Visitor of the Week: Artemiza Martinez

Meet Artemiza Martinez of the International Laboratory of Human Genome Research (LIIGH) at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Artemiza did her undergraduate studies at LIIGH before transitioning into a research assistant in Lucia Morales’ Yeast Genome Evolution lab. The Mexican national is on campus training at the Yeast Genetics & Genomics course where she is expanding her knowledge of yeast and gaining wet lab experience to further strengthen her PhD application. She also talks about the crowdfunding campaign she set up to fund a portion of her tuition. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am working to understand evolutionary processes using yeast as a model system. In the lab, we are working with hybrid yeasts to understand the process of hybridization. At the same time I love fermentative processes because it’s really interesting how yeasts perform to obtain different products like wine. 

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research? 
Because there are so many different topics I am passionate about and could be happy working with, I wasn’t entirely sure what I want to study until recently. My various research internships and undergraduate thesis guided me towards studying yeast genetics, and I really love what I do.

How did your scientific journey begin? 
In high school I took a genetics class and it was my favorite. After reading an article on the applications of microorganisms in many of the products we use daily, I decided to study biotechnology. I became even more passionate about science during my undergraduate thesis work at LIIGH and  thanks to the investigators who work there and shared with me their life stories and the importance of scientific research. 

Was there something specific about the Yeast Genetics & Genomics course that drew you to apply?
I was motivated by my desire to learn more about yeast and to strengthen the base for my doctorate. In LIIGH, we normally focus on bioinformatics analyses so we have little wet lab experience. Many of the techniques in the course are of great utility to answer future questions in the laboratory, and I am certain this course will develop my skills and knowledge of lab protocols and methodologies.

You created an online fundraiser that helped raise funds to attend the yeast course - talk us through what brought on the initiative.
Because the US dollar has been very strong compared with my national currency (the Mexican peso) it was very difficult for me to pay for the course. Thankfully, I was able to receive financial support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust and HHMI but I needed to raise the funds to cover the remaining balance. And since attending this course is an opportunity I could not let go to waste, I decided to set up a fundraiser. My goal was $1,756 USD (which includes Donadora’s commission) and I am happy to announce that I achieved my goal. I am very thankful for the many people who donated and helped make possible my attendance to this course, and now it is my duty to learn and share my knowledge in my country.

Would you recommend future course trainees to start their own online fundraising campaign to help finance their participation in a CSHL course? 
It is a good option for those who lack the funds to attend the course but it will require time to put together and get off the ground. I spent hours contacting people to convince them of the benefits of my attending a training course in the US and inform them of my fundraiser. This was hard and frustrating at first but when the donations began to come in, I felt nothing but joy and gratitude. Now, I feel even more motivated to achieve my goals which I share with those who supported me and expect the best of me.

What and/or how will you apply what you've learned from the course to your work? 
Many of the methodologies being discussed and shown in the course are necessary for the project on which we are working. My intention is to be able to transmit this knowledge to the new students entering the lab who are interested in working with yeast.

What is your key takeaway from the course?
That working in the lab can be so much fun! I have gotten to know experienced researchers working on very interesting topics who are further motivating me to pursue my goals. The ability and opportunity to share what you do and your passion for science with people from all over the world is a very gratifying sensation.

How many CSHL courses have you attended?
This is my first course in CSHL, I hope it is not the last.

If someone curious in attending this course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
It is an intense course that demands all your energy but it is totally worth it. The instructors and teaching assistants put so much effort and joy into preparing and teaching that instead of feeling tired, you become curious and ready to learn more and take full advantage of the course. And of course, you cannot miss out on the opportunity to train at such a beautiful institute.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
Learning science here is fun and every day there is something new to enjoy.

Artemiza received a scholarship from the Helmsley Charitable Trust and financial support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to cover a portion of her course tuition. On behalf of Artemiza, thank you to the Helmsley Charitable Trust  and HHMI for supporting and enabling our young scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network.

Thank you to Artemiza 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: Predrag Janjic

Meet Predrag Janjic of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Republic of Macedonia). Predrag is associated with the Laboratory of Complex Systems and Networks led by Ljupco Kocarev, and with the Research Program in Psychiatric Diseases led by Andrew J. Dwork of the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University. The research scientist is on a multi-week trip in New York – first to take part and present a poster in the 2018 Glia in Health & Disease meeting titled “Multistability in a model of membrane voltage dynamics in hippocampal astrocytes—Interplay between Kir and K2p currents” and then to meet with his States-side collaborators.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
The main focus of my present work is computational modeling of glial cells, both their structure and function. Within the structural studies we try to quantitate myelin in psychiatric disease, while on the functional side, I develop dynamical models of conductivity of astrocytic membrane.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
While I knew cell-level modelling would be the focus of my work, as I was considering the particular phenomena I should concentrate on, it was a striking realization that computational cellular neuroscience had almost completely ignored glial cells during the last few decades, or have modeled their roles in a rudimentary way. From a biophysical perspective, I found it unacceptable and decided to take a closer look into how biophysical theory could describe some of the basic experimental properties. For getting into closer contact with the real issues and challenges, apart of the collaboration with Columbia University on myelin, for functional cell-level modelling I collaborate with Prof. Christian Steinhaüser’s lab in Bonn and Prof. Pavle Andjus’ lab in Belgrade where advanced neurobiology of glia is being explored experimentally.

