Community Spotlights
What do we LOVE about Biology?
Alan Templeton
"I love this male and female collared lizard pair on Taum Sauk Mountain. I named this pair Romeo and Juliet because I almost always found them side-by-side, as in this picture."
Hammy Sorkin
"I love the fun collections of plants in the greenhouse, especially the succulents! I collected these Euphorbia coerulescens seeds and planted them on a whim. A couple of them germinated! This little baby is seven months old and already branching out."
Doug Chalker
"The ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena has SEVEN different mating-types and will mate with any of the other six. So many Valentines to choose from!"
Maggie Schlarman
"I love microbiology for many reasons, but I have started a hobby of creating bacterial art pieces for fun! This is one I made for Valentine's Day. Even bacteria love you too!"
We are Biology!
An interdisciplinary hub of scholars studying plants, microbes, neuroscience, cellular development, evolution, ecology, & biodiversity at Washington University in St. Louis.
Rannyele (Ranny) Passos Ribeiro
"I’ve worked on annelids since the beginning of my academic career, for 12 years now. During my Bachelors in Brazil, we were on a break because the professors were on strike. I didn’t want to stay at home doing nothing! A friend shared an opportunity in a lab identifying annelids. We’ve discovered so many things in medicine with worms and fruit flies, so why not discover something new in annelids? Some species can regenerate their whole body, and we can’t even regenerate a finger. My favorite annelid is the one I described as Syllis malaquini. I’ve described more than 10 new species with colleagues, but this was the species I was caring about every day and night during my PhD, trying to figure out the conditions to make them survive. I feel like I’m their mother! Okay, sometimes I dissected them — but I spent a lot of time with them first! I drew a lot of annelids during my PhD, and I have a plan to draw comics for each of my publications. So far, I’ve done three that were posted on Instagram and Twitter. My last comic is about a deep-sea species named in honor of my first supervisor, who introduced me to annelids and unfortunately passed away last year. It means a lot to me to look at that comic and remember her. The comics are my way to say that I love my research to the point of making a joke about it. But I also want people to understand my work, and to realize that science is fun."
Rannyele (Ranny) Passos Ribeiro, postdoctoral research associate in the Özpolat lab
Interviewed by Bria Metzger
Sarah Anderson
“I got interested in biology at a very young age when my 7th-grade science teacher got me excited about genetics. My interest in microbiology developed in college. I took a class on infectious diseases in the developing world. I was already pretty excited about biology research in general, but this course did an interesting job showing how basic research using bacteria can be translated into health outcomes. The class focused on neglected diseases. I ended up moving away from the medical side of microbiology since then, but I think that’s what initially got me very excited about the subject. One of the things I love about microbiology is that it touches on so many different areas of life, including health. That class, in particular, influenced where I ended up going.”
Sarah Anderson, postdoctoral research associate in the Levin lab
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Sarah Beagle
"For an elementary school science project, I sprayed tin cans with different colors, filled them with water, and asked which color would be the hottest after sitting out in the sun. I hypothesized that it would be red and I was wrong. It was black. I was convinced I was doing the experiment incorrectly, so I kept making my parents buy me different shades of spray paint so I could redo the experiment. Finally, my parents told me the results are the results. That was the first time I remember being wrong in science, but it didn’t turn me away from becoming a scientist. This is the only job I’ve ever had that pays me to ask questions. I worked all through college. I had two jobs and went to school full time. I’ve worked in a variety of clinical settings and they are all challenging and rewarding in their own way, but there is something about getting to ask questions and getting paid to answer them that is super fun. The fourth grader that drove my parents crazy with questions thinks this is the dream life.”
