Institute News

Summer program inspires a new generation of scientists

AuthorMonica May

Date

July 24, 2019

Usually the opportunity to experience research firsthand is reserved for college seniors or recent graduates. This summer, however, nine talented high school students had the unique opportunity to work alongside scientists conducting cutting-edge biomedical research through the Institute’s Preuss program.

Hailing from The Preuss School UC San Diego—a distinguished charter school for students who would be the first in their families to graduate from college—the soon-to-be juniors spent two weeks rotating among four labs at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Working with fruit flies, worms, zebrafish and mice—excellent models for understanding the heart, aging, tissue regeneration and the immune system, respectively—the students used sophisticated laboratory techniques such as micropipetting, microscopy and gel electrophoresis to experience how biomedical researchers uncover the underlying causes of disease. This was the first time the participants had set foot inside of a real lab.

At the program’s conclusion, the students presented their research findings to Institute scientists, staff and supporters, including Malin Burnham; the Preuss School’s director of development, Tamika Franklin; and the students’ family members. All attendees were impressed by the students’ grasp of the complex science they learned during the two-week program.

The Preuss program launched in 2008 thanks to the generous contributions of Peggy and Peter Preuss and Debby and Wain Fishburn. For more than a decade, this summer program has inspired future scientists by introducing high school students to laboratory research.

Thank you to the labs of Malene Hansen, PhD, Rolf Bodmer, PhD, Duc Dong, PhD, and Linda Bradley, PhD, for hosting the program’s participants.

Institute News

West Coast meets East Coast: Dr. Wechsler-Reya makes special trip to thank students

AuthorMonica May

Date

July 17, 2019

In the summer of 2015, 5-year-old William Schultz began to experience odd and increasingly worrying symptoms, including frequent vomiting. After two emergency-room visits, doctors ushered his parents, Jim and Margaret Schultz, into a small office and gave an unimaginable diagnosis: William had a brain tumor, ultimately revealed as medulloblastoma—the most common malignant childhood brain cancer. Standard treatment proved ineffective. The tumor returned, and William later died due to treatment complications.

William’s parents quickly channeled their pain into action. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz launched William’s Warriors, a foundation that supports art therapy for all children battling cancer, both in and out of the hospital, and raises funds in support of a cure for pediatric brain cancer—the deadliest form of childhood cancer. Even with aggressive treatment, many children don’t survive, and those who do often suffer severe long-term side effects from the therapy. Half of the foundation’s fundraising goes to William’s Superhero Fund, which supports the work of Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, professor and director of the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, and program director of the Clayes Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics at the Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine.

On May 31, 2019, Wechsler-Reya traveled to New York’s Bay Shore High School, where Mrs. Schultz teaches art—and many teachers and students volunteer with the foundation—to provide an update on his research. As part of his goal to develop safer and more effective treatments for pediatric brain cancer, his lab explores potential personalized treatments based on a child’s specific tumor type, nanotechnology approaches that improve drug delivery and immunotherapy to train patients’ immune systems to eradicate the cancer.

The visit, organized by William’s Warriors volunteer and New York State Master Science Teacher Erin Garland, provided students with a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about the drug development process and how their funds directly impact medical research. During the trip, Wechsler-Reya addressed an assembly of students and teachers, attended a student-centered science symposium, met one-on-one with science students and participated in a question-and-answer session with STEAM teachers. Following his address, the Bay Shore Girls Basketball Team and Brother Sister Organization, presented Wechsler-Reya with a donation of funds they raised in support of his research.

“From the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank Dr. Wechsler-Reya for taking time out of his very busy schedule to make this visit. But, more importantly, we are grateful for his unwavering commitment to finding a cure for childhood brain cancer,” says Mrs. Schultz. “While William’s life couldn’t be saved, knowing that researchers are working to find a treatment that might help children like him means the absolute world to us.”

Read William’s story

Donate to William’s Superhero Fund

The Bay Shore Girls Basketball Team and Brother Sister Organization presented Wechsler-Reya with a donation of funds they raised in support of his research.

Institute News

Meet Clyde Campbell: A new PhD graduate

AuthorMonica May

Date

June 17, 2019

When Clyde Campbell was 6 years old, his life changed overnight.

