Studying Young Stars to Shed Light on Planet Formation
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Dr. Meredith Hughes is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Wesleyan University. She received her B.S. degree in Physics & Astronomy from Yale University. Afterwards, Meredith attended graduate school at Harvard University where she received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Astronomy. She was awarded a Miller Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research in the Department of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley before she joined the faculty at Wesleyan University in 2013. Meredith has received the Harvard Astronomy Department’s Fireman Fellowship for her outstanding doctoral thesis as well as Harvard Astronomy’s Bok Prize for research excellence by a Ph.D. graduate under the age of 35. In addition, she was selected as a Cottrell Scholar in 2018 by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. In our interview, Meredith shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:09)
When Meredith isn’t working, you can find her hanging out with her husband, two young kids, and their dog. She also enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi books, being outdoors, and volunteering in her community.
The Scientific Side (4:25)
In her research, Meredith uses large radio telescopes to study how planets form around other stars. After stars are formed, disks of leftover gas and dust go on to form planets. Meredith studies how this process works, the conditions that exist in these early disks, how the disks form planets, and the types of planets that form around stars. Studying this process in other star systems helps us learn more about our own solar system and how it formed.
A Dose of Motivation (6:13)
“Some people may also be intimidated by the “unknown audience” aspect of writing. A student may discuss something with me and be entirely articulate and demonstrate a complete understanding of the topic, but if I say “OK, now go write that down”, they are flummoxed. By writing it down, they are making a record of their words and thoughts in a more permanent way, and what they write might be read by other people — perhaps a group of very wise and judgmental people somewhere out there in the scientific universe. This group is in possession of a large stamp that says LOSER. If you write something less than perfect, even in a first draft, they put a giant red LOSER stamp in permanent ink next to your name and you are forever labeled as stupid. They might even write to your mother. The only one who will still think you are clever is your dog.” – FemaleScienceProfessor Blog
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:23)
Though Meredith enjoyed math and science as a kid, she didn’t really know any scientists. She was familiar with teachers and doctors, so she initially thought she would follow one of those two career paths. However, spending six weeks at an astronomy summer science program in the summer after her junior year of high school changed everything. She was enchanted by the scientists she met and her peers in the program. They had an amazing time making their own astronomy observations to determine the orbit of an asteroid, working at telescopes at night, writing computer programs, and trying to get everything to work. This experience made Meredith realize that she could perhaps pursue a career in science. In her first year in college, Meredith took a wide variety of different courses to explore her options. She then did summer research in an astronomy lab, and this confirmed interests in astronomy and desire to do research.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (21:16)
One of the most difficult points in Meredith’s career occurred towards the end of graduate school. Her fear of writing made it really stressful to put together the long and daunting thesis document that was required. She was also uncertain about her future. Meredith wondered whether her dissertation was good enough for her to get a PhD, whether she was ready to move to a new lab to start her postdoctoral position, and whether she would ultimately be able to run her own independent research group afterwards. At the same time, Meredith had just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and her aunt was dying of cancer. Though many mornings during this period started with crying in her office, Meredith was able to get her thesis written, and she has gone on to have a successful and fulfilling career.
A Shining Success! (24:36)
Meredith was recently awarded a Cottrell Scholar Award, and this was a wonderful validation of both her teaching and research. The prestigious award can only be applied for one time during the third year of a faculty member’s career. However, during February of Meredith’s third year, she gave birth to her first son. The pre-proposal was due in May, and the full proposal had to be submitted by the end of June. Since their daycare only accepted children starting at four months old, Meredith stayed home with her son during those first four months. She managed to get the pre-proposal in on time and planned to work heavily on the full proposal after her son was enrolled in daycare in the week before the deadline. Unfortunately, during that week, her son got a severe ear infection and had a bad reaction to the prescribed antibiotics. Meredith resigned herself to the fact that there was no way she could get the application done in time. She mentioned this to a friend who previously won the award, and her friend pointed out that the organization offers deferrals if you are on parental leave during your year of eligibility. When Meredith wrote to them to explain her situation, they encouraged her to apply next year. The following year, everything went smoothly, and Meredith was so grateful that they had this family-friendly policy in place.
Book Recommendations (3:05)
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt
Most Treasured Travel (27:12)
Towards the end of her PhD, Meredith traveled to northern Chile to do observations with a radio telescope there. Her trip coincided with the early construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in the Atacama Desert. Meredith now uses ALMA to do all of her research, and the instrument has been transformational for her field. It has substantially improved both our ability to see faint objects and to see tiny details. At the time of Meredith’s visit, the team was just starting to install the antennae. She had an opportunity to visit the facility with a colleague and witness firsthand some of the issues they experienced as they got these antennae up and working for the first time. Now ALMA is an amazing resource that provides enormous amounts of remarkable data for the scientific community. Aside from seeing the ALMA facility, being in the Atacama Desert was also amazing. It is the second driest desert in the world, you can see active volcanoes on the horizon, and it is one of only a few places in the world that has wild flamingos.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (32:17)
One of Meredith’s students made her a huge poster of a sloth and an astronaut standing in front of a picture of a galaxy. She keeps this poster on a wall in her office, and it makes her smile. Beyond quirky decor, Meredith has had many fun and memorable experiences at the Origins of Solar Systems Gordon Research Conference held at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts. During graduate school, Meredith’s advisor was obsessed with all the fossilized dinosaur footprints you could see in western Massachusetts. Every time her advisor went to this conference, he talked about the dinosaur footprints nonstop and had to bring the group out to see them. For Meredith, this Gordon Conference will forever be associated with dinosaur footprints.
Advice For Us All (37:30)
Listen to the people in your life who are willing to dream big for you, willing to help you dream big, and telling you that you are capable of doing great things that you might not think of yourself. Balance between work and your life outside of work is important. When you’re at work, work hard. When you’re at home, give yourself an opportunity to explore other interests. Also, it is possible to have both a successful career and a family.
Guest Bio
Meredith uses giant radio telescopes to study how planets form around other stars. She looks at the disks of gas and dust around young stars and uses these disks to figure out the initial conditions, evolution, and architecture of young planetary systems. Most of her work is done with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, an interferometer that works by combining the light from lots of little (12-meter) telescopes to achieve the level of detail of an enormous (kilometer-size) telescope. She works as a faculty member at Wesleyan University, a liberal arts college where she enjoys teaching small classes of undergraduates and masters students, working with the Van Vleck Observatory’s outreach program, and advising the campus women in science organization. When she’s not staring into space, Meredith spends time with her family: her husband, two sons (a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old), and their dog. She also enjoys reading, being outdoors, knitting, volunteering, and eating chocolate.
Photo Credit: WNPR
The post 515: Dr. Meredith Hughes: Studying Young Stars to Shed Light on Planet Formation appeared first on People Behind the Science Podcast.
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