When Eva approached me about contributing to this series about how one goes from a PhD in developmental biology and ends up in a non traditional academic career path, I thought it would be a great opportunity. I love my job as an educational game designer at Spongelab Interactive, so why not share the winding path I took to get here?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved science, particularly the way you could ask any question you wanted and then figure out how to determine the answer. When I was 10 that meant ‘do walnut shells float’ and when I was 25 that meant ‘how does an epithelial lumen form between photoreceptor cells in a Drosophila retina.’ I did my undergrad at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, hoping to get into the Forensic Science program with biology as my major. Along the way I had some amazing hands-on research opportunities that really opened my eyes to research as a career and from then on I had my sights set on a PhD, and on becoming a PI.

In between dissecting thousands of retinas during my PhD at the University of Toronto, I joined a science outreach organization called Let’s Talk Science. It was likely a catalyst for where I am now, but at the time, I was completely oblivious of its potential impact and just thoroughly enjoyed doing hands-on activities with kids. I found that I loved talking to people about science and the bonus outcome was the more I did it, the less nervous I was giving talks (something my future self would thank me for when I presented to a room of 800 scientists at ASCB). I enjoyed the challenge of taking my research and making it accessible to anyone, though 5 year olds were my favourite. Having a serious conversation with a 5 year old who made the connection ‘so if you are trying to make your blind fruit flies see again, does that mean my grandma might be able to see again too one day?’ was unforgettable. Yes it may be a bit more complicated then that, but it was pretty close to what I wrote in the ‘future applications’ section of grants.

Road Trip! Doing outreach on the road meant casting agarose gels in hotel rooms and posing with many interesting signs.

I took pride in demystifying who a scientist was and what they did. I took part in remote outreach activities where we went to small towns and did career talks, often with students who had discounted science as a career because it was ‘too hard’ or ‘too abstract’. Yet when I put up electron micrographs of wild-type and mutant retinas, it was almost always the most disengaged student who pointed out the differences. My goal was to show them that my process as a scientist was just like that – I screened different types of flies looking for differences, then designed experiments to try and figure out what was causing those differences. Some people enjoy the prestige and awe that being a ‘scientist’ evokes in people – I enjoyed breaking down those barriers and making science accessible to anyone.

It never occurred to me that there might be a way to combine my interest in communicating science with my academic background – mostly because I never looked beyond the path of becoming a PI. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on when you asked me at the time), as I was coming to the end of what felt like the never-ending thesis, I was burnt out. So burnt out that I began to question whether I still had the drive and passion towards pursuing the academic life I had dreamed of. I had invested so much in my PhD: getting the right scholarships, giving as many talks as possible, narrowly avoiding being scooped and getting the high-impact paper, all to put me in the best position come post-doc time. And it was worth it, as I had my choice of post-doc offers, and I chose the one that would hopefully give me the best shot at landing a PI position one day. But the last year of trying to finish that ‘one last experiment’ took its toll on me and I no longer had the same motivation and ambition that I felt I needed to be successful. So I made a decision. I gave up my post-doc and started looking for other opportunities. I gave myself a year to do something different, something hopefully science related to reenergize my love of science, knowing that I could re-interview for post-docs again in year if that was what I wanted.

So how did I end up designing educational games about biology for Spongelab Interactive? I started talking to people, looking for different opportunities and along the way, I found an ad in my department. They were looking for a graduate student to help write grants and contribute to their games about biology. It sounded too perfect and strange to be true. It was the first CV I ever sent out that included my scholarships and publications as well as my video gaming experience (both quite impressive in their own right). I started out doing freelance work, primarily on a platform called Genomics Digital Lab, which went on to win awards from NSF and be published in Science 2 years in a row for best Interactive Media in their International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge, as well as a United Nations World Summit Award for best e-content. I applied for and secured funding to turn my freelance position into a full-time position, and two years later I’m still happily using my love of communicating science, combined with game-based learning to engage students and the public in learning about science.