“I went to sleep, and everything was completely normal. But when I woke up, my knee had swollen to three times its usual size and was stuck in a 90-degree position. I learned I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which then spread throughout my body—and no one knew why this had happened.”

Like the adult form, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system attacks healthy tissue. But much remains unknown—including the initial trigger that causes the body to misfire—and treatments are limited. This mystery sparked Campbell’s interest in science and desire to understand the ‘why’ behind disease—and thus create better medicines.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from UC San Diego, Campbell applied to Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Graduate School in hopes of working with his scientific hero, Duc Dong, PhD, assistant professor in the Human Genetics Program.

“When I completed my work at UC San Diego, everyone spoke highly of Dr. Dong and the thoroughness of his science. I knew very early on that I wanted to work with him,” says Campbell. “Sanford Burnham Prebys’ graduate school was attractive to me because the program allows you to start working with your PhD advisor right away—so I met with Dr. Dong and began my research.”

Last month, Campbell completed his doctorate, the 40th PhD awarded by the Graduate School. His thesis, completed under Dong’s guidance, demonstrated his success in reprogramming developing cells within a zebrafish (mesoderm- and ectoderm-derived cells) into the cells that become the pancreas (pancreatic progenitors), an important advance for people with type 1 diabetes (insulin is released from cells in the pancreas). Current cell-based treatments rely upon cadaver-sourced cells, which are effective but are unable to meet patient demand.

Campbell will carry his training and knowledge of cellular differentiation to Iowa State University, where he’s accepted a position as an adjunct associate professor. There, he will continue his regenerative medicine work, with a new focus on blood cell differentiation. This work could lead to treatments for children with leukemia and people battling other blood disorders. As a father to a 3-year-old daughter, his research now takes on special meaning.

“As a society, one of the most important things we can do for future generations is impart new knowledge. With research comes powerful insights—which could lead to cures. One day, I hope no child or adult will have to go through my experience.”

Learn about Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Graduate School.

Check out our upcoming SBP Insights event, held on June 20, 2019, which features a doctor, scientist and patient discussing rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

Interested in keeping up with our latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries.

Institute News

Inspiring future scientists at the STEM EXPO

AuthorMonica May

Date

March 25, 2019

Armed with wiggly worms and striped zebrafish, on Saturday, March 2, more than 20 volunteers from Sanford Burnham Prebys helped kids and their families learn about the power of DNA at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering’s EXPO Day.

One of the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) festivals in the U.S., this year’s event featured more than 130 interactive exhibits designed to ignite a passion for science in K–12 students. Despite an uncharacteristically rainy morning, an estimated 17,000 people attended.

For Joseph Lancman, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at our Institute who was the first in his family to graduate from college, the festival was an opportunity to provide children with the experience he wishes he’d had as a kid.

“Growing up, I knew I was interested in human health, but I had no idea that research was an option,” Lancman says. “Like many kids, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. But in college, I quickly learned that I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what causes disease and how scientists go about finding cures.”

STEM EXPO 2019 Joseph Lancman and son — Dr. Lancman and his son

At our booth, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and staff helped children don paper lab coats and explore DNA-themed activities.

Children were able to see live worms with DNA mutations that affect their movement, courtesy of the lab of Malene Hansen, PhD, professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program. Compared to normal worms, some mutant worms moved mindlessly in circles, and others remained relatively immobile—illustrating how changes in a DNA sequence can dramatically affect life.

At the adjacent station, provided by the lab of Duc Dong, PhD, assistant professor in the Human Genetics Program, children squinted through microscopes and peered into fish tanks to observe how DNA changes can dramatically affect the heartbeat of zebra fish—one of the most powerful model organisms used to study vertebrate biology.

Lancman, who works in Dong’s lab, took care to explain the exhibit in child-friendly language (he credits his four-year-old son for helping him develop this skill).

“I want kids to know that science is like a puzzle,” he explains. “It takes time to put all the pieces together, but when you’re done, you can see the big picture—and that big picture can lead to improving human health.”

Institute News

American Heart Association awards postdoctoral fellowship to SBP scientist

AuthorMonica May

Date

January 23, 2019

It’s no surprise that muscles are important to our metabolism: it’s why building muscle at the gym can accelerate weight loss.