How did your scientific journey begin? 
After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, I pursued a masters in the theoretical physics of nonlinear phenomena from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje; where my interest in dynamical descriptions of neuronal membranes began. The freedom I was given by Prof. Kocarev to explore less established areas enabled me to carry over my earlier interest into Ph.D. studies, focusing on the variations of modeling frameworks in non-excitable (or non-spiking) cells. The NIMH/Fogarty-funded research led by Columba University provided me with the critical opportunity to join a larger research program and pursue neuroscience.

Was there something specific about the Glia in Health & Disease meeting that drew you to attend?
I was attracted by: 1) the growing evidence from several labs that specific glial potassium-channel families (which I study) are implicated in more and more disordered conditions, and 2) the possibility to have face-to-face discussions on those implications and experimental observations.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
During the last several years, I have struggled to find my home community. The computational neuroscience community – where I belong on paper – still unfortunately stands aside on most of the glial phenomena. On the other hand, the concepts and methods used by the computational neuroscience community are still a bit abstract for the glial biologists, where molecular studies presently dominate. Computational studies of glia will have to bridge the gap between the experimental observations and their quantitative descriptions, and CSHL is a very unique place where both experimentalists and theoreticians feel at home. The explosion of molecular findings will show  researchers like me where to look when refining the computational descriptions of the phenomena we observe.

What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?  
This was the first meeting I attended where a notable number of leading researchers in glial biology were present. I needed to get a first-hand account of the molecular studies aimed at showing what (de)regulates the ion channel populations I am quantitatively modeling, as well as what is the latest in the imaging and molecular studies of myelin. 

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?
As the glial biology community is definitively growing, the Glia meeting at CSHL will further gain popularity. And since both, the cell-level and molecular biological contexts are addressed here, CSHL is really a great place to get inspired  while meeting and working with other glial biologists.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The CSHL campus has a unique quality conducive to relaxing and thinking about what really inspires you. The history-rich facilities, artistic touches in each and every corner, supportive staff, and the great food will make anyone feel really pleasant.

Thank you to Predrag 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: Heiko Schutt

Meet Heiko Schütt of the University of Tübingen (Germany). Heiko is currently finishing his PhD in Felix Wichmann’s lab within the Neural Information Processing Group. He is on campus attending his first CSHL course: Computational Neuroscience: Vision. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I model human visual behavior: what images humans can differentiate and where in the image they look. For my models, I use neural data for inspiration which I implement using image-processing methods.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research? 
I knew I wanted to study visual perception once I realized how well it can be understood and the number of fascinating problems still unresolved. For example, I am deuteranope which means I am missing the photoreceptor type needed to register medium wave length lights. Therefore, there are some colors which I cannot differentiate. As this process is well understood, we can calculate which colors I can identify and which ones I cannot. Displaying colors on a screen, which everyone -- but me -- could easily distinguish from each other made a very impressive illustration. Such exact predictions are a rarity in neuroscience and psychology, and gave me hope that exact solutions are possible in other parts of vision science. 

How did your scientific journey begin? 
My scientific journey began as a psychology student in Gießen, which has a large group of psychologists working on visual perception. I started as a research assistant and was immediately fascinated by the illusions in visual perception, its complexities, and how much we can understand in this field.

Was there something specific about the Computational Neuroscience: Vision course that drew you to apply?
I was mainly drawn to apply for this course by the great collection of speakers and alumni. This course really brings together a broad selection of world-leading scientists in this field.

What and/or how will you apply what you've learned from the course to your work? 
I learned a lot about the neural basis of my models. The retinal physiology discussed at the course will be a great source of inspiration for the front end of the early vision model I currently develop.

What is your key takeaway from the course?
The most important takeaway are the people I have met here. Of course, I increased my knowledge and beliefs about visual neuroscience, but getting to know the researchers behind the original studies and meeting a great set of peer scientists will be invaluable for my future in science.

If someone curious in attending this course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
If you can attend, do it! This is one of the best visual neuroscience courses in the world. Once you are here, don’t take yourself too seriously and allow yourself to get to know the science and other scientists.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
From our evening discussions to our Nerf gun battles, ultimate Frisbee matches, and evenings on the beach - I enjoyed the relaxed attitude of this course.

Heiko received a scholarship from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to cover a portion of his course tuition. On behalf of Heiko, thank you to the Helmsley Charitable Trust for supporting and enabling our young scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network. 

Thank you to Heiko 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: Doris Ling

Meet Doris Ling of Washington University in St. Louis. The graduate student is a member of the Barani Raman Lab which studies the insect olfactory system; as well as the Yehuda Ben-Shahar Lab which studies the genetic basis of behavior. Doris returned to CSHL to take part in the annual course on Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in how the brain encodes complex sensory information – currently I am researching this in the fruit fly brain and how it represents chemical information such as smells.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research? 
My background is in engineering and in a previous life I was interested in developing artificial chemical sensors. I quickly came to realize that man-made chemical sensors tend to fail in complex odorant environments but natural chemical sensors, such as our noses or a fly’s antennae, easily deal with these complexities. So why not study how nature builds such robust chemical sensors? 