What I enjoy most about my job is how different every day can be. We’re a small company, so I get a chance to do everything from sales and marketing to debugging and QA. I work with programmers, animators, and illustrators, to create engaging and educational science tools. Because we have such strong science backgrounds here, we really do focus on making sure everything scientifically accurate, but also stunning and beautiful to look at. The best parts of my job are when I get into ‘creative scientist mode.’  The first project I was involved in from start to finish was a web-based scavenger hunt on the ‘History of Biology.’ It involved everything from researching the scientists, their discoveries, the state of society at the time, then building a storyline with 14 missions with science-based puzzles to solve.

How many scientists do you recognize from the History of Biology?

In addition to creating engaging new products, I still get to do some of my favorite things from grad school. I participate in outreach both in the classroom and in other initiatives such as Microsoft’s Digigirlz (careers in technology seems just as ‘hard’ to students as science is). I am still connected with academic research as we partner with researchers on the effectiveness of game-based learning, and write collaborative research grants, something I’ve really enjoyed doing.

I’m the first to admit that I never expected to end up designing games about science. This job didn’t even exist 3 years ago, so it definitely wasn’t something I could have planned for. And yes, it was a shock to my colleagues when I announced I wasn’t pursuing a post-doc (at least for the time being), and was going off to create biology video games. They got over the shock pretty quickly, particularly after introducing them to Transcription Hero – where they could upload any gene from Genbank, pick their own music, and race against the native RNA polymerase to transcribe their gene!

Students of all ages love Transcription Hero, and it’s a great attention grabber at conferences, but there’s nothing like going head-to-head with your labmates and their favourite genes.

Taking the chance on Spongelab Interactive really turned out to be the perfect place for my education, outreach experiences, and hobbies to intersect. A PhD in developmental and cell biology really is essential in understanding the science I’m trying to communicate and the research, analytical, and problem-solving skills from grad school are essential working in an industry where you’re leading the way with new research and technology innovations. Without my science outreach experiences where I learned to effectively communicate science to any audience, it would be hard to turn the science concepts into engaging and interactive games. And who knew, that my geeky video and computer game playing experiences would be key in understanding what makes a game fun. This is a fast-growing industry, especially as technology and education continue to converge. Companies are always looking for the right people who have a strong science background and great written communication skills – it’s a particular skill set that definitely seems to be geared towards Masters or PhD students for those that are interested in doing something a little different.

It’s been over 2 years since I made that decision to try something else for a year. I often get asked: do I have any regrets?  I don’t, none at all. I made the right decision at the time, knowing that I could always make another decision if things didn’t work out. I know that if I did have regrets, I’d be back doing a post-doc somewhere, doing some amazing science that I was passionate about.

(7 votes)

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With so much research focusing on stem cells, I’ve been wondering lately whether researchers are overlooking other important, multipotent cell groups, specifically what are called “progenitor” cells. But then another part of me wonders whether these two groups are so very different from each other. Technically, the main difference between stem cells and progenitors is their lifespan, with progenitors’ being much shorter, but the line here seems blurry; most adult stem cells cannot be cultured for extensive amounts of time before they differentiate or senesce.

I was reminded of the issue of stem cells versus progenitors by a paper that came out earlier this month in The Journal of Clinical Investigation that showed, surprisingly, that patients with androgenic alopecia (AGA), or male pattern baldness, had a normal number of hair stem cells in their scalps, but a depleted number of different hair progenitor cells. The progenitors now look like a likely culprit for AGA. It’s been well-studied how stem cells in hair follicles give rise to new hairs over time, and it’s known that progenitors derived from these stem cells play key roles in this process, but it had not been studied with relation to AGA previously. It’s possible that the stem cells in bald AGA scalps are somehow dysfunctional or inactivated, and this could cause the loss of progenitor cells, but it still needs to be looked into (If you’d like to read more detailed coverage of this paper, I wrote a technical blog post about it on my blog All Things Stem Cell and a layman article on it for my column Biology Bytes.)