Sarah Beagle, postdoctoral research associate in the Levin lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Kim Medley
"I grew up in rural southwest Missouri on a dairy farm outside a very small town named Elkland. We worked hard tending the land and the cattle, and when we weren’t working, I would sneak off into the woods where I would sit and observe nature: the way the leaves dropped off the trees, the movement of the birds and squirrels in the canopy, and the sound of the water bubbling in the 1storder stream when it was flowing in the spring. In particular, I love insects and have always been fascinated by the microscopic world. No matter how basic the research question may be, having a better understanding of mosquito ecology and evolution can lead to improved vector control and disease mitigation efforts. That’s why I chose to work in this system: you can ask really interesting, basic research questions that have pretty clear implications in the “real-world.” Being a scientist, to me, means pursuing research questions that can push fundamental scientific knowledge forward while also advancing the ability of humanity to live sustainably as a part of natural systems. It also means constantly observing the world around you and looking for patterns and mechanisms, no matter how seemingly insignificant, and communicating our findings to the public in a way that is interesting and digestible—this part is key."
Kim Medley, Tyson director
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Arnaud Thierry Djami Tchatchou
"I was born in a small village, Ndoungue in Cameroon, and raised up by my grandparents who were famers and hunters. Each time my grandfather brought an animal home for food I was always curious to see what was inside the stomach and head. As a primary and high school student I was fascinated by biology. Learning about the natural world and the ways organisms interact with the environment was more real to me than mathematics, literature, etc. Growing up with my grandparents, we cultivated the ground manually to sow cassava, sweet potatoes, maize, and many vegetable crops. This is how my passion for plants originated. Seeing the struggle with plant disease in those days, which resulted sometimes in severe losses in agricultural yield, made me curious to know why our crops couldn’t defend themselves against those diseases. These struggles and difficulties faced by my parents became the motivation that led me to study and seek to understand how plants defend themselves against pathogen attack. Since then I have always been fascinated by the field of plant biology to address issues of global importance such as improving agricultural productivity and ensuring sustainable food security."
Arnaud Thierry Djami Tchatchou, research scientist in the Kunkel lab
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Yusan Yang
"I did my undergraduate education in Taiwan, where I’m from. I noticed when I was learning in college that most of the examples in textbooks in ecology or evolutionary biology were based on studies performed in Western countries. Often, we did not see examples of what’s going on in the natural environment around us. Now, I pay attention to where the examples are from when I’m reading or teaching. There are theories and hypotheses that apply to certain regions and not other regions or not all the time. It also helps people relate more; it’s not just something scientists study, but something that is happening in our backyard or in the forest 2 hours away. Since moving to the US to attend Tulane University in New Orleans and then moving to Pittsburgh when my PI moved, plus doing months of fieldwork in Panama, I gained a lot of new insight, both cultural and general, in ways of how people see things differently. It has become even more clear to me that understanding our local environment impacts the scientific questions we ask and how we interact with the people living there."
Yusan Yang, postdoctoral research associate at the Living Earth Collaborative
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Ivan Radin
"I am from Belgrade in today’s Serbia. My upbringing there was happy but interwoven with wars and political turmoil. These experiences taught me to be realistic and persistent, which serves me well in science. I came to the US for my postdoc in the Haswell lab. I came for the opportunities: amazing research, funding, and access to resources. I am also grateful for other opportunities I have had here – for the opportunities to learn new things and new cultures. One of the things I really like about being on the Inclusion Committee, in addition to representing the LGBTQIA+ community, is learning new things especially around the social issues that exist in the US that are different from those in Europe. It was fascinating to come in with a completely different perspective and learn, for example why you should not say this or that. It is really fulfilling work to be on this committee and learn all these things you cannot always see from the outside."
Ivan Radin, postdoctoral research associate in the Haswell lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Swanne Gordon
"Academia, and specifically the fields of ecology and evolution cannot remain in a bubble from the rest of the real world anymore, because we are affected and infected by the same issues. Throughout my career I have been devalued, isolated, had my ideas stolen, and my accomplishments reduced by peers to handouts related to my race in spite of me having to prove myself over and over again; for no good reasons.
Why don’t we flip the script, and recognize that actually statistics are showing us that perhaps universities and departments are instead overrepresented by people that are disproportionately hired, published, and funded time and time again mainly because they ‘fit' the status quo of what an ecologist should look and sound like…and yet no one really complains.
How many nameless faces and heroes were discriminately dismissed or abused from academia so someone else that better fit the bill could take their place. How many minds have we lost and are currently losing? How much innovation have we delayed by accepting a limited diverse outlook towards our faculty and our ideas.
