Visitor of the Week: Kranthi Kumar Chougoni

Meet Kranthi Kumar Chougoni of the Virginia Commonwealth University. Kranthi is a PhD student in Dr. Steven R. Grossman’s lab, in the Clinical and Transitional Research with Concentration in Cancer and Molecular Medicine Program. He is currently taking part in our biennially-held Workshop on Pancreatic Cancer which also happens to be his first course at CSHL. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
Complex heterogeneity and disease progression of pancreatic cancer is what intrigues me. Currently, I am studying the role of oncoprotein, C-terminal Binding protein (CtBP2) and p38 MAP Kinases in progression of pancreatic cancer.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers with very limited treatment options available because much of the disease’s progression is not known. Dr. Grossman’s lab focuses on pancreatic and colorectal cancer research, and when I got a chance to work in his lab, it was like a “wow” moment for me and I grabbed the opportunity with no second thought.

How did your scientific journey begin?
My undergraduate professors Dr. David Banji and Dr. Otilia Banji, who are extremely talented and hardworking, are a huge inspiration for me. Their pharmacology lab always drew my attention and I was fascinated by the research work carried in their lab and that’s when I decided to become a researcher and make valuable contributions to the science and society. Then, during my Master’s in pharmacology and toxicology at Wright State University, working with Dr. Norma C. Adragna further strengthened my interest in research.

Was there something specific about the Workshop on Pancreatic Cancer that drew you to apply?
I am a basic scientist and I always wanted to know things from a clinical perspective for a better understanding of the disease. This was a perfect opportunity; I had a chance to listen to the lectures from clinicians who actually treat pancreatic cancer patients.

What and/or how will you apply what you’ve learned from the workshop to your work?
It’s about halfway through the workshop and it feels like I learned a ton already, starting from symptoms reported by pancreatic cancer patients to the complex mechanistic progression of cancer. One specific thing I will take back to the lab is co-culturing pancreatic cells with fibroblasts to recapitulate tumor microenvironment. 

What is your key takeaway from the workshop?
One of the key takeaways for me is “to think critically about what you want to do before you actually do and pick the right experiment model” as said by Dr. Kenneth P. Olive. Also to be a “fearless scientist” as said by Dr. Ben Stanger.

If someone curious in attending this workshop asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would totally recommend it after all the wonderful exposure I have had. My only advice would be to come prepared. There are experts all around. All you have to do is come prepared and approach them.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The Banbury campus is so green, peaceful and beautiful. I really enjoyed walking on the beach and talking to other participants. We also played games during the evening breaks and that was so much fun.

Thank you to Kranthi 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: Amos Schaffer

Meet Amos Schaffer of the Bar Ilan University (Israel). A PhD student in Professor Erez Levanon’s lab, Amos is on campus for the 84th CSHL Symposium: RNA Control & Regulation. This is his first meeting at CSHL and Amos, based on feedback from his friends who have previously attended a CSHL meeting, “expected it to be a really large gathering of scientists and was pleasantly surprised at how it feels to be constantly immersed in an atmosphere of people who all have shared interests.”

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am working on A-to-I RNA editing where a protein called ADAR changes adenosines into guanosines in double stranded RNAs. My research focuses on the way this mechanism is regulated in cancer cells and on looking for ways to inhibit this process in genes that might be drivers in cancer.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
While I was close to finishing my Master’s degree I went to a conference where I heard a lecture about A-to-I RNA editing. I found it amazing that there could be so many changes or mutations that aren’t coded in the genome but that can have profound changes on the protein level.

How did your scientific journey begin?
I’ve always been interested in figuring out how things work. Growing up my parents were always involved in learning new things, specifically my father who works in plant genetics. These things made me appreciate the amazing complexity of biology and encouraged me to devote myself to studying biology and trying to make new discoveries in the field.

Was there something specific about the 84th CSHL Symposium: RNA Control & Regulation that drew you to attend?
It started with having a poster to present (entitled “RNA editing in cancer cell lines”) but what drew me to this meeting was actually the wide range of topics and speakers. Even though I am working on a specific aspect of RNA processing I enjoy learning of other aspects of RNA research and getting the bigger picture of the biology of RNA rather than just the focused aspect of my research.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
That even though there is so much knowledge about RNA there is still so much to learn and understand.

