Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist

I recently saw a documentary about graduate students called Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist (available to watch here). It’s hour long movie follows several PhD students from Lawrence Shapiro’s lab in Columbia, NY, for 3 years as they attempt to crystallise and work out the structure of AMPK, a cellular master regulator involved in several metabolic pathways such as glucose regulation and lipogenesis.

The three PhD students the film focuses on are Rob (below right with Lawrence), Kilpatrick (Kil) and Gabrielle. Rob is given the most screen time. He is a two-time university drop-out and navy veteran on his last chance to get a PhD after being kicked out of another lab for being disruptive. Kil is desperate to finish before he turns 30 and is also under pressure to get a job from his fiancée. Gabrielle is a former technician who’s story isn’t dwelt upon as much as the others and she is seen to be struggling with being an independent researcher.

Lawrence Shapiro comes out as a great mentor, a zen-like father figure ready to offer advice to his students. He sees a PhD as more of an apprenticeship rather than a job (he makes a really nice comparison between scientists and violinists around 12 minutes in).

I always thought a reality show about life in the lab would be a great way to show the public how the world of science works rather than the shiny lab coats and 20 second PCR reactions shown on TV. I’m glad Richard and Carole Rifkind took the initiative to make this. The film is great in that it not only highlights the curiosity that motivates scientists, it also deals with the ups of experiments that worked and the downs of those that failed as well as the ever present threat of being scooped. It’s also really well made, quite funny and easy for the general public to understand, so next time someone asks you what working in a lab is like, show them this movie!

On a more light-hearted note, here are a couple of viral video came out recently that many Node readers might identify with as well – “Sh!t Graduate Students Say” and “Sh!t Scientists Say” – enjoy!

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