It is time for us to change…in our academic fields and in our personal lives. Time for us to see ourselves represented in the examples of bias in our field and in examples of bias and police brutality in our streets, because our diversity, like in nature, is our strength, not a weakness.
The importance of these issues cannot be overstated because only when the broad diversity of humanity is fairly represented, can science truly appeal to our society as a universal knowledge."
Swanne Gordon, assistant professor of biology
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Angela Schlegel
“Being a scientist to me means having a love of learning. This love drives work in our own fields, our appreciation of other fields, and our desire to learn how to foster better, more inclusive communities. My upbringing has made me aware of how important it is that we create inclusive, supportive communities that recognize the complexity of individual situations and that community building is an active process requiring sustained effort and participation, whatever form that takes.”
Angela Schlegel, graduate student in the Haswell lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Hammy Sorkin
“I graduated from WashU with a degree in environmental earth science. As a student, I worked in the greenhouse. When I graduated, I was offered a staff position in the greenhouse and here I am! I decided to start my own greenhouse and small business Widmer Botanicals because I want to directly share my privilege. My goal is to make accessibility the norm rather than the exception, while also helping people with their gardens and houseplants. I do this with my mom, who is a professional artist and director of Webster Arts. She is making ceramic pots for the plants, including things like “pride pots”. We plan to have a pay-what-you-can-afford plant section, and raise money to support organizations such as Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG), which runs one of the only two trans memorial gardens in the world. We will also commission local queer artists to create artwork to represent each species to add to plant care sheets. Our long-term goal is to turn the business into a non-profit that is very openly pro-human rights. What I really want to do in the future is have a garden open 24/7, that’s free, accessible, and gives people a safe place to hang out. I was accepted into the MS in Library Science program at MIZZOU, an online program that will begin in August, which will help me financially support our plant business. It’s a lot of work, but I genuinely enjoy spending all day working in a greenhouse, so it’s something I’m willing to put in the work for.”
Hammy Sorkin, they work in the greenhouse and recently started their own small business
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Dinesh Gupta
"I was born and raised in Kanchanpur, a small village in eastern Nepal, where I enjoyed working with my parents on our farm. I completed my early schooling in the village and moved to different cities in Nepal for my higher education. During my undergraduate studies, I was fascinated by microbial biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology but my scientific experience was limited due to the lack of funding and infrastructure in Nepal. I moved to Los Angeles, California after winning a diversity visa lottery. Despite my interest, my path to graduate school was not easy. but I am glad that I made it. I completed a master’s degree in Biology with Summa Cum Laude at California State University Northridge and published my first-authored research papers. My family has been very supportive throughout my academic career. I feel happy and proud to be the first in my family to obtain a master's degree and join a Ph.D. program. I am privileged to be part of the Department of Biology, which provides a collaborative and interactive learning environment. I am inspired by many WUSTL community members who go beyond their duties to make sure students are getting the training to succeed in their career goals."
Dinesh Gupta, PMB graduate student in the Bose lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Susan Flowers
"I started in the Biology Department in 1994 as a research technician for Eric Richards and am now the education and outreach coordinator at Tyson Research Center. An important part of my job is preparing researchers, undergraduates, and high school students for successful side-by-side working relationships during the summer field season. That means I need to anticipate and understand the challenges faced by each group and help them prepare for new experiences that might be outside of their comfort zones. There are logistical puzzles to solve, scientific content to make accessible, and mentoring strategies to explore. When everything goes right, we end up getting to do large-scale, rigorous science while also supporting early entry into research careers for a ton of young people. It’s a very productive win-win for everyone. I don’t think I could have a career that is not engaged in the “greater good” in some way. I feel personal satisfaction in knowing my work helps to move scientific research forward through the development of the next generation of environmental scientists."