I wonder what would have happened to this recent study if when the researchers had found out that the number of hair stem cells was the same in haired and bald scalps, they then moved on to investigating other, maybe non-cellular suspects, without looking at the progenitors. Perhaps they would have then discovered a molecular abnormality in the stem cells, and then suspected the downstream progenitor groups. I just can’t help but wonder how many other diseases and biological phenomena have been investigated with a primary focus on the stem cells involved, when in some cases the progenitors may be a better initial indicator for what’s changed in the system. Or maybe using the terms “stem cells” and “progenitors” is really splitting hairs; stem cells vary significantly in potency and proliferation capacity from group to group, so maybe we should just expand the already expansive term “stem cells” to encompass a broader range of cells. While I like to think that a cell type’s name doesn’t affect whether a researcher studies it, I’d imagine it’s easier to get funding for “stem cell” research than “progenitor cell” research (or, with some funding agencies it may be the other way around), and this may definitely affect a researcher’s focus with funding as tight as it is.

(6 votes)

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We’ve been busy – both behind the scenes and in plain view – so it’s time for another update.

Contest
We’re currently running our very first contest, with a prize generously donated by TipArt. If you’d like to win a chance to commission some unique science-themed art, remember to send in your images before the end of this month.

Loading issue and other technical stuff
We’re aware of the slow loading front page, and are actively looking for someone to fix this, as well as other issues. Preferably a UK-based web developer with knowledge of PHP/Wordpress. If you know anyone fitting that description, send them our way!

Reporting comments
We’ve removed the link to “report comments” because it was attracting too much random and unnecessary clicking (making us have to re-approve every single comment on the site – no exceptions.). Have a look at the Help Page to see what to do if you ever come across any offensive/spam content on the Node.

Coming up
We’re currently working on getting author biographies with every post. It will use the text you have entered in your profiles, so have another look at that one of these days and make sure it’s up to date, and something you wouldn’t mind showing up under you posts. More on this later.

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What I love about developmental biology is the collaborative nature of the field.   The vast majority of biologists feel that by sharing ideas, data, and reagents, we can learn more than if we were all to work alone with blinders on our heads.  A recent paper in Development puts forth a hypothesis about embryonic stem cell origin.  Hopefully, the ideas presented will serve as food for thought for the stem cell field and lead to a new understanding about ES cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are valuable in the study of human diseases and development due to their pluripotent nature, and have the potential for treating disease and replacing damaged tissue.  Because of their amazing potential, it is crucial to understand how and when pluripotency occurs, and how stem cells can be cultured.  Naïve pluripotency occurs twice during development—first in early epiblast tissue and again in the germ cell lineage—and this reflects the relationship between pluripotency and the mammalian germ line.  The recent Hypothesis paper by Nichols and Smith suggests that ES cells could be cultured via two routes to reach naïve pluripotency—directly from early epiblast tissue or during the specification of primordial germ cells in culture.

Images above show an early mouse embryo (left) and a colony of ES cells growing on a layer of fibroblast cells (right).  In the embryo, epiblast cells are red, hypoblast cells are green, and trophectoderm is blue.

For a more general description of this image, see my post on EuroStemCell, the European stem cell portal.

Nichols, J., & Smith, A. (2010). The origin and identity of embryonic stem cells Development, 138 (1), 3-8 DOI: 10.1242/dev.050831

(4 votes)

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Here are the highlights from the current issue of Development:

From pluripotent to pancreatic fates

A reliable method for generating insulin-producing β-cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) would provide new therapeutic options for people with diabetes. So far, no-one has developed such a method but, on p. 861, Gordon Keller and colleagues provide new insights into the complex signalling networks that underlie β-cell differentiation. The generation of β-cells from hPSCs requires efficient endoderm induction followed by patterning and specification to a pancreatic fate. The researchers show that the duration of nodal/activin A signalling plays a pivotal role in endoderm induction and that WNT signalling enhances the subsequent development of pancreatic lineage cells. Inhibition of BMP signalling at specific stages is also essential for the generation of insulin-expressing cells. Importantly, report the researchers, optimal stage-specific manipulation of TGFβ and WNT signalling yields cell populations that produce insulin at levels similar to those made by the pancreas. However, because these cells also make other hormones, further studies are needed to discover how to convert these polyhormonal cells into functional β-cells.