What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?
One lecture mentioned a technique for single molecule RNA-seq. Because we work on changes in RNA, this technique could be useful for better quantifying the edited RNAs and lower the number of sequencing errors.

The focus of the CSHL Symposium changes every year but what feedback or advice can you share with those interested in attending a future meeting at CSHL?
I would recommend they skim through the abstract book a short time before the start of the meeting. There are a lot of talks and many posters and the topics can be varied. Therefore, so as not to get lost, it helps to have some sort of idea of what the different talks are about and also to find talks and posters that seem interesting.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The campus itself is quite beautiful and the biology-themed sculptures help with getting into the right mindset for the meeting.

Thank you to Amos 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: Alzbeta Dostalkova

Meet  Alzbeta Dostalkova of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (Czechia). She is part of the lab of Dr. Michaela Rumlová within the Department of Biotechnology. The PhD student is at CSHL for her first-ever meeting – Retroviruses – and she immediately felt “professional and intimate environment to meet and discuss research with colleagues” for which CSHL meetings have become well-known. Alzbeta also presented a poster entitled “Quantification of stability effect of polyanions on assembly and disassembly of retroviral particles” that was met by many and produced many friendly and helpful discussions.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
Generally, I am focused on the steps closely related with the assembly of retroviruses such as HIV-1 and M-PMV. I am working on uncovering the mechanism of viral genomic RNA incorporation to the assembling particle and next phase of my study is newly stability of the particles, especially of the core.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
When I started to study, protein-RNA interactions was a very cool topic in the retrovirological world, so my supervisor and I decided to keep the focus on this theme.  And I really like it.

How did your scientific journey begin?
I have always wanted to help people and I thought that synthesis of drugs would be the right path for me So, at the university, I started studying the biotechnology of drugs. But then after a few months, I became interested in HIV-1 and the problems connected with this retrovirus. When I found out that I can be part of the lab studying HIV-1 and directly help to fight against it, I knew I found my goal.

Was there something specific about the 2019 Retroviruses meeting that drew you to attend?
I have dreamed of participating in this conference for years because it is attended by many of the retrovirologists want to meet. To read their papers and then have opportunity to meet and discuss with them their work is something I very much appreciate. The atmosphere at this meeting is that of a real retrovirological conference.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
I have heard a lot of very interesting lectures – by Akhil Chameettachal, Thomas J. Hope, Alan Rein, and Chaoyi Xu in particular – which will help me in my research.  In addition, the chance to meet others in my field. The world of retrovirology is full of very interesting and well-known researchers who  are also very nice people.

What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?  What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?  
I found out more facts about IP6. For example, IP6 plays a role during the trimerization of matrix domain of HIV-1 and IP6 promotes the dNTPs import. Moreover, the nucleocapsid domain contains the interfaces critical for Gag dimerization. I have also heard a few crucial facts about gRNA incorporation, uncoating etc.

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?
Go. Definitely. This is a prestigious conference which gives more than you expect. The data presented are high-level and excellent, and participating in the CSHL Retroviruses meeting helps ensure you are doing your retrovirological research correctly. And, to some degree, this meeting has a certain “cool factor” that rubs off on you.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I like to walk here because it is beautiful! It is also a great setting for socializing and I have enjoyed talking with new and old friend.

Thank you to Alzbeta 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: Jonathan Trujillo

Meet Jonathan Trujillo of the Rudolf-Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine (Germany). The Colombian national is a PhD student part of the GSLS (Graduate School of Life Sciences) of the University of Würzburg and member of Dr. Grzegorz Sumara’s lab. Jonathan made the transatlantic voyage to participate in his first CSHL meeting – Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling – where he presented a poster entitled “Protein Kinase D2 promotes intestinal fat absorption and contributes to diet induced obesity”. Jonathan’s poster presentation “went very well [with] lots of questions and suggestions. [He’s] happy to see how people liked [his] project. It provided a personal and academic boost.”