Susan Flowers, education and outreach coordinator, Tyson Research Center
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Iris Chin
"I went to a high school that is notorious for being a distillation of the hyper-competitive and elitist atmosphere surrounding it; influenced by the Bay Area’s tech culture and under the shadow of a prestigious neighboring university, the student mindset of perfection-or-bust was palpable with every assignment turned in and graded test score anxiously received. A cluster of suicides in my senior year crystallized in public view the effects that this atmosphere had on the mental health of students. Having been so acutely exposed to the effects of poor mental health has had a significant influence on my field of interest. Here at Wash U, I study the molecular neuroscience and genetic influences underlying complex behavioral phenotypes, and I intend to continue doing so when I attend graduate school. My hope is that this type of work might help provide some answers about how we should think about the mental health crisis rapidly enveloping the nation and the world, and ultimately help to produce some new solutions. We humans are immensely social creatures, so understanding the psychology and behavior of individuals and groups at a fundamental and mechanistic level is critical in our increasingly interconnected world."
Iris Chin, WashU Class of 2019 and research technician in Ben-Shahar lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Kristin Winchell
"I’m from Grass Valley, a very small town in northern California near South Lake Tahoe. It is around 200 feet elevation, at the foothills of The Sierra Nevadas just outside the Tahoe National Forest. It was beautiful growing up there. I was outside all the time. I was kind of a feral child. Always barefoot. Always getting dirty running around, finding plants or collecting tadpoles to metamorphose. My mom was instrumental in helping to foster my interests and push me to explore different areas of science. From an early age, I was drawn more towards the nature and ecology side of things, but I didn’t recognize that as a subject to study until I was in college. Now, I’m really interested in how animals are responding to what humans do to the environment, which can mean a lot of things. It can mean conservation or sustainable development, but as my research has progressed, I’ve realized that I am mainly interested in the evolutionary aspect of how humans are influencing, inadvertently and unknowingly, the course of evolution in urban environments. How and why is it happening? What are the consequences for animals? environments? The field of urban evolution is so young, and I’m in on the ground level of it; I want to do it all and do it all now."
Kristin Winchell, postdoctoral research associate in Jonathan Losos lab
Interviewed by Vincent Fasanello
Michelle Liberton
"I am from St. Louis; I live in Northern Jefferson County about 20 miles from the University. I live on a property that has been in my family since the late 1800s in an old farmhouse that was built by my great-grandparents. At that time, when my great-grandparents were living there it was a very rural area, which is not the case anymore. We are surrounded by housing developments. There is a lot of developmental pressure on us, but we are not selling. But for my ancestors, it was pretty isolating so they had to be very independent and self-reliant. If they needed or wanted something, they had to figure it out on their own. They spent the whole year getting ready for winter. Winter is harsh. To prepare for it, they chopped wood for heating and canned their vegetables. My grandparents taught me that everything you have comes from the land. From them, I developed this strong mindset that we have to take care of our solar-powered planet that gives us the food we eat. And we have to figure out how to make it provide for all of us – all of the billions of us that are around now."
Michelle Liberton, research scientist in the Pakrasi lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Philippa Tanford
“To me, being a scientist is an opportunity and responsibility, and the fact that I can pursue a career creating knowledge is amazing. But the discoveries that we make as scientists need to make it to the folks who can implement them, and science as a whole needs to be supported by the general public for any of those discoveries to matter. That means we have to conduct our work ethically, support science literacy and communication, and support politicians who see the value of science. I think sometimes scientists forget this happens at a very human level – it’s not just an abstract concept. It means genuine and nonjudgmental engagement with people, not just telling people facts with a tone of superiority.”
Philippa Tanford, graduate student in the Penczykowski lab
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Bruce Carlson
"It’s abundantly clear that the makeup of our department, and the university as a whole, is not reflective of the broader community that Wash U is in. We want to make efforts to increase diversity and increase equity, but achieving that isn’t something you can do by flipping a switch on policy. It’s something that requires cultural change that comes about slowly, with a lot of effort and with a genuine desire on the part of those who hold the privilege to really listen to the concerns of those who are in the minority. We formed the Biology Inclusion Committee with having in mind that it’s not about just making diversity happen or making equity happen, that diversity and equity are the end products of creating an environment that is truly inclusive and welcomes everyone, and makes them feel at home, whether they are students, staff, or faculty. So that’s the guiding philosophy and why we named it “inclusion” committee as opposed to diversity or equity committee. Really the focus needs to be on inclusion and changing the culture of the institution, which is long, slow, hard work, but that is what fosters diversity and allows people to truly feel welcome.”
