Visitor of the Week: María Jose Gomez Hughes

Meet María Jose Gomez Hughes who is affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin and Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). At the University of Texas, María Jose is a scientist associate in the Genomic Sequencing and Analysis Facility (GSAF) while she is a collaborator in Andrew J. Crawford’s lab in the Universidad de los Andes. The Colombian national is at CSHL this week attending her first meeting: The Biology of Genomes.  

Tell us about your research.
At the GSAF, I work with researchers through preparing NGS libraries and doing quality control of said libraries. And at the Crawford Lab, I use genomics to understand the conservation status of capybaras and frogs as well as study frog evolution and adaptation to environmental variables.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
I have always found evolution fascinating and have been drawn to understand it, including the role conservation status plays in it. At the same time, I greatly enjoy being in the lab and helping other people.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
I am inspired by all the great women and non-binary people in science, both by their work and by their resilience. I am also inspired by the world around me, by its beauty and intricacy. 

Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself in the same place I am right now. I greatly enjoy my work and wouldn’t want to change it.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
I enjoy solving problems and being able to feed my curiosity.

What drew you to attend this meeting?
I thought the Biology of Genomes to be a great place to learn about all the genomics research taking place all around the world.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
There is way more innovative research going on in genomics, both in wet and dry lab, than I previously thought. I plan to apply some of the things I learned in my research and see what new things I can find.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in this meeting?
I would advise them to take it slow. There are a lot of things going on and it can become a bit hectic so try to enjoy not only the meeting and the great science, but also all the natural surroundings.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
There are a lot of memorable things that happened during the meeting and it’s hard to choose one, but being able to engage with other researchers and discuss with them in person was definitely a great change.

Is this your first in-person meeting since the pandemic? If so, any thoughts you’d like to share?
Yes, it’s great to be able to talk to people about their research in person, in particular at the poster sessions. Having presented online before, I know how hard it can be so it’s great to have in-person meetings again; though online meetings are still great for accessibility and to engage with a broader audience.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
How beautiful it is around here. There’s so much nature going on in and around campus. I was very pleasantly surprised by it.

Thank you to Maria Jose 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 Maria Jose Gomez Hughes

Visitor of the Week: Nico Wahl

Meet Nico Wahl of the Institute for Neuroscience in Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria). The German national is a PhD Student in Georg Dechant’s lab and is taking part in his first meeting at CSHL: Genome Organization & Nuclear Function; where he presented a poster entitled “SATB2 Organizes the 3D Genome Architecture of Cognition.”

Tell us about your research.
Our lab is interested in how the neuronal nucleus adapts and processes information for an entire lifetime. To get a deeper understanding into these processes we study a nuclear protein called SATB2 that binds to DNA and modulates its 3D structure to regulate important neuronal genes.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
I was always intrigued by how we make the information in our genome accessible. Since all our cells have the same DNA we have to regulate these genes in a highly coordinated fashion. Our lab has the tools and model systems to answer parts of this fundamental question which helped me choose the project I am currently working in.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
Neuroscientists seem to struggle to explain how the experiences we gather during our life become encoded into the epigenome inside the neuronal nuclei of our brain. Here I find my inspiration to provide mechanisms on how these adaptive processes shape who we become.

What impact do you hope to make through your work?
So far there are no studies about classical transcription factors that affect the 3D genome of neurons. We hope to provide data about the complex interplay between synaptic activity and nuclear proteins that shape the genome structure in the future.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
I really like the entire process: from formulating a hypothesis to answering it by conducting the right experiments. The joy of studying something no one has ever described before is what excites me.

What drew you to attend this meeting?
The selection of speakers and organizers is excellent and provides a broad overview of the topics currently studied in the field.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
There are always different viewpoints to how people perceive science. This meeting gives an opportunity to present your thoughts to a large audience and discuss the various viewpoints that will help generate new ideas and inspiration for future work.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in this meeting?
Time at the meeting is limited so engage with as many people as possible to discuss novel ideas.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
After the pandemic it is such a joy to talk with people face-to-face and engage in inspiring discussions. Meeting some of the leaders in the field and introducing them to my ideas was especially helpful.

How was your experienced presenting a poster at this meeting?
Presenting a poster varies each time because--depending on their scientific background--people look at your research from a different angle. It is always interesting to receive comments and notes from peers to implement into your work.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The surrounding at CSHL is really beautiful. The contrast of sitting in the audience listening to the newest science and leaving the auditorium to step directly into this green campus was a huge joy.

Thank you to Nico 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 Nico Wahl

Visitor of the Week: Merissa Xiao

Meet Merissa Xiao of the Van Andel Institute. The postdoc in Dr. Huilin Li’s lab is at Protein Homeostasis in Health & Disease. This is her first meeting at CSHL and she found it “more efficient and convenient to meet and talk with people than virtual meetings. [She] felt the passion, perseverance and critical spirit of science from those attending the meeting.”

