Visitor of the Week: Yvanka de Soysa

Meet Yvanka de Soysa of the University of California, San Francisco. Yvanka, a Sri Lankan national and graduate student in Deepak Srivastava's lab at the J. David Gladstone Institutes, is on campus for the 2017 Single Cell Analyses meeting where she presented a poster titled "Single Cell Transcriptome Analysis of Early Cardiogenesis and its Perturbation Upon Hand2 Loss".

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in the molecular mechanisms of embryonic heart development with my main question being: What are the important genes and cell types that form the embryonic heart, and how does incorrect activity/behavior of these genes/cell types lead to babies being born with heart defects? 

Was there something specific about the Single Cell Analyses meeting that drew you to attend?
Being that I am new to computational biology and have only been working with single cell transcriptome data for less than a year, this meeting presented a great opportunity to learn more about single cell analysis and technical methods. Also, my abstract was chosen for a poster presentation and I was eager to share and discuss my work in the poster session to get feedback from the experts in this field. The response I received and and the conversations around my poster from the other meeting attendees were very encouraging and exciting.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
I am really excited by the diversity of methods for probing molecular features of single cells. I am primarily working with single cell transcriptomics, and this meeting has taught me a lot about the different types single cell proteomics and epigenomics methods as well as single cell imaging modalities. 

How many CSHL meetings have you attended and any plans to participate in a future CSHL meeting or course?
This is my very first meeting at CSHL, and I am interested in applying to attend the course on Chromatin, Epigenetics and Gene Expression.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of Single Cell Analyses meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would definitely recommend that they attend the next Single Cell Analyses meeting and make sure to spend time at the bar at the end of each day because my most insightful and valuable scientific discussions came from chatting and brainstorming with other attendees over drinks. 

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
During the breaks between sessions, I've been taking short walks to explore the campus. It is truly a beautiful space and the views across the water from the campus are breathtaking. I am also a huge fan of the Waltz of the Polypeptides piece that is on campus. 

Thank you to Yvanka 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: Mario Banuelos

Meet Mario Banuelos of the University of California, Merced. Mario, a fifth year PhD Candidate, is part of Suzanne Sindi's lab in the Applied Mathematics Department. On campus for the Genome Informatics meeting, the registration for which he won via our raffle at the 2015 SACNAS conference, he presented a poster entitled “Genetic variants over generations: Sparsity-constrained optimization tools for structural variant detection.”

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I primarily work on developing statistical and mathematical methods for modeling and inference of genomic variants (e.g. transposable elements and structural variants).

Was there something specific about the Genome Informatics meeting that drew you to attend?
The opportunity to share and receive feedback on my work was a big motivation, and I also wanted the chance to meet and potentially collaborate with others who are doing amazing work.

Mario Banuelos presenting his work at one of the poster sessions at the 2017 Genome Informatics meeting.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
The science presented at this meeting covers a wide array of topics in genome informatics, but leaders from throughout those fields present novel work that definitely encourages interdisciplinary approaches to solve some of these problems. As an applied mathematician, I love seeing that type of environment fostered by these meetings.

How many CSHL meetings have you attended?
Genome Informatics is my first CSHL meeting and I plan to attend Biological Data Science next year.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of  Genome Informatics meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would tell them to make an effort to meet new people, expand their comfort zone, and learn about the different science people are doing (even if it does not directly relate to what they study).

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
It’s amazing to walk around the beautiful campus and through the buildings named after pioneers of molecular biology. I also appreciated that CSHL Meetings & Courses understands the social aspect of growing as a scientist and the value of talking to colleagues over a cup of coffee. 

Thank you to Mario 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: Amelie Schoenenwald

Meet Amelie Schoenenwald of the Medical University of Vienna (Austria). Amelie is a second year PhD student is a member of Tim Skern's lab within Max F. Perutz Laboratories, and is on campus for the 2017 Antibody Engineering, Phage Display & Immune Repertoire Analysis course.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in the structure of viral envelope proteins and how to specifically diagnose a certain type of virus while avoiding cross-reactivity.

Was there something specific about the Antibody Engineering, Phage Display & Immune Repertoire Analysis course that drew you to apply?
Phage display is a very powerful and versatile technique with manifold variations for different applications. I was lacking the experience and confidence to establish this technique in my lab. Now, with the background in antibody engineering and immunology I gained during this course, I have a better understanding of how phage display can be applied and even how to troubleshoot. 