Full Fat signalling in mammals: Dchs1 and Fat4 pair up

In Drosophila, Dachsous and Fat act as ligand and receptor, respectively, for a signalling pathway that regulates planar cell polarity (PCP) and transcription via the Hippo pathway. Mammals encode multiple Fat and Dachsous proteins but do they have an equivalent Fat signalling pathway? On p. 947, Yaopan Mao and colleagues report that murine Dchs1 and Fat4 function as a ligand-receptor pair during development. The researchers show that Dchs1 and Fat4 single mutants and Dchs1 Fat4 double mutants exhibit similar phenotypes. These phenotypes include the formation of kidney cysts and cochlear defects, suggesting that Dchs1-Fat4 signalling influences PCP in mice. However, the researchers also identify non-PCP-related requirements for Dchs1-Fat4 signalling in the development of other organs. In particular, they show that Dchs1 and Fat4 are needed for growth, branching and cell survival during early kidney development. Together, these results identify Dchs1 and Fat4 as a ligand-receptor pair for mammalian Fat signalling and identify new requirements for Fat signalling in multiple organs.

Capicua mediates response to RTK signalling

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling pathways regulate many developmental decisions, but how RTK signalling controls the expression of its target genes in different contexts is poorly understood. Here, Gerardo Jiménez and co-workers reveal that octameric DNA-binding sites for the transcriptional repressor Capicua (Cic) are critically involved in RTK signalling in Drosophila (see p. 915). They show that the regulation of terminal gap gene expression by the Drosophila RTK Torso in early embryos depends on octameric Cic-binding sites in the enhancer region of the gap gene huckebein. Moreover, these Cic-binding motifs are essential for recruitment of the Groucho co-repressor to the huckebein enhancer in vivo. Cic-binding sites also respond to EGFR RTK pathway activation in the embryonic neuroectoderm and in the developing wing. Finally, using synthetic enhancer constructs, the researchers show that Cic-binding motifs provide the regulatory information necessary to translate RTK signalling inputs into precise transcriptional responses in different tissues. Thus, they conclude, octameric Cic-binding motifs are general response elements for RTK signalling in Drosophila.

A new spin(dle) on stem cell division

Stem cells divide asymmetrically to balance self-renewal and differentiation, thereby maintaining tissue homeostasis. But what coordinates the divisions of multiple stem cell populations in complex tissues? To address this question, Yukiko Yamashita, Alan Hunt and colleagues (see p. 831) have been studying stem cell division in the Drosophila testis, which contains both germline stem cells (GSCs) and somatic cyst stem cells (CySCs). GSCs divide asymmetrically by maintaining a fixed cell polarity within the stem cell niche. Now, the researchers use time-lapse live imaging to show that CySC asymmetric division involves the repositioning of a randomly located mitotic spindle during or near anaphase onset. Spindle repositioning, they report, requires functional centrosomes, the motor protein Dynein and the actin-membrane linker Moesin, and is required to achieve the high-fidelity asymmetric CySC divisions that maintain both GSC and CySC numbers. The researchers speculate that the use of multiple mitotic schemes may be a general mechanism whereby divisions of different stem cell populations are coordinated in complex tissues.

Eyeing up neuronal circuits

The Drosophila optic lobe shares many characteristics with mammalian visual systems and might provide a powerful model for investigating the formation of visual processing circuits. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms that create neuronal diversity and organise neuronal circuits in the medulla, the optic lobe’s primary region. Now, on p. 983, Makoto Sato and colleagues describe the key features of the developing fly medulla. They show that, during larval development, the medulla is subdivided into concentric zones that are characterised by the expression of the transcription factors Drifter, Runt, Homothorax and Brain-specific homeobox. The birth order of the medulla neurons correlates with the expression pattern of these factors, they report, and each neuronal type exhibits an extensive but defined pattern of migration that disrupts the concentric zones during early pupal development. These results, and those of clonal analyses, lead the researchers to suggest that the concentric zone genes may form a genetic hierarchy that specifies neuronal identity and establishes neuronal circuits in the developing medulla.