Tell us about your research.
My research focuses on understanding the mechanism of protein degradation, disaggregation, refolding and signal transduction in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). During host infection, Mtb encounters various stresses that result in reversible or irreversible damage to proteins, leading to protein misfolding or aggregation. Molecular machinery, such as proteasome-mediated degradation, heat shock protein (Hsp100, Hsp70 and Hsp40) mediated protein unfolding or refolding, and two component system (TCS) mediated regulation of gene expression. Given the importance of the molecular machineries in Mtb virulence in the host, these proteins may present as potential drug targets for TB chemotherapy.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
I have been working on the Mtb system--and have been interested in this research field--since I was a graduate student. Starting from then, I was very interested in this research field. Dr. Huilin Li and Dr. Heran Darwin’s lab have been working on the mechanistic studies of potential drug targets in Mtb for many years, which they have reported many exciting findings. Though, there are still many things that need to be addressed, considering the resistance and multi-resistance occurring in Mtb. Continuing from my previous research, I want to dig into this system on the basis of current findings.  

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
My long scientific journey was inspired by those who mentored me during my PhD and Postdoc studies, as well as by the research itself. The efforts of my mentors to elucidate the mechanisms of molecular machineries in Mtb and their exciting discoveries inspire me to figure out more from this system and ultimately contribute to the drug design and development of Mtb.

What impact do you hope to make through your work?
I would like my work to be significant, unique and useful. I hope the systems work well and our findings lead to more drugs being developed for the benefit people suffering from tuberculosis.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to move towards becoming an independent researcher on the basis of being fully skilled and qualified. I hope five years worth of research will allow me to have quality publications and to have a social network with top scientists in my research field.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
Doing research shares some common aspects with living:  raising questions, making plans and solving the problem. The process of problem solving could be very tough but through reading and investigating papers, I learn, get inspired, and experience. Other people’s findings help us and our research, in turn, will help other people. That’s the way scientific research moves forward.

What drew you to attend this meeting?
Protein Homeostasis in Health and Disease meeting held by CSHL is famous in this research field. There are intensive talks by great scientists from all over the world. It is a great opportunity to learn new techniques from the talks and posters, and to meet with people.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
My key takeaway is regarding scientific thinking, writing and presenting. I was motivated by the passion of the other participants, and I would definitely like to keep scientific thinking active and critical through my research career. I also received useful suggestions for my project and, such insight will definitely help me and my research going forward.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in this meeting?
I highly recommend people attend this meeting. The number of fantastic talks is astounding that it can sometimes be difficult to keep up.  The active and passionate atmosphere greatly facilitated scientific communications. Prepare to return to your lab inspired and teeming with new techniques and knowledge.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
The most memorable thing is meeting and talking to the speakers, whose papers and books I have frequently read and online seminars I have attended. They provided with very valuable suggestions that motivated me a lot.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I like the academic and historic atmosphere in CSHL. The landscape is also amazingly beautiful. All the buildings have special names (after famous scientists) and there are pictures of famous scientists on the walls of the canteen. Walking around CSHL inspired me and my work a lot.

Thank you to Merissa 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 Merissa Xiao

Visitor of the Week: Madison Altieri

Meet Madison Altieri of Bowling Green State University (BGSU). The Masters Student is a member of Dr. Julia Halo’s lab who presented a poster at our 2022 biohistory meeting addressing Fifty Years of Reverse Transcriptase. This meeting not only represents the first one Madison joins at CSHL but it is also her first in-person scientific conference. We are honored to be able to welcome another bright researcher to the community.

Tell us about your research.
My work focuses on The Role of SINE Sequence in Retrotransposition with the genome. SINEs are derived from noncoding RNA and parasitize a reverse transcriptase from its partner, LINE.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
My start in research began as a box to check off to get into medical school, but slowly turned into a strong admiration for science and asking challenging questions. It wasn’t long before I realized I really loved my research. The dichotomy between the selfish element and the genome is the reason why I fell in love with retroelements and selfish elements. I like studying elements that are not innately good or bad. I’m excited to see what we know about retroelements in the future.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
The women in science who came before me are a big inspiration for my scientific endeavor. Women in STEM have come a long way in science. I thank them for all that they have done in order for me to be here.  

What impact do you hope to make through your work?
What drew me into Julia’s lab was how she spoke about her research and science. Anyone listening knew that she was passionate about her work. She was like the Bill Nye of retroelements. It occurred to me that not only did Bill and Julia express enthusiasm, but she was communicating science in fun ways in which laymen could follow. Something scientists are traditionally challenged in. My objective is to express to my students and those around me that science is incredibly fun, amazing, and for everyone. The need for scientists to effectively communicate scientific ideas is imposing and I hope through work and promotion that future scientists such as my colleagues and students will be embracing of the responsibility.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
Most people would hate the thought of not knowing an answer, but it is in not knowing that scientific progress occurs. Scientific discovery is like a clean slate where creativity flows. Through further research the knowledge is assembled, but the puzzle is never solved and the limits on learning is nonexistent.

