Meet Kenrick Waite of Kansas State University. The graduate student in Jeroen Roelofs’ lab returned to the Lab for his second, consecutive ubiquitin meeting; and, just as he did at the 2017 iteration of this ubiquitin meeting, Kenrick presented a poster at this year’s Ubiquitin, Autophagy & Disease meeting as well as a lightning talk. He still fondly remembers his first poster experience at CSHL in 2017:

My poster presentation was the most useful part of the meeting for my work. I received tons of suggestions on what would make my conclusions stronger and advice regarding different techniques I could use in my research. Here is where the constructive criticism happens.

Kenrick considered his back-to-back poster presentation and shared this:

My poster presentation at this meeting was as beneficial, if not more so, than my presentation at the last Ubiquitin Family Meeting. The data I presented is novel and has never been seen before by researchers outside of the Roelofs lab or the Division of Biology at K-State. Having this group of scientist with such diverse expertise is a real benefit because they ask questions that I had previously not heard or considered. As was the case with the last meeting, these experts constructively criticized my work and offered lots of suggestions for next steps and improvements. Suggestions that will make the data stronger and its presentation clearer. I am happy I took the opportunity to return to CSHL.

We’re certain Kenrick will be back for another CSHL meeting in the future; but, for the meantime, here’s what he had to say of his participation at the 2019 Ubiquitin, Autophagy & Disease meeting:

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in protein degradation and the phenotypes that arise when this fails. Currently, I study how proteasomes localization and abundance are affected by cellular stress.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
At first, I did not specifically know what I would study in graduate school. I had a general interest in cancer biology and found that proteasomes play a role in cancer survival. That drew me to this field early in my career.

How did your scientific journey begin?
My science career started in high school with a very good teacher who inspired me to learn about and understand the world at a deeper level. The subject was anatomy and physiology and having moved from Jamaica I had not had the opportunity to see this type of science before. Learning precisely how the human body carries out function was what got me hooked. I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world at the time.

Was there something specific about the Ubiquitin, Autophagy & Disease meeting that drew you to attend?
I attended the 2017 Ubiquitin Family meeting and very much enjoyed my experience. The quality of the research I saw from posters to talks was simply amazing. I also met a lot of fantastic people in the ubiquitin field and was thrilled to see them again. With the specific addition of autophagy and disease sections to this meeting, I was even more excited to attend. This meeting is an excellent chance to share my data with top researchers and take advantage of their experience and expertise.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
This meeting is a great way to get feedback on my work and to see what the top scientist in my field are working on. To see the work presented makes for a better appreciation of its importance. The ability to question the scientist either after presentations or informally at breakfast, lunch, dinner or in the hallway, really helps in solidifying my understanding.

What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?
I have learned a lot about the cutting-edge research my colleagues are engaged in. Specific to my research, I have found sources for antibodies I have been wanting to use in my system for some time. Further, new techniques to study autophagy were presented which I will incorporate into my work.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would advise any scientist who studies ubiquitin’s, autophagy and disease to attend this meeting in the future. It is a fantastic opportunity to not only see cutting edge work, but also interact with scientists who can advise your work. The people that attend this meeting genuinely care about training the next generation of scientists, and this is a perfect opportunity to get career advice and hear what these established researchers have to say. Particularly when it comes to establishing a successful scientific career.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I like that I can meet and build relationships with like-minded people in this type of atmosphere.  The Cold Spring Harbor campus is beautiful. I really enjoy the harbor and natural areas around campus.

Thank you to Kenrick for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.