Scientists are particularly interested in how muscle metabolism affects the heart, arguably the most important muscle in the body. With heart disease remaining the number-one killer of men and women in the U.S., the hunt is on to better understand the molecular mechanisms of the heart so we can develop better treatments. (Learn more about heart disease at our upcoming SBP Insights event.)

Research is revealing that altered communications between skeletal and heart muscle increases the risk of heart disease. But the molecular mechanisms behind this link are currently unknown.

Now, the American Heart Association has awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship to SBP’s Chiara Nicoletti, PhD, to study the genetic basis of metabolic changes in skeletal muscle that ultimately lead to heart disease. Nicoletti works in the lab of Pier Lorenzo Puri, MD, professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at SBP.

Findings from Nicoletti’s work could uncover therapeutic targets for heart disease and/or lead to a prognostic tool that could predict heart disease risk. Both developments would be much-needed advances in the battle against heart disease.

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries.

Institute News

2018 Fishman Award Ceremony honors postdoctoral scholars

AuthorSusan Gammon

Date

September 26, 2018

More than 100 supporters of SBP came out to celebrate this year’s Fishman Award recipients: Usue Etxaniz Irigoien, PhD, Koen Galenkamp, PhD, Laura Martin-Sancho, PhD, and Ee Phie Tan, PhD The annual awards ceremony, held September 20 at the Sanford Consortium, recognizes postdocs who have made extraordinary efforts and encourages their passion for careers in science.

The evening began with a warm welcome from founder Reena Horowitz, who described how she began the Fishman Fund with the late Mary Bradley (her dear friend) to honor Dr. William and Lillian Fishman. The Fishmans were the founders of SBP and firmly believed in helping young postdoctoral scientists become great principal investigators—and these awards help boost young researchers to meaningful careers in science.

Jeanne Jones, the Fishman Fund’s co-founder designee, shared that since the fund’s inception, 64 recipients have been awarded. The career development awards—bestowed annually to three postdocs—provide a generous $10,000 stipend to allow them to attend workshops and travel to national and international conferences to learn the latest developments in their research fields. Additionally, a Fishman Fund Fellowship Award, which provides salary support for two years in addition to benefits and a career-development stipend, was awarded this year for the second time in SBP history.

The keynote speaker was Aman Mann, PhD, who won the Fishman Award in 2011. Today, Mann is a research assistant professor at SBP and an entrepreneur and founder of AivoCode, a neuroscience company that licenses technology originally developed at SBP. Mann reflected on how the award gave him added confidence and resources to pursue his career goals—and he encouraged this year’s recipients to similarly follow their dreams.

If you are interested in donating to the Fishman Fund, click here.

The 2018 Fishman Fund Fellowship winner, Usue Etxaniz Irigoien, PhD, was presented with her award by Reena Horowitz. Irigoien, originally from the Basque region of Spain, is the first in her family to pursue a graduate degree in science. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Lorenzo Puri, PhD, and is studying the communication between nerves and muscles. Irigoien’s research is providing insights that may lead to improved therapies for neuromuscular diseases such as ALS. In the future, she hopes to become a principal investigator of her own lab.

The Fishman Fund Awardees:

Koen Galenkamp, PhD, was presented with his award by Andrew Viterbi, a distinguished scientist and former SBP trustee. Galenkamp works in the laboratory of Cosimo Commisso, PhD, and specializes in seeking ways to starve pancreatic tumors of the food they need to survive and grow. Originally from Amsterdam, Galenkamp thanked his colleagues and wife—who is also a postdoc in San Diego—and shared his plans to use the funds to attend a comprehensive pancreatic cancer conference at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories.

Laura Martin-Sancho, PhD, a postdoc in the lab of Sumit Chanda, PhD, received her Fishman Fund Award from Armi Williams, a Fishman Fund Board member and longtime SBP supporter. Martin-Sancho is working to develop antiviral medicines that will combat infectious diseases such as influenza, dengue, and West Nile and Zika viruses. Martin-Sancho’s career goal is to be an independent investigator in an academic organization. She will use her stipend to attend a Keystone RNA virus conference in Dublin, Ireland.