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I work in the investigation and characterization of kinases involved in the development of metabolic diseases. Most of my work focuses on kinases regulating important processes in intestinal fat absorption and adipose tissue biology.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
Metabolic diseases are widely spread and research in that specific area is necessary in order to understand and help to improve many conditions. I find it fascinating, and at the same puzzling, how the crosstalk between organs maintains the body’s homeostasis and misregulations can significantly affect quality of life.

How did your scientific journey begin?
I studied Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Antioquia in Colombia and I started working immediately after graduation. I liked my job very much, however, I knew I wanted something more. I wanted to be directly involved in the process of making the discoveries that enabled the development of the pharmaceuticals I was producing. I moved to Germany to pursue my Master’s degree and it was then that my interest in metabolism began. Luckily after successfully defending my thesis, I was offered a PhD position in the same group – an opportunity I didn’t hesitate to take.

Was there something specific about the Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling meeting that drew you to attend?
The CSHL meeting in Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling is very well-known. It received very good recommendations from people I met in other conferences and even from my own boss and colleagues (who have attended before). I had someone high expectations of the meeting and in the end it is better than expected.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
Collaborations and maintenance of a good scientific network are of great importance if you want to make the best out of your research projects. I think it is very evident that in such a diverse field of research you need people from different backgrounds to increase the scope of your discoveries. This meeting is a great opportunity to listen and speak with speakers who would otherwise be very hard to meet. Topics involving gut microbiota, brown adipose tissue and fat mobilization are my favorite but, in reality, I have enjoyed every talk.

What did you pick up or learn something from the meeting that you plan to apply to your work?
I knew that my project was in need of microbiome analysis and I got some really good recommendations that I will pursue.

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 totally recommend it. I have had a great time here. Actually, before coming I had wondered if I would feel comfortable coming alone but the social atmosphere is great and there are plenty of opportunities to socialize and talk about science or many other topics. This is a great opportunity for anyone no matter his/her scientific career stage.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The meeting is very well planned: The days are busy but they don’t feel crowded or exhausting. Accommodation and food are great, and everything is geared to help meeting attendees be in a good mood. Of course, I would also agree with everybody else’s sentiments that the Lab’s location and surroundings are fantastic.

Thank you to Jonathan 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: Rahul Pisupati

Meet Rahul Pisupati of the Gregor Mendel Institute of the Austrian Academy of Science (Austria). The PhD student in Magnus Nordborg’s lab made the voyage to participate at his first-ever CSHL meeting: The Biology of Genomes. And his inaugural voyage also involved a poster presentation. His poster (entitled “Elucidating causes of methylation variation in Arabidopsis thaliana”) received “many constructive comments” and Rahul is already considering his return to the Lab.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am a computational biologist by training and my research interests are at the intersection of quantitative genetics, population genomics and epigenetics. Currently, I am working on population epigenetics in Arabidopsis thaliana, trying to understand various sources shaping methylation variation in natural populations.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
Since college, I have always been eager to learn new theories in evolutionary biology. It is really fascinating how principles in population genetics can be extrapolated to understand any group dynamics (even social groups). To some level I wanted to work on some of the exciting questions in the field.

How did your scientific journey begin?
It started during my masters when I went to Dr. Nolan Kane lab at Boulder, Colorado for a summer research position. We had very engaging journal club discussions on classical papers in evolutionary biology.

Was there something specific about The Biology of Genomes meeting that drew you to attend?
Attending this meeting is a great opportunity to share and get feedback from brilliant minds. Also, it is one of the biggest meetings with a focus on population genomics and current technological advances in the field.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
All the talks are excellent, aiming at recent advances in the field. It is very hard to hone in on one takeaway message, but there were many informative talks bridging the gap between genotype and phenotype and single-cell genomics.

What did you pick up or learn from the meeting that you’d like to apply to your work?
Yes, I had many constructive comments on the poster I presented. Also, it feels great to meet people whose papers you were reading.

If someone curious in attending the 2020 iteration of this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would definitely recommend they attend this meeting. Submit an abstract for the opportunity to present your work and get the attention of editors of every big journal you know of.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
CSHL is an amazing campus promoting social life along with scientific advances, and provides one to easily retreat into nature. The events were well-organized and each received a huge level of participation.

Thank you to Rahul 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.