Episode 151: Dr William Roman "Use your PhD as a platform"

In this episode, Ina Sonnen, a researcher at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, is interviewed by Postdocoral researcher JF Darrigrand. Ina explains which are the big questions studied in her lab, notably how cells can communicate not only via the nature of signals they exchange but also through the dynamics of these signlas. She shares how advances in microscopy, microfluidics and cell culture are helping researchers to make more and more discoveries. Having recently founded her lab, she tells us more about what she found was either challenging or rewarding in her new role. Lastly, she insists on why she thinks being a scientist is a good job when you want to start a family. To find out more about Ina's research, check out the following links: https://www.sonnenlab.org

In today’s episode, Prof. Andrew Ewald, Director of the Cell Biology Department at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is interviewed by Inês Tomás. Prof Ewald explains how he transitionned from a background in physics to the field of cancer biology. He touches upon why cancer is such a specific type of disease, how cancer cells talk to each other during metastasis, and how their interaction with immune cells is crucial for disease development. Prof Ewald also discusses the evolution of the tools available for cancer biologists and how the emergence of new technologies are changing the field. Lastly, he shares some inspiring mentoring advice on how to reach an interdisciplinary and rewarding career.

In today’s episode, Dr. William Roman, a research associate at Stanford University, is interviewed by Dr. Davide Danovi. William explains how he is combining live cell imaging and quantitative approaches to answer fundamental questions in muscle biology. He shares some inspiring mentoring advice on how to let students use their PhDs as platforms to express themselves throught their science and discover what type of science they like, both in terms of subject and technique.

In today’s episode, Shalev Itzkovitz, a professor at the Weizman Institute, Israel, is interviewed by Postdocoral researcher Georgina Goss. Shalev shares the discoveries of his lab on the design principles that shape and maintain metabolic organs such as the intestine and the liver. He explains the very advanced techniques used in modern biology, and more specifically in his lab, to address such fundamental questions. Having started his education in mechanical engineering, he discusses what motivated him to transition to the resolution of biological questions and how resolving these questions is somewhat similar to retro-engineering. Lastly, he touches upon what fascinates him in studying the biology of metabolic organs. To find out more about Shalev's research, check out the following links: https://shalevlab.weizmann.ac.il

In today’s episode, Prof Xin Chen, a group leader at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, is interviewed by PhD student Daria Belokhvostova. Xin takes us into the world of germline stem cell epigenetics and how its regulation can influence the ability of these cells to divide asymmetrically. She shares her passion for the biology of germ cells and explains why the fruit fly Drosophila is such a good system for her studies. Xin talks about how scientific collaborations are helping to expand her findings to different biological systems. Finally, she tells us about the challenges of keeping the lab running through pandemic times and the joy of seeing in-person interactions come back. To find out more about Xin’s research, check out the following link: https://bio.jhu.edu/directory/xin-chen/

In today’s episode, Dr Allison Bardin, a group leader at Institut Curie, is interviewed by PhD student Vassia Salameti. Allison talks about how she got interested in asymmetric cell division while working on budding yeast, followed by her work on fly as a postdoc that derived her into the field to study cell fate acquisitions and stem cell biology. She shared the details about how Drosophila is excellent model to study various genetic alterations and cost effective. Allison further emphasised on the importance of fundamental research and how that could lead to interesting discoveries that could be further translated into clinics. Finally, she talks about importance of collaboration as well as importing expertise in lab along with some interesting advice for PhDs who plan to pursue academic career. To find out more about Allison's research, check out the following link: https://science.institut-curie.org/research/biology-cancer-genetics-and-epigenetics/developmental-biology-and-genetics/team-bardin/

In today’s episode, Prof Yukiko Yamashita, a group leader at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT, is interviewed by PhD student Joshua Reeves. Yukiko talks about how her lab got interested in understanding the possible mechanism of non siter chromatid segregation in germline cells. She talks about how they started looking at the interesting mechanisms regulating the immortality of germlines cells in Drosophila. Yukiko also shares her opinion regarding Junk DNA and how it might not all be junk like noncoding RNAs. Lastly, she shares her advice to be learner for rest of life and get used to stepping outside comfort zone. And to become comfortable not being expert all the time. To find out more about Yukiko’s research, check out the following link: https://yamashitalab.wi.mit.edu/

In today’s episode, Prof Ludo Van Den Bosch a group leader at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, is interviewed by PhD student Abigail Isaacson. Ludo talks about his labs goal and how they use different model systems to understand disease as good as possible with goal to develop therapies. He also highlighted the importance of using different models from fruit fly, zebrafish to mice depending on context and questions. Ludo also emphasized about obstacles in managing ALS along with advancement in past 25yrs and how iPSCs have made big difference and given new insights for understanding diseases. Ludo shared his experience as being a scientist and how much he enjoy interaction with young people and other fellow colleagues. To find out more about Ludo's research, check out the following link: https://cbd.vib.be/labs/van-den-bosch-lab

In today’s episode, Prof Elena Ezhkova, a group leader at Icahn School of Medicine, is interviewed by PhD student Vassia Salameti. Elena talks about the potential of stem cells in therapy and how her interest developed towards understanding the role of epigenetic regulators in stem cell reprogramming. She shares about how companies are getting interested in small molecular drugs that target epigenetic regulators which could be used as personalized therapy. Elena also emphasizes the importance of clinical collaboration and highlights how important it is to get the inputs from clinicians at the beginning of project to get better understanding of the disease. Lastly, she shares her advice for PhDs to find the research direction of interest and not be afraid things will work out!!! To find out more about Elena's research, check out the following link: https://www.ezhkova-lab.com/

In today’s episode, Prof Filipe Pereira, a professor at Lund University, Sweden, is interviewed by postdocoral researcher Jean-Francois Darrigrand. Filipe shares how he started his career in the fields of stem cells reprogramming and immunotherapy, as well as his experience working in the US and different european countries. Filipe also discusses about how he balances his activities of leader of an academic group and of a biotech company. Lastly, he explains why mentoring is a fantastic source of motivation for him. To find out more about Filipe's research, check out the following link: https://pereiralab.com/team/carlos-filipe-pereira/