What drew you to attend this meeting?
I am still fresh in the realm of research and this meeting provides me an opportunity to learn the history of the reverse transcriptase from those who did the historical work to discover and characterize the enzyme in viruses and other retroelements.  

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
The road to discovering reverse transcriptase was long and the research associated with this enzyme is still ongoing--and the work will never end.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in a future CSHL biohistory meeting?
I would encourage others to participate in future CSHL meetings to meet other researchers interested in the same topics as you, as they really get you thinking about your own research. It is a great opportunity to meet the people in your field of research.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
The most memorable thing that impacted me was the research on HIV drugs and HIV resistance. I was taken back at how innovative these researchers were at inhibiting an enzyme using nucleoside and nonnucleoside RT inhibitors.

You presented a poster entitled “The Role of SINE Structure in Retrotransposition” – how was the experience?
My poster session went very well. I received a lot of questions of topics I haven’t pondered before that challenged me to think further into my research. It was also very refreshing to hear other research avenues on reverse transcriptase as well while meeting and interacting with wonderful people.

Is this your first in-person meeting since the pandemic? 
This meeting is the first meeting I’ve ever been to in person. The sole previous meeting I’ve been to and one oral presentation at BGSU have been over Zoom in the comfort of my own home. After all this time in the pandemic, you’d think I’d be repulsed by viruses, but in turn the opposite has occurred where I’m thrilled to be learning more about reverse transcriptase and the viruses and elements that encode it.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
When I first walked around CSHL, I was quite surprised. When I thought of CSHL, I thought of a tall skyscraper and instead I found myself among cabins and a room overlooking the harbor. It provided a more intimate environment that made you feel at ease. Even if that intimate environment allowed me to embarrassingly call a toaster a “toast machine” in front of David Baltimore.

Thank you to Madison 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 Madison Altieri

Visitor of the Week: Allison Jevitt

Meet Allison Jevitt of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. The postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Susannah Rankin’s lab participated in the 2021 virtual meeting  of Eukaryotic DNA Replication & Genome Maintenance and is back, but this time it is for a course and in person, Cell & Developmental Biology of Xenopus: Gene Discovery & Disease! This was her first in-person event since the pandemic and had this to share, “It was an experience that I will treasure forever. I am so happy to have met so many incredible people from around the world to share in something that is so human; to learn and grow together.” We couldn’t agree more.

Tell us about your research.
My research is focused on understanding how chromatin is packaged and organized during the cell cycle. I investigate this using the clawed frog, Xenopus, a valuable vertebrate model and human cell culture.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
During my doctoral training, I became interested in understanding the factors influencing how and where tumors form. Since disrupting genome organization contributes to tumorigenesis, I was drawn to the Rankin lab to learn how this process is regulated using vertebrate models.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Sabrina Bethurum, ignited my love for Biology and modeled how to ask and answer scientific questions. Since then, I have been and continue to be supported by so many great mentors, and I will remain eternally grateful for their influence.

What impact do you hope to make through your work?
I hope that my work will help us to better understand and treat cancer.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
I love that being a researcher means I never get to lose that childlike sense of wonder about the world around me.

What drew you to apply to this course?
Since I have switched model systems from Drosophila to Xenopus, I wanted to learn more about what Xenopus could offer and to learn of other techniques we do not currently use in the lab.

What is your key takeaway from the Course; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
My key takeaway from this course is the knowledge of just how versatile the Xenopus embryo is as a vertebrate model for studying not only cell and developmental biology but also human disease. I have learned how to target single cells of the developing embryo using microinjection to perform CRISPR/Cas9 based gene depletion, mRNA overexpression, and MUCH more that I plan to apply to my ongoing research.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in this course?
I cannot recommend this course enough. Not only have I learned a lot, both in lectures and at the bench, but being surrounded by encouraging instructors, TAs, and fellow students who want to see you succeed is such an incredible experience. Be prepared to work hard, explore new techniques and tools, get outside your comfort zone, and leave with a hard drive full of beautiful microscopy images, new ideas, and a network of incredible friends and peers.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Course?
On the final day of the course, one of the students was determined to finish their in situ hybridization experiment even though time was running out and the TAs had already begun to clean up the lab. When she finished, she rushed to tell the rest of the group that her experiment had worked and everyone began to cheer. What a moment of victory!

Is this your first in-person course/workshop since the pandemic?
Yes. This was my first in-person event since the pandemic. It was an experience that I will treasure forever. I am so happy to have met so many incredible people from around the world to share in something that is so human; to learn and grow together.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
CSHL has an energy that is completely contagious. I enjoyed walking to the beach, gazing at the harbor through the rain, and meeting the other course and meeting attendees. It was a great place to get away and feel inspired about science again after the isolation and uncertainty of a global pandemic.

Thank you to Allison 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 Allison Jevitt