Ee Phie Tan, PhD, originally from Malaysia, joined SBP in 2016 to work in the lab of Malene Hansen, PhD Tan is studying autophagy—a cell process that tidies up cell debris and recycles parts to maintain health. Defects in autophagy are linked to many aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and even cancer. Tan received her award from Reena Horowitz and will use the funds to attend a Gordon Research Conference in Texas and a Keystone Symposium in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Institute News

SBP women awarded American Heart Association Fellowships

AuthorSusan Gammon

Date

June 15, 2018

There has never been a more exciting time to embark on a career in biomedical research. Fortunately, the American Heart Association (AHA) is supporting early-career scientists with passion, commitment and focus by providing fellowships that fund their pursuit of cardiovascular research. Recently, three SBP scientists were awarded AHA grants to finance projects that align with the AHA mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Katja Birker (left)
Birker, a graduate student in the lab of Rolf Bodmer, PhD, will be studying genes that could possibly contribute to hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)—a condition that affects roughly 2–4 out of every 10,000 babies. Today, the cure for HLHS is a three-step invasive surgery that begins two weeks after the baby is born.

Birker will be collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to identify and test whether candidate HLHS genes found in patients have similar consequences in the hearts of fruit flies, which are an established model organism for cardiovascular research. She will use the flies to work toward her goal of validating novel genes that could be used in the future for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes related to cardiovascular diseases.

EePhie Tan, PhD (middle)
Tan’s research is taking a deeper dive into previous research showing that the cell recycling process called autophagy provides health benefits—including life extension—in response to reduced food intake. This project will examine the cell networks that govern autophagy, and a specialized form of autophagy called lipophagy (fat recycling). Lipophagy is a relatively new field of biomedical research, but scientists have already learned that malfunctions in lipophagy can lead to the accumulation of toxic fat deposits and contribute to heart disease.

Tan, a postdoc in the lab of Malene Hansen, PhD, will use a small worm called C. elegans as a model system to study proteins involved in the lipophagy process. Since the core machinery of lipophagy is conserved in all organisms (from humans to C. elegans), Tan’s findings may be used to find future treatments that target toxic fat deposits in heart disease.

Clara Guida, PhD (right)
Guida will study why children from obese parents have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The research may lead to the development of biomarkers that can predict heart conditions caused by parents that eat a high-fat diet (HFD), and may lead to new drugs that can prevent the negative effects of a parental HFD on the heart function of offspring.

Guida, a postdoc in Bodmer’s lab, will study the inheritance of DNA modifications called “epigenetic marks” in fruit flies fed a HFD. These epigenetic marks are thought to cause heart problems in the next generation. She will be testing potential drugs to see if they can erase the inherited abnormal gene changes and prevent the negative effects of a parental HFD. The research is especially relevant to lipotoxic cardiomyopathy—a condition associated with fat accumulation in the heart.

Institute News

Usue Etxaniz Irigoien awarded Fishman Fund Fellowship

AuthorSusan Gammon

Date

June 13, 2018

Congratulations to SBP postdoc Usue Etxaniz Irigoien, PhD—the recipient of the 2018 Fishman Fund Fellowship. This prestigious award is a “super stipend” given to exceptional young researchers in recognition of their research accomplishments and in support of their future research plans. Etxaniz Irigoien will use the financial support to continue her research on muscle biology—explorations that may lead to treatments for disorders such as muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“I’m honored to receive this special fellowship,” says Etxaniz Irigoien. “I came to SBP to pursue my interest in muscle development and regeneration, and have been so fortunate to work with world-renowned, collaborative scientists with similar interests. This award makes the whole experience even better, and secures my ability to continue making discoveries that may one day improve human health.”

Etxaniz Irigoien, a postdoc in the laboratory of Pier Lorenzo Puri, MD, PhD, professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at SBP, studies a type of muscle cell called fibro-adipogenic progenitors, or FAPs. These are the cells that act as intramuscular sensors and effectors, which means that FAPs can detect “alert” signals and generate different responses by orchestrating other cells’ activity upon different muscle perturbations. In healthy conditions, when muscle suffers an injury, FAPs cue muscle stem cells to repair the damaged muscle fibers. However, in disease (i.e., muscular dystrophies or neuromuscular disorders such as ALS), FAPs’ activity results in fibrosis, fat deposits and other detrimental events that contribute to disease progression.