Bruce Carlson, associate professor of biology and chair of the Inclusion Committee
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Marta Wegorzewska
"The Community Spotlight was created to celebrate our differences. As a Polish-American hybrid, I have often felt “different”. In 1989, my parents immigrated to New York City from Poland with me and my sister. In school, I learned to speak English and tried my best to keep up with American pop culture (but don’t ask me if I saw that movie because it is a classic, I probably haven't!). At home, we spoke Polish and celebrated Polish traditions. My parents taught me to embrace my differences; after all, I was extremely fortunate to grow up in New York City where everyone has a unique story! I met and continue to be friends with people from all over the world. Our unique stories brought us together and continue to keep us together. When I joined the department as a science writer, I wanted to find a way to celebrate our differences as a way to strengthen our scientific community. My hope is that through your stories – through your unique perspectives - we can learn from each other. As the Community Spotlight turns one, I want to thank the team of passionate individuals who are making this vision possible: graduate students Vince Fasanello and Rachel Becknell and staff member Erin Gerrity. Thank you! In its second year, the Community Spotlight will be collaborating with the Inclusion Committee on a new project starting in 2020. Stay tuned…."
Marta Wegorzewska, science writer
Interviewed by Vincent Fasanello
Joan Strassmann
"I love to teach. I think that it’s one of the most rewarding things I do. I have three kids, and they are all now highly functioning adults. They can all tie their shoes and handle their lives. I was patient with them. I saw to it that they learned what they needed to learn, and I feel like that’s how we should treat our students. We shouldn’t be their judges. We should be their teachers and their mentors. I think that everybody should be given the opportunity to get a high grade. I reject the idea that our job is to sort students for medical schools or graduate schools. I feel that we should treat every student as an individual. If a student needs more time to learn the material, he should be given that time. For example, when your kid fails to tie his shoe, you don’t say “Oh! You can’t tie your shoe. You failed at tying your shoe.” You work with him until he gets it. I feel like if the students care, why would we not keep working with them until they master the material? And why wouldn’t we care more for the students who don’t get it the first time but want to get it? Why would we give a test that if failed tells the student that he can’t ever learn that material? I reject this prevalent mentality that has infiltrated our American educational system."
Joan Strassmann, Charles Rebstock professor of biology
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Diana Jose-Edwards
"Science has its own culture, language and unspoken norms that are hard to understand and navigate. When you do not understand that culture, it makes the already difficult journey to becoming a scientist harder. I’m from a working-class neighborhood in Queens, NY. My parents immigrated from Portugal with less than a high school education. I had no context for what a scientist was or did. I had done well in my science classes, so I pursued Biochemistry in college. I began working in a lab and loved the freedom and creativity I was afforded through scientific research and went on to graduate school. I’m the only person in my extended family with a PhD and the only one in science. I had to manage each transition largely alone. I did not want other students to have that difficulty or to have it dissuade them from pursuing a scientific career. I started working on the WUSTL ENDURE Neuroscience Pipeline program - which prepares undergraduates from diverse backgrounds for neuroscience PhD programs- when the grant was awarded in 2015. Now, I am able to help students both understand scientific concepts and culture, while encouraging them to change it to reflect all scientists."
Diana Jose-Edwards, WUSTL ENDURE program coordinator
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Rachel Penczykowski
"I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and in Immokalee, Florida. We lived about an hour inland from the Gulf Coast side of southwest Florida in an area just barely north of the Everglades. I was surrounded by incredible biodiversity and wildlife such as alligators and lizards and birds and snakes and many other critters that were pretty awesome. I spent a lot of time playing outdoors with my siblings and friends. I would lead my younger siblings and their friends on backyard safaris. They each received a brochure that I made. There are photos of my brother and his friends holding clipboards and rulers. I had them measuring pine cones and sticks. Even as a child, I enjoyed leading a team of people who would investigate what I am curious about. Now, it is mind-boggling to me that this what I get to do every day, to dig into interesting questions. Being a P.I. with my own lab and setting the agenda for what we're going to pursue next is freshly exciting every day."