How did your scientific journey begin? 
Growing up, I had great teachers whose enthusiasm for teaching and the sciences made it easy for me to get excited about science too.

Was there something specific about the Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits & Behavior course that drew you to apply?
I applied to this course because I wanted to learn more laboratory skills specific for studying the fruit fly nervous system. Learning such hands-on technical skills from leaders in the field has been truly invaluable in ways that I am not sure I would have been able to obtain anywhere else.    

What and/or how will you apply what you've learned from the course to your work? 
This course has provided me with such a breadth and wealth of knowledge regarding everything from the developmental neuroscience to the genetic tools available in fruit flies. It was also great to learn from people with such diverse academic backgrounds. I hope to channel everything I’ve learned to ask more informed and interesting questions about Drosophila neurobiology!

What is your key takeaway from the course?
Flies are awesome. Even though their brains only have 100,000 neurons (compared to humans which have 100 billion neurons), they are still capable of so many interesting and elaborate behaviors. And considering how many biological processes are fairly conserved throughout the animal kingdom, the fly is a necessarily simple but sufficiently complex model that can teach us a lot about ourselves.  

How many CSHL courses have you attended? 
Just this one, and I attended the Neurobiology of Drosophila meeting last fall. 

If someone curious in attending this course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
Do it! This course has been invaluable to me in terms of the experimental skills I have learned, the conversations I’ve had, and the people I’ve met. The instructors are so knowledgeable, but more importantly, ever so patient and kind teachers. It has been a great opportunity to get to know them and to have them on our team.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The people I met at CSHL during the course are nothing short of amazing. Their company has brought me countless laughs and gave me an unwavering faith about the future of the field. I already miss our late-night conversations and gossiping about science at every coffee break. I hope that I may one day be as motivated, diligent, and ambitious as they are. 

Doris received a fellowship from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to cover a portion of her course tuition. On behalf of Doris, thank you to the Helmsley Charitable Trust for supporting and enabling our young scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network.

Thank you to Doris 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: Linda Rubenstein

Meet Linda Rubenstein of the NASA Ames Research Center! The NASA Postdoctoral Fellow is a part of the Bone and Signaling Lab headed by Ruth Globus. She is on campus participating in her first CSHL course: Advanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
We aim to understand the responses of mammalian tissue to the spaceflight environment with the goal of developing effective countermeasures to maintain crew health during and after space missions. 

My research focuses on the impact of microgravity and radiation on the brain in mice. 
How did you decide to make this the focus of your research? 
During my PhD, my focus was on aging. More specifically, prolonged exposure to the spaceflight environment leads to excess production of ROS and oxidative damage, culminating in an acceleration of tissue degeneration – similar to aging – and I am working to to further explore and understand this link. 

How did your scientific journey begin? 
My father is a chemist, and from young age, he inspired me to pursue scientific questions. I am also very lucky to have had wonderful and supportive mentors while I earned my Masters (Prof. David Lichtstein and Prof. Dvora Rubinger in the Jerusalem Hadassah Medical Center) and PhD degrees (Prof. Martin Kupiec in Tel-Aviv University). They inspired me to continue onto my postdoc. 

Was there something specific about the Advanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience course that drew you to apply?
Since I am relatively new to the neurobiology field, I was keen to acquire the newest methods with hands-on laboratory experience and meet with the experts of the field. This course came highly recommended.

What and/or how will you apply what you've learned from the course to your work? 
I will be able to apply the majority of the methods I have learned in the course - such as FISH, TRAP, CLIP techniques – to my work and I also plan to start working on neuronal cell cultures.

What is your key takeaway from the course?
Most importantly, the wonderful people I have met here. There is a vast range of new exciting techniques (both genome wide and single cell) that are relatively accessible and fascinating topics waiting to be explored – we just have to choose the suitable method for our scientific question and per aspera ad astra. And besides the novel techniques, I was also inspired by the lectures given by the guest lectures and our instructors. I return to California with many new ideas and offers for technical support and possible future collaborations.   

Taking a break from the course with a sail trip around the Bay.

If someone curious in attending this course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would warmly recommend this amazing course. In addition to acquiring a palette of amazing techniques, you get the chance to meet and discuss with the top researchers in the field the newest discoveries in a friendly and informal environment.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I have loved the dedication and enthusiasm of our instructors (Cary Lai, Joseph LoTurco and Anne Schaefer) and the teaching assistants in helping us understand the different methods and how they can be applied to our research. I also love the diversity and vibrancy of my fellow course participants, from whom I have also learned a lot and whose company I have enjoyed. I am sure we’ll keep in touch in the future. 

Linda's attendance and travel were funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP), respectively. On behalf of Linda, thank you to HHMI and NPP for supporting and enabling scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network.

Also, thank you to Linda 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.