Visitor of the Week: Phoolwanti Rani

Meet Phoolwanti Rani of the San Diego Biomedical Research Institute. Rani is a postdoctoral fellow and member of Prof. David Gilbert’s lab. She spent last week with us at the Eukaryotic and DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance meeting – her first meeting at CSHL —- and “[she] enjoyed connecting with brilliant scientist from all over the world. The poster sessions and speaking with colleagues on Slack were really amazing.”

Tell us about your research.
I am working on developing the technique to generate better map of the factors important for replication and maintaining proper replication timing. MCM is one the challenging origin licensing factor during replication. I am trying to map MCM in a single cell (mammalian) with better resolution.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
During my Ph.D., I worked on Topoisomerases and got introduced to transcription-replication conflicts. I got attracted to replication and finally landed in the laboratory which works on replication timing.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, aerospace scientist who served as the 11th president of India. I read his autobiography in school and got inspired to become scientist. I was also interested in biology, and so chose to pursue my career in the same field.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
Research is limitless. Finding an answer to one question always leads to another puzzle to solve.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
I was very much interested by the discussion session, and learnt the importance of continuing the discussion in science. Amazing ideas and collaborations come up during discussions.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering participating in this meeting?
It is an amazing platform to share knowledge, build collaborations and look for career opportunities.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
My PI mentioned in the meeting that I am going to be working on a very important unresolved problem.

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

Image provided by Phoolwanti Rani

Visitor of the Week: Maroof Zafar

Meet Maroof Zafar of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The Pakistani national is a postdoctoral fellow working under the mentorship of Dr. Alicia Byrd in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Maroof is with us for the Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance Meeting, and his initial participation included a fruitful poster presentation on “Human DNA helicase B protects stalled forks from degradation after replication stress.” As for his experience at his first CSHL meeting? Maroof found it to be “relaxed with opportunities to socialize with your peers while also benefiting from the cutting-edge research going on in your field.”

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in studying how human cells repair damaged DNA to maintain genomic integrity. My work involves investigating the role of human DNA helicases in DNA replication and repair to further understand the mechanism of DNA replication and to identify potential targets for chemotherapeutics.  

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
I have always been fascinated by the complex cascade of protein networks and pathways that are involved in replicating and repairing our genomes. During graduate school, I focused on basic enzymology of human translesion polymerases and their role in chemoresistance. During those years, I grew fond of the mechanisms involved in DNA damage response pathways and wanted to explore this field further from a cellular level. 

How did your scientific journey begin?
I am from Pakistan and ever since I was in high school, I wanted to come to the United States for higher education and research. I wanted to make a difference in the community by exploring basic mechanisms that cause human diseases. As an undergraduate, I was fortunate enough to receive an undergraduate research fellowship to identify small molecule inhibitors of enzymes that cause cancer and chemoresistance. That summer research experience was the catalyst in my journey to further investigate the underlying causes of cancer.

Was there something specific about the Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance Meeting that drew you to attend?
The CSHL meetings are very focused on a specific field and since I work on DNA replication and repair, it was a perfect meeting to attend to learn about the cutting-edge research going on in the field and to share my research with other scientists working on DNA replication and repair. I especially enjoyed the sessions on replication initiation, replication fork stalling and replisome structure.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
The Eukaryotic DNA Replication and Genome Maintenance Meeting is very well organized thus making it easier for the participants to make full use of their time while at CSHL. The key takeaways from the meeting are that the process of the DNA replication and repair is a very complex process--vital to human life--that involves a vast number of proteins and mechanisms; most of which are conversed from lower eukaryotes to higher eukaryotes. Although these mechanisms are well studied, there is still a lot of key questions that remain unanswered.

What and/or how will you apply what you’ve learned from the meeting to your work?
This meeting was really helpful in terms of making new collaborations and learning about the new and more sensitive techniques people are using to answer scientific questions. I am also looking at collaborating with researchers using electron microscopy to study different replication intermediates, and was fascinated to learn that cryo-em technology has developed significantly over the years making it easier to understand protein structure-function at a higher resolution.

If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
This meeting is an ideal place to meet people in your field. Make the most of that opportunity by networking, developing new collaborations and attending the career development session. Ask questions about other people’s research and be open to comments and suggestions regarding your own research. 

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
CSHL is a very scenic campus quietly nestled next to a harbor and seems like an ideal place to do science. I am glad that I got the opportunity to experience life at CSHL, make new friends and develop valuable collaborations.

Thank you to Maroof 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.

Visitor of the Week: Jana Dobrovolna

Meet Jana Dobrovolna of the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. A junior investigator in the Laboratory of Genome Integrity headed by Jiri Bartek, Jana is on campus for the 2017 Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance meeting. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
DNA replication and transcription are two essential processes in each living cell; however their simultaneous action in the same region of a genome can lead to DNA damage. My work focuses on uncovering molecular mechanisms that prevent and resolve the interference between DNA replication and transcription. 

Was there something specific about the Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance meeting that drew you to apply?
The opportunity to discuss my work and get feedback from the best researchers in this field are my main drivers to attend this meeting. Also, before I signed up, I checked the invited speakers list to determine how many of my favorite speakers would be in attendance. 

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
The formation of RNA:DNA hybrids (referred to as R-loops), and mutual orientation of proceeding DNA replication and transcription at the site of their collision dramatically affect the levels and types of the consequent DNA damage. 

How many CSHL meetings have you attended?
To date, I have attended five CSHL meetings focusing on three different topics. I altered my research interests during my PhD and postdoc studies and then again during my current position, and I have found that the meetings at CSHL are always the best and fastest way to gain an excellent overview of the most up-to-date news in a given topic. 

Have you taken part in a CSHL course? 
No, I unfortunately did not have the chance due to financial reasons. But I have recommended the Proteomics course to a colleague who was very satisfied with the course. He applied a lot of the knowledge gained at the course to further his research.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I highly recommend this meeting.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
Although the program is packed with many great talks, there is still enough of time for informal discussions. CSHL has a genius loci - I love the spirit of this place.  

Thank you to Jana 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.