Rachel Penczykowski, assistant professor
Photo credit: Selaam Dollisso
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Saransh Gothi
"I am in the process of thinking about what I want to do in the future. I am pretty sure I want to go to graduate school and do a PhD in ecology or evolution or something similar. I hope to do research or work in a job where I can make an impact and help with the ongoing crisis that is happening with the changing climate. I think a scientist should be doing something that is meaningful. That can mean anything. For me, it means doing something that can be used by other people and not just in a vacuum. I want my science to have some kind of application to the real world and help enact change. I was born in Bombay; I spent ten years there. Then I lived for three years in a smaller city, Lucknow, and then I moved to New Delhi. I’m not bound to a place; I am not looking at things from a location-centric viewpoint. The entire world needs to work together to do something about climate change. I believe that the more perspectives we have from different people, the better the chances are of discovering something new or solving a problem."
Saransh Gothi, environmental biology major at WashU working in the Botero lab
Matthew Albrecht
“As a conservation scientist, my work is making a difference in the world and that’s very important to me. I want to have a career that is about passion and about something that I believe makes a real difference. I think that being a scientist makes you approach life with objectivity and that the training as a scientist helps you learn how to read, critique, and think about how the natural world works. I get excited about the basic discoveries that we make with the endangered species that we work with and by the complexities of the biologies of these individual species. When I first started this work, I thought that after a few years of studying one species that you would learn so much about it that you would know what you need to know to help conserve it. I have realized that you could spend a lifetime studying some of these species and still continue to learn more and more about them and their interactions with pollinators and soil microbes and all of these other complexities that are happening in the real world that to me are so fascinating.”
Matthew Albrecht, honorary adjunct professor of biology & associate scientist in conservation biology at the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Missouri Botanical Gardens
Interviewed by Rachel Becknell
Christopher Harper
“As scientists, we're pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. In some cases, using that knowledge to solve problems. Sometimes finding the problem is the first step to solving it. I like the thrill of discovery and finding new things. I worked on a bachelor's degree for eight years; I graduated in 2016. I failed so many times that I really wanted to finish this degree and succeed academically. I found a job writing product descriptions and technical manuals for a reagent supply company, Gold Bio. I didn't know about a lot of what I was writing about, so I had to learn it and then describe it to experts, trying to sound comprehensible to them. I learned how to find information and that's been an invaluable skill to have moving forward. I’ve been working as a technician in the Kunkel lab almost 2 years, surrounded mostly by grad students. I love it here so I decided to apply to grad school. I went through the interview process and they accepted me to the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program, which I will begin this August!
A couple of years ago I realized there were a lot of things I was interested in. I’m in a band called Stoker. As I like to jokingly say, we stoke the fire of the hearts of our fans. You can check it out on Facebook! I tried some swing and ballroom dance classes this semester through U college. I play bike Polo in Tilles park with my daughter. I'm always looking to find someone in the department that rides a bike to work…Oh Hey, have you heard of Bike Polo!? The first time I played I was like, wow, this is really fun. That's been my main motivation for riding my bike. I think it's one of the best things I've done for myself, physically and mentally, so I recommend that everyone rides a bike or at least gets physical in some way."
Christopher Harper, research technician in Kunkel lab
Interviewed by Erin Gerrity
Michael Malolepszy
“My parents moved from Germany to St. Louis in 1959; I was less than a year old. Growing up in the 60s in St. Louis, you couldn’t help but notice the work that was going on for the space program. I was old enough at the time to realize that it was going to be one of the more important events in human history – the first time that we leave the planet. I was 11 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. After that, I was always interested in astronomy and got a degree in physics. Now I volunteer doing telescope observing sessions for the St. Louis Astronomical Society and work part-time at the McDonnell Planetarium at the Science Center (since 1981) doing live planetarium shows. The planetarium is a facility that was designed to replicate the night sky. You are under a dome. We turn off all the lights. We have a projector that puts out a convincing starfield, and I point out what is in the sky – the planets, constellation patterns, any special events like meteoroid showers and eclipses. I still remember the first time I went to the planetarium in 1963. I remember looking at the guy that was behind the console with all of the fancy control knobs and the big funky gadget in the middle of the room that put out the stars, and I thought, I would like to do that. That was the seed that started all of this. I can see doing this until I am too old to read."