“If we can begin to uncover how FAPs support muscle regeneration, or contribute to muscle degeneration in different environments, i.e., healthy versus disease tissue, we can look for potential therapeutics that will move the process toward the healthy state,” says Etxaniz Irigoien. “This is so important because today there are no effective therapeutics for dystrophies or ALS, and it’s time we make progress to help these patients.”

Etxaniz Irigoien has come a long way from her hometown of Getaria, a small fishing village located in the Basque Country of Northern Spain. She says, “I had a biology teacher who inspired my interest in science, and I have always known I wanted a career in research. My family, most of whom still live in Getaria, are very supportive and excited about my career and this award. In fact, some of them will be traveling to San Diego for the Fishman Fund ceremony in September. I’m very excited for them to visit SBP and meet some of my colleagues.”

Getaria, located in the Basque Country of Northern Spain

The Fishman Fund Fellowship
The Fishman Fund Fellowship was established in honor of Dr. William and Mrs. Lillian Fishman, co-founders of SBP. Applicants must have a doctoral degree, no more than five years of training at any institution, and at least one full year of postdoctoral study at SBP. Fellowship support is for two years in length and covers salary, benefits and a professional-development allowance.

SBP is thankful for the generous Fishman Fund donors who make career development awards possible. If you would like to donate to the Fishman Fund to support young scientists click here.

Institute News

2017 Fishman Fund Award Ceremony celebrates postdoctoral scholars

AuthorHelen I. Hwang

Date

September 20, 2017

More than 100 supporters of Sanford Burnham Prebys (SBP) Fishman Fund Awards came out to honor this year’s Fishman Fund Award recipients: David Sala Cano, PhD, Michael J. Stec, PhD, and Jose Luis Nieto Torres, PhD, at the Sanford Consortium on Tuesday evening.

Malin Burnham, SBP’s Honorary Board Trustee, spoke about SBP exemplifying collaboration as part of its DNA. He also said that of all the organizations he works with, he gets the most satisfaction from being involved with SBP. Dr. Torres received the award and Fishman Fund medallion from Burnham, while Torres’ parents watched on with pride. They flew in from Spain, visiting the United States for the first time.

Fishman Fund co-founders and SBP supporters Reena Horowitz and Jeanne Jones led the ceremonies as they spoke about the founding of the Fishman Fund Award in 2001. The Fishman Fund Career Development Awards have grown from a $1,500 allowance to $10,000 stipends for each recipient so they can attend workshops, network and travel to national and international scientific conferences to learn about the latest developments in their research fields. The generosity of Fishman Fund donors enables such important career advancement opportunities for future scientific leaders.

Greg Lucier, former SBP board member and CEO of NuVasive, Inc., also spoke on the topic of “we versus me,” emphasizing the importance of teamwork. SBP supporters Dr. Andrew Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm, and Armi Williams, Fishman Fund Advisory Board member and former SBP trustee, presented Fishman Fund awards and medallions to Drs. Stec and Cano, respectively.

This year’s recipients gave short presentations on their work, each of which dealt with aging, including muscle stem cells, muscle regeneration and autophagy (body’s ability to eliminate waste and recycle). Read more about their work below.

Your contributions provide vital support for the Fishman Fund. Please donate now.

2017 Fishman Fund Awardees:

David Sala Cano, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Alessandra Sacco, PhD, is working on muscle stem cells. He focuses on muscle wasting, a major health problem that leads to poor quality to life, and is associated diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer and aging. He is working on identifying new targets for drugs that may prevent skeletal muscle degeneration.

Dr. Cano comes to La Jolla from a small town of Abrúcies, Spain. He holds degrees from the University of Barcelona, including a BS degree in biochemistry, a MS degree in physiology and a PhD in biomedicine. His goal is to become a principal investigator in an academic setting, combining his passion for research and teaching.

Michael J. Stec, PhD, focuses on understanding the mechanisms regulating stem cell function and skeletal muscle regeneration; he is also in the laboratory of Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D. He aims to develop novel therapies for improving muscle function in aged and diseased individuals.