Marking up germline imprints

Genomic imprinting – epigenetic modifications that ensure that certain genes are expressed from only one of the two inherited chromosomes – is crucial for normal development. Mammalian imprinted genes are associated with differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that are CpG methylated on one parental chromosome. At least 21 DMRs become methylated in the mouse germline and, on p. 811, Hiroyuki Sasaki and co-workers analyse a panel of these gametic DMRs. The extent of methylation of these DMRs differs significantly from that of embryonic DMRs, they report, suggesting that gametic DMRs should be used to identify the features that establish imprinting in the germline. They also show that maternal gametic DMRs appear as unmethylated islands in male germ cells, and unexpectedly identify widespread oocyte-specific non-CpG methylation. Finally, they report that DMR methylation changes dynamically during early development, indicating that DMRs are not fully protected from preimplantation epigenetic reprogramming. These results underscore the importance of using gametic DMR sequences for the study of imprint establishment.

Also…

PAR proteins are conserved regulators of cell polarity, and recent studies, reviewed here by Jeremy Nance and Jennifer Zallen, have identified elaborate links between PAR proteins and cytoskeletal proteins that help set-up molecular asymmetries and hence establish polarity within a cell. See the Review on p. 799

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Dear students, postdocs and mentors,

We write to share our enthusiasm about the MBL Embryology course and to encourage graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to apply for the 2011 summer course “Embryology: Concepts and Techniques in Modern Developmental Biology” at the Marine Biological Laboratory from June 5 – July 17, 2011.  The application deadline has now been extended, and the MBL will accept applications up to Feb. 15th (although the website will continue to give a Feb 1 deadline).  Further course description and application information is available at

http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/summer/course_embryo.html

This course provides a unique intensive laboratory-lecture experience in contemporary developmental biology.  Students receive instruction from leaders in the field and also have the opportunity to conduct a series of laboratory exercises/investigations using state-of-the-art equipment and a wide range of model and non-model developmental organisms.  We believe that the unique educational experience provided by the Embryology Course is not available at any home institution.  In our experience, students leave this course with an increased breadth of understanding together with practical and novel laboratory experiences and a greatly expanded network of scientific colleagues.

The curriculum is divided into three areas: 1) modern comparative embryology and molecular phylogeny, cell lineage and cell specification; 2) pattern and organ formation; and 3) transcriptional regulation and the analysis of gene networks and developmental pathways.  Students will be exposed to a broad variety of marine and terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates, and the increasingly sophisticated methods employed to analyze their development. Daily lectures, extended discussions and frequent informal talks provide an intense intellectual experience where students and faculty alike are immersed in sophisticated and continuously changing conceptual and experimental explorations.

We assure you that funds are available to provide substantial financial assistance to defray the cost of tuition.  In 2010 the MBL was able to provide up to 75% of these costs from NIH funding to the course as well as from endowed scholarships.  We expect to provide similar financial aid in 2011.

From our experience as faculty in the course and now as the co-directors, it is our belief that sending a student to this course is a proven, sound investment for the scientific future of the student, lab, and the developmental biology community, and requires only a relatively short absence from the home institution.

If you have any questions please contact Lee, Nipam or Carol Hamel, Admissions Coordinator, at admissions@mbl.edu

Sincerely,

Nipam Patel

University of California, Berkeley

nipam@uclink.berkeley.edu

Lee Niswander

University of Colorado Denver

Lee.Niswander@ucdenver.edu

(3 votes)

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There’s still time to register for this years JSDB meeting. The deadline for abstract submission has been extended until February 10th.

JSDB meetings have been held almost entirely in English in recent years and not only offer an exciting scientific program, but also a chance to discover Japan.  This year the conference will be held in Okinawa, the largest of the subtropical Ryukyu islands which form the southernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago. Okinawan culture is unique; even if you have visited Japan before, Okinawa offers something different and is well worth a trip.

