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About NatalieHometown: Ada, Michigan Undergraduate degree/institution: B.S. / University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – biochemistry Graduate degree(s)/institution: VAI Graduate School Other work experience: student intern (while in school) and research technician (after graduating) at both U-M and VAI, intramural referee and supervisor for a wide variety of sports (of which flag football was by far the most fun), and customer service extraordinaire at Bed, Bath, and Beyond selling products in every department! Hobbies: running, reading, watching college football and relaxing with friends, family, and my new puppy! |
How would you describe your area of study to your grandmother?
I am interested in what makes cancers unresponsive to current treatments. 100% of patients diagnosed with cancer will undergo some type of treatment for their disease, which will usually include a regimen of chemotherapy or radiation, which aim to kill the cancer cells. While most cancer cells do die under these treatments, sometimes a few of them can survive and will allow the disease to come back, usually much worse than before. To understand why some cells can survive initial treatment, we used a technology called RNA interference, which allows us to knock down the expression of one gene at a time. Using this approach, we found one gene, MK-STYX, which seems to be required for cells to respond to chemotherapeutic drugs. When we knocked down this single gene, cancer cells could survive a large number of drug treatments at very high doses. My project is to understand what this gene does in the cell to allow the cell to respond to chemotherapies, and whether this gene could be a prognostic marker for chemotherapeutic response in patients.
What is your primary motivation for persevering through graduate school?
The most long term motivation is to have a successful career as an independent scientist. On a more short-term basis, I am motivated by the opportunity to learn new things in the lab, both on a technical level and on an educational level. Lastly, I am motivated to learn things that could make an impact in the lives of those suffering from terminal illnesses.
What do you want to do with your degree?
My ultimate goal is to become a principal investigator at an academic institution, where I could run my own lab. As of now, I believe I would study mitochondrial function and its contribution to human disease, but that may change in the future. In order to achieve that goal, I will pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at a different institution after I get my Ph.D.
Did you take time off before starting your Ph.D. degree or come directly from an undergraduate or masters degree program?
I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2005. I spent just over one year as a technician in Evan Keller’s lab at the University of Michigan before I came to VAI. I spent a little over one year as a technician in Jeff MacKeigan’s lab before starting grad school in the fall of 2007.
Has your previous coursework given you a broad foundation of knowledge, including related fields and subspecialties?
My undergraduate degree gave me most of the basic scientific knowledge that I needed to understand the biological processes that we study in the lab. My graduate coursework, however, taught me how to efficiently find new information, synthesize it into new ideas, and communicate those ideas to other people.
Do you think there is any value in social networking with other graduate students in non-related fields?
I think it’s important to have a network of people that you can talk to about school, and other students understand the challenges associated with earning a graduate or professional degree.
Did your past experiences in life or education help prepare you for graduate school or did you have to develop different strategies to succeed?
My undergraduate experience was much different than my graduate experience; I went from lecture halls filled with 500 students to a classroom filled with…3 students. It did take a bit of adjustment to work in these two types of environments!
What is your favorite stress-reduction technique?
Long runs, listening to music, or both.
What accomplishment (academic or other) are you most proud of?
Having my name published on a scientific paper.
Has your perception of this Ph.D. program changed since you began the program?
I think I have a much deeper appreciation for the way the courses are set up in this program now that it has been a couple of years since I have taken them. The skills that I acquired in these classes have been really helpful in ways I didn’t anticipate when I was actually attending the classes!
If you were asked to put something in a time capsule for each year you have been in the program and this capsule would not be opened for 25 years, what would you contribute?
A picture of the "medical mile" of Grand Rapids, to show how much both VAI and its surroundings have changed since 2007!
If you hadn’t been admitted to graduate school, what do you think you would be doing right now?
I think I probably would have stayed in the medical field, but would have pursued a degree in pharmacy or nursing. I could also see myself working as a high school teacher, of course teaching some type of science curriculum!