Dr. Stec hails from Whippany, New Jersey. He holds a BS degree in health and exercise science from the College of New Jersey, a MS degree in exercise science from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in pathobiology and molecular medicine from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Ultimately, his career goal is to obtain a position in the biotech industry.

Jose Luis Nieto Torres, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Malene Hansen, PhD He conducts research on autophagy—a process our bodies use to eliminate cell waste by recycling debris into usable sources of energy. Our bodies need to be able to eliminate debris that accumulates over time and make new components for proper functioning. Autophagy declines with aging, and is associated with many age-related diseases.

Dr. Torres joined SBP from Palencia, Spain. He obtained his BS degree in biochemistry and biology from the University of Salamanca and MS and PhD degrees in molecular biology from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. In the future, Dr. Torres aims to become a principal investigator of his own lab in an academic setting.

Institute News

Inspiring the next generation of researchers and physicians

AuthorDeborah Robison

Date

May 24, 2017

Summer scholars investigate future careers in science and medicine.

Nearly 28 percent of high school freshmen declare interest in a STEM-related field. That’s roughly one million students each year. But unfortunately, of these students, 57 percent will lose interest by the time they graduate from high school.

Summer internships are often sought for the boost they give to a resume but they also provide valuable direction for students unsure of how to chart a course toward a scientific career.

As Central Florida’s high school graduates prepare to head off to college, there is a small group who may have a leg up on their peers. Students who donned lab coats last summer at SBP Lake Nona, took part in an immersive lab experience to try their hands full-time at what could be a future career in a STEM-related field. Already academic stars, the practical experience fueled their passion for research and medicine.

“I learned a great deal about bench research techniques which I believe helped me stand out to admissions officers,” said Andrew Tiu, a Bishop Moore High School graduate who is headed to Georgetown University in the fall. “My internship also helped me learn about the mentality and motivation behind scientific research. It truly gave me a taste of the work I hope to take up in the future.”

Then there’s Kathleen Garvey from Trinity Preparatory School who plans to pursue a special focus in research at Johns Hopkins; she acknowledges her lab mentor Peter Crawford, PhD, for helping ignite that passion. “My internship made me certain about wanting to study the life sciences and actively pursue more research opportunities.”

Other interns were similarly motivated. Veronica Eslava (University) and Saumya Kapoor (Cypress Creek) will attend University of Florida; Prianca Nagda and Rakhi Patel (Trinity Prep) are destined for Georgetown and University of Miami; and Steven Jones (East River) will attend University of Central Florida.

Is a career in science for you? What students should know.

We asked our faculty, “What advice would you give to high school and college students who are interested in research as a career?” Here are their top ten tips:

1. Develop a solid science foundation during high school—no need to focus on highly specialized courses but build a base of math, chemistry, physics and biology.

2. Take elective courses that offer a lab experience. It can be anything that allows you to set up small experiments or to be involved in a science project.

3. Join extracurricular groups that have an interest in science.

4. Volunteer for a few weeks or a summer at a “real” research place, such as a laboratory at a university or college.

5. Read general science articles written for non-specialists such as Scientific American. See what area triggers your interest.

6. The earlier you get your hands wet in the lab, the better. Start generating data and publishing papers ASAP. In this field you will be judged by the quantity and quality of your publications.

7. Besides lots of biology and chemistry, biomedical research can also involve plenty of physics, math, and computer science—stay open to linking various disciplines.

8. Education is expensive and life science careers may need additional studies after obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

9. Talk to a lot of people that have pursued a science career.

10. Enroll in your dream subject but look for cross-training opportunities.

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Tag: education

Summer program inspires a new generation of scientists

West Coast meets East Coast: Dr. Wechsler-Reya makes special trip to thank students

Meet Clyde Campbell: A new PhD graduate

Inspiring future scientists at the STEM EXPO

American Heart Association awards postdoctoral fellowship to SBP scientist

2018 Fishman Award Ceremony honors postdoctoral scholars

SBP women awarded American Heart Association Fellowships

Usue Etxaniz Irigoien awarded Fishman Fund Fellowship

2017 Fishman Fund Award Ceremony celebrates postdoctoral scholars

Inspiring the next generation of researchers and physicians

Summer scholars investigate future careers in science and medicine.