What is your key takeaway from the Course?
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has always been an incubator for great ideas and a networking hub for brilliant scientists. I had the chance to interact with remarkably smart and inspiring people. This course definitely reinforced my love for science.

How many CSHL courses have you attended?
This is my first time in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory but I would come back anytime for another course!

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of Antibody Engineering, Phage Display & Immune Repertoire Analysis course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
The format of the course is different to most other courses. There is plenty of hands-on training which accelerates the learning process and sets an ideal framework for later application of the technique in my home institution.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
Our group was incredibly harmonic and family-like. Plus, I loved the horseshoe crabs!

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

Thank you to Amelie 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: Adam Blanchard

Meet Adam Blanchard of the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom). Adam is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science - Cellular Microbiology with Sabine Totemeyer as his mentor. He is on campus for the Programming for Biology course. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
Most of my research interests are based around host/pathogen interactions, focusing on bacteria with an impact on animal welfare. I enjoy implementing novel methods, such as metatranscriptomics, to investigate the host response to complex bacterial communities and which genetic factors play a role in disease.

Was there something specific about the Programming for Biology course that drew you to apply?
Knowing a scripting language is becoming increasingly important in biology, so attending a course like this will enable me to gain a head start that will undoubtedly benefit my career. The delivery style of the Programming for Biology course material seemed very concise. I have taken similar online courses which I felt lacked the personal interaction needed when troubleshooting and gaining a deeper understanding of the topics.

What is your key takeaway from the Course?
The Programming for Biology course is very well organized. There is a good balance of "need to know" information and other bits which have allowed for an effective learning experience; as you do not get bogged down with unnecessary detail.

How many CSHL courses have you attended? Do you have any near future plans to attend another course at CSHL?
This is my first one and, if I get the opportunity, I would love to participate in the Immersive Approaches to Biological Data Visualization course as it looks very interesting and is showcasing novel ideas. I really enjoy science outreach and an important aspect of this is data visualization. I feel being able to convey complex results in an easy-to-understand image is a powerful tool in helping people understand what you do and are trying to achieve.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of Programming for Biology course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
The environment at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is very positive. The instructors and teaching assistants are there to help at every step which is helpful because the course is tough. Also since all of the course participants begin the course at a similar level of understanding, there are plenty of opportunity for team work.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The course instructors, teaching assistants and members of staff have been fantastic and have provided a really enjoyable two weeks. They balanced the course schedule well with lectures, practical sessions, sports and field trips. They also make sure you do not forget to go for meals when you are engrossed in the problem sets.

Adam received a scholarship from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to cover a portion of his course tuition. On behalf of Adam, 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 Yvanka 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: Pearl Magala

Meet Pearl Magala of the University of Washington. The postdoctoral fellow is a member of Rachel Klevit's lab. She visits Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for the first time to attend our X-Ray Methods in Structural Biology course, and will be on campus until the end of October. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I work with a bacterial protein called FimH that is implicated in urinary tract infections. I’m interested in understanding how it functions by examining its structural and dynamical properties. This knowledge will be helpful in the development of alternative treatments against bacterial infections as antibiotic treatments are becoming less effective.  

Was there something specific about the X-Ray Methods in Structural Biology course that drew you to apply?
Knowledge of the structure of biological macromolecules is paramount to understanding macromolecular function. X-ray methods have been the cornerstone of macromolecular structure determination for many decades. As an aspiring structural biologist, these methods are a critical tool to have.

What is your key takeaway from the Course?
The x-ray course is incredibly multidimensional in the knowledge that is required to understand how the method works. Within the last four days (of 15), we have covered topics spanning from the physical sciences to biological sciences as well as good lab techniques. 

If someone curious in attending the X-Ray Methods in Structural Biology course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I unreservedly recommend this course to anyone interested in learning x-ray crystallography. The class size is small and therefore every student gets hands-on experience in the lab as well as help from the instructors. It also covers very many aspects of x-ray crystallography and so a lot of knowledge is acquired. 

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
CSHL has the best dining experience of any course or conference I have ever attended. 

Pearl received a scholarship from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to cover a portion of her course tuition. On behalf of Pearl, thank you to NIGMS for supporting and enabling our young scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network.

Thank you to Pearl 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.