Michael Malolepszy, technical support specialist
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Stan Braude
“I worked on naked mole rats as an undergrad, and by the time I got to grad school, I was convinced that everything we were seeing in the lab was an artifact. So, I started working in the field in Kenya in 1985. I would get through the year in order to get back to Kenya. For 15 years, I would turn in my grades in May and be on the plane a day later. I would get off the plane in August and walk into class the next day. Studying mole rats is a lot like ice fishing. They are underground. You prepare a tiny hole and put your trap on the hole. Then you wait and watch and read and wait. To be a good trapper, you have to put yourself in the mindset of your prey. I was good at that. I sensed the hesitation in the animal, that moment when it was checking out the trap, feeling suspicious, unable to resist the smell of the bait, and then boom your trap closes. For a long time, being a scientist was an excuse to get in the field. With the mole rats, it’s more. You have to infer; being creative about getting different data is important to get a glimpse into what’s really going on. I’m sure someone is going to figure out a way to get cameras into the burrows so you can see everything. But, for now, I like that you have to be creative to get that inference."
Stan Braude, professor of the practice of biology
Cassie Vernier
“I am from Clarkston, Michigan. The village of Clarkston is typical small-town America. When I was growing up, I saw how unhappy my parents were with their jobs. I wanted to do something I liked, but as a kid, I didn’t know exactly what I would like to do. When I was in 6th grade, my science teacher, Mrs. Roche, told me ‘you are good at science and you should think about being a scientist’. I took every science class I could and found that I really enjoyed them. I think a lot of students at that age don’t necessarily think ‘I could be a scientist if I wanted to’. I think interacting with students can be really formative in their decision to go into science, into academia or to pursue any of their desires. That is why I continue to actively participate in K-12 activities so that students can see what real scientists look like.”
Cassie Vernier, EEPB graduate student working in the Ben-Shahar lab
Justine Garcia
“I am from a little town south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I grew up in the desert on 5 acres of land. As a child, I was really interested in what was going on in the natural world. And then I started working in a lab as an undergrad, and I really didn’t look back. My advisor, Tina Vesbach, was a brand-new professor, and she was this super cool lady. She did field work in Antarctica and in Yellowstone. When I started, she was also pregnant. She was this whole other model for being an adult woman. You can work and have a kid. And you can still go on these adventures. It was really awesome. Then, one summer, I did some field work in Yellowstone. I thought to myself that this is it. This is what I want to do.”
Justine Garcia, postdoctoral research associate in the Queller/Strassmann research group
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
Tahina Ranaivoarisoa
"I was born in Madagascar, the fourth biggest island in the world located off the east coast of Africa. I left my country about 12 years ago to study in the US. When I did my undergraduate and graduate studies in my country, I didn’t have access to a lot of resources. I didn’t have all the equipment or the materials I needed. For example, there were only two ICP-MS machines, used in metal analysis, in the whole country. Being a scientist in America has been a very positive experience for me. Here, I feel fortunate to have the resources, materials and equipment that allow me to do science faster and easier. Sometimes in the US we complain it is not sufficient, it is not enough. That is good because it pushes us to climb higher, but we also have to think about how fortunate we are."
Tahina Ranaivoarisoa, research technician in the Bose Lab
Interviewed by Marta Wegorzewska
“Being a scientist is about finding out all of these little secrets that are in the natural world that you cannot see with your eyes. For example, one insect I worked on is a major crop pest that destroys fields of squash and watermelon. But it can’t survive without this tiny microbe inside of it. By just looking at it, you would never guess that was the case. To me, it is just fun to be privy to all of these little secrets and to discover new ones and to figure out how our world really works.”
―Justine GarciaPostdoctoral Research AssociateWant to receive our spotlights in your inbox?
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