Check out the JSDB homepage for more information.

(1 votes)
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One of the highlights of working at RIKEN CDB is undoubtedly the arrival upon my desk of “Library News”. Within this publication lies the eclectic column written by institute deputy director Shigeru Kuratani. These bimonthly articles are lively and often illuminating insights into the field of evolutionary morphology, frequently embracing topics such as art, literature, philosophy, and architecture.

There is plenty to entertain developmental biologists, including reviews of several classic anatomy texts such as De Beer’s “The Development of the Vertebrate Skull” and Ramón y Cajal’s “Histology of the Nervous System of Man and Vertebrates”. The pursuit of rare texts and prints is a common theme in many issues and a real sense of enthusiasm for science, history, and adventure is evident as Dr. Kuratani details his quests for classic anatomical text books throughout his career, for treasured natural history plates from the antiquarian markets on the banks of the Seine, and for particular rare specimens of moths resident in the mountains of Japan.

An enlightening and entertaining way to pass time over a cup of coffee, these library columns are now available from the Kuratani lab website (http://www.cdb.riken.jp/emo/clm.html).

(4 votes)

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Natural disasters can be powerfully destructive forces. At the very least, they have a habit of interrupting our lives and work. Damage varies depending on the intensity of nature’s fury and how prepared a city (or institution) is for a particular emergency. This can also influence how challenging recovery will be, in the aftermath.

The University Queensland was fortunate in many ways after the Southern Queensland floods, during which 3/4 of the state was submerged. Its St. Lucia campus lay next to the Brisbane River, but it only experienced low-level flooding, and so a handful of buildings were affected. Most escaped damaged. Partly this came from a lesson learned in 1974, the last time the university had experienced intense flooding (levels of up to 6.7 meters. this time water levels rose to about 4-5 meters). Since then, new buildings were predominantly established on higher ground. Post flooding, clean up crews were able to clear the debris and the university re-opened within days.

About 3 weeks later, Cyclone Yasi, category 5 (highest level there is, with gale force winds of up to 285 km/hr) hit Northern Queensland. Major cities in that region include Cairns and Townsville. The damage has been extensive according to recent news reports, with uproot trees, property damage, beached boats etc. Now, thousands are currently without power.  However, as cities were well prepared and properly evacuated, the death toll remains at one.

(Images from Flickr CC, by robandstephaustralia)

James Cook University (JCU), world renown for environmental research, closed its campuses at Townsville and Cairns on the morning of Feb. 2 in anticipation of the cyclone. Over 12 hours later, Yasi hit in the wee hours of Feb. 3. Clean up has been taking place, with the university set to re-open its campuses on Monday, Feb. 7. Many universities, like JCU, has a list of emergency procedures to take, in the event of a disaster or other threats to campus and students. It has a website informing staff and students on how the university responds.

This includes appointing an emergency controller who will  relay messages to staff, arrange any special measures for protecting equipment etc. Another page lists off how to ensure personal safety. As cyclones affect Queensland every year, it’s recommended steps can be quite detailed. i.e. During a storm, it may be necessary to shut off power and wear hardy clothing.

In a previous post on UQ and the Flood, Pablo Astudillo commented that Chile’s universities experienced an Earthquake, 8.8 on the richter scale (last year in Feb. 2010), followed by a tsunami and possibly some fires. Perhaps the only thing invariably worse than one natural disaster, is two or several in a row.

So, for any of you reading this, what kind of natural disruptions have you experienced? And how has this affected your research? Click here for a short survey.

(2 votes)

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I’m one of a team of science communicators, scientists, clinicians and social scientists involved in a project called EuroStemCell. It’s an EU-funded project that unites more than 90 European stem cell and regenerative medicine research laboratories in a coordinated effort to engage with the public about our science, and support others to do the same. We’ve got lots going on – this post gives you an introduction to what we’re all about, and we’ll keep you updated as the project unfolds. (more…)

(3 votes)

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