Cellular & Molecular Biology - Cmb.medicine.umich.edu

Cellular & Molecular BiologyCMB Retreat 2016:Spring 2017NewsletterLetter from the Director:We Live in Interesting TimesDear Colleagues,While it is tempting to complain about the currentpolitical and social turmoil and threats to the futureof the scientific enterprise and to the nature of truthitself (full disclosure: I have resorted to all of theabove recently), here I would like to pursue a non-ironic interpretation ofthis overused aphorism.These are indeed interesting times if you are engaged in scientific research.In the physical sciences, we see remarkable advances in the understandingthe underlying structure and composition of subatomic particles. At theother end of the scale, modern astronomy and astrophysics is providingamazing details about structure and variation of the universe. Planetaryscience is providing unexpected evidence of liquid water in the moonsof Jupiter and Saturn, suggesting the possibility of extraterrestrial lifewithin the solar system. Closer to home, biology and chemistry continueto uncover novel features of life on earth that at once inform us of thediversity and commonality of pathways in living organisms. Those of usengaged in the application of basic science to biomedicine can prideourselves in the knowledge that what we learn will shape the future ofmedicine.Science and Fun at MacMullenOn October 21-23, 2016 CMB students, staff,and faculty gathered at the Ralph A. MacMullenConference Center in Roscommon MI. The weekendincluded many engaging student and facultyresearch presentations, and Alyssa Miller, ScottSholz, and Yashar Niknafs won awards for theirresearch talks. Carla Ramos was recognized for heroutstanding service with SACNAS, with Scott Scholzreceiving an honorable mention. Keynote speakerDr. Zoltan Takacs inspired with his amazing workintegrating venomous snake wrangling and targeteddrug design.The retreat was hardly all work and no play, however.Afternoons were spent hiking, biking, and canoeingin the beautiful fall weather. The incoming CMBstudents performed a hilarious skit spoofing currentpolitical events. And the fun continued late intothe night with campfires, board games, and teambuilding activities, including the ever popular BStalks competition!A special thanks to the retreat committee, whichincluded students Carla Ramos, Brittany Flores,Megan Ludwig, Henry Kuang, Yashar Niknafs, ShelbyPeterson, and faculty advisors Drs. Kathy Collins andBob Fuller.The 2017 retreat will be October 6-7 on the UMcampus.It is important for us all to make the case both for the intrinsic worthof scientific discovery as well as for its practical implications. Make thisargument with friends, with family, and when given the opportunity,with the greater public. Also, please appreciate the importance of yourown contributions and also appreciate the fact that you, because of yourtraining and hard work, are in a position to understand – at a deep level– a substantial fraction of the New Biology we collectively continue todiscover.Science and the arts are the two great creative endeavors of humankind.The progress of human civilization can be measured in large part by thevitality and progress in these areas. Keep fighting the good fight. It matters.What you do matters. You will outlast the current assault on reason.Spring 20171

Awards and RecognitionRecipients of the 2017 National ScienceFoundation Graduate Student Fellowship:Shahana ChumkiLindsay MoritzRecipient of NINDS National Research Service Award Fellowship:Macy ZhangRecipient of the Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship:Sara WongRecipient of the Shapiro/Malik/Forrest Fellowship:Sammi DevenportRecipient of the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship:Anabel FloresProgramMilestonesCongratulations tothe 2nd year studentsfor passing theirpreliminary exams!Adam BandaSammi DevenportAmeya JalihalElaine LuBrian McGrathHillary MillerLindsay MoritzCongratulations tothe CMB Graduates2015-2017!SACNAS Chapter honored as2016 Role Model of the YearCongratulations to the Universityof Michigan SACNAS (Society forAdvancement of Hispanics/Chicanosand Native Americans in Science)Chapter for their 2016 Role Modelof the Year Award for OutstandingRecruitment and Membership!Pictured above are group membersat the 2016 National SACNASconference in Long Beach, CA. CMBstudents, Carla Ramos (chapterfounder and former president) andAdam Banda, are pictured alongwith CMB director Bob Fuller.2Steven AllenNadia BozadjievaElaina BreznauJennifer ChaseJooho ChungTamar FeinbergNicole GabreskiLaurie GriffinMangala IyengarDerek JanssensRay JoeDavid LorberbaumYevgeniya MironovaShelby PetersonCiara ReyesJenny RoNadia SebastianDaniel TreismanNatasha WeiserSpring 2017

ElainaBreznaugraduatedfrom Ann Miller’s lab in 2016.Elaina is currently a managerat GeneMarkers: a KalamazooMI based contract researchorganizationthatprovidesboth clinical genetic testingand research and developmentservices focusing on epithelialbiology.Q: Can you describe your currentposition?I work for a company calledGeneMarkers, which is indowntown Kalamazoo, right nextto Western Michigan University.It’s a small company; we currentlyhave seven employees, includinga CEO, a COO whose backgroundis business, me managing the lab,a lab supervisor, and technicians.GeneMarkers has two businesses.One side of the company is a CLIAcertified clinical genetic testinglab which provides patient genetictesting to support clinical trials.The other side is a contractresearch organization, which doesidentification and validation ofbiomarkers in skin. Our clients arelarge personal care companies;they send us test material, weapply it to 3d tissue cultured skinsamples, and use quantitativePCR or microarray analysis tolook for differentially regulatedgenes. We provide the client witha report that tells them what wethink it does based on the geneexpression profile. They use thedata to validate leads or for claimsubstantiation for marketing.Every company is interested ina different biological question. Iget to work with people from alldifferent areas, coach them, anddesign experiments. One day I’llbe working with someone whoseinterested in hair growth.The next day, someone is makinga cream for psoriasis. I still get towork in the lab every day.Q: How did you find your job?I actually found my job throughLinkedIn. My Ph.D. work inAnne Miller’s lab was on celldivision in epithelial tissue, and Iwanted to do something relatedto epithelium, so I looked forcompanies in the area that didsomething related to skin orepithelia and found GeneMarkers.There wasn’t any job posting, theyweren’t actively hiring. I sent theCEO an e-mail through LinkedIn(the key is short and sweet - fivesentences is all you get). I didn’task for a job, just to take her out tocoffee and chat. We had an hourlong talk. At the end, she said wecould use someone like you, andasked me to meet with the ChiefOperating Officer. A couple daysafter that I got an offer letter.Where are they now?An inteview with recent graduate Elaina BreznauQ: What are the biggestdifferencesbetweengradschool and working in industry?The biggest difference is the pace.Everything is driven by profit;time is money and money is time.It can take 10 years to develop aproduct, but from time we get thetest material, we have two weeksto find a mechanism, with a fullreport of gene expression and aninterpretation.Another thing that is very differentis the paperwork. Every time I doanything in the lab I have to writedown each step and initial thepaper. All the paperwork goes in afolder and goes to the client.Here’s another awesome thingabout my job: I only work 30hours a week! On a typical day, Icome in at 9 and leave at 3 or 3:30.They offered me a choice when ISpring 2017was hired and I decided to work30 hours instead of full time. Inreality, that means I’m currentlyworking about 33, we’re busyright now.Q: Do you have any advice forcurrent students consideringgoing into industry?Get out of the lab and dosomething other than research,have a leadership roles, workwith a group of other people.When I interviewed, they spentmost of their time trying to geta sense of the things I had donebesides research, and whetherI had the soft skills to survive inbusiness. Join committees andcommunity organizations, beready for questions like “What’syour management style?”.Another question people alwayshave is whether you need a postdoc. I got hired without one. Inretrospect, a short (1 year or so)post-doc might be helpful. Somecompanies don’t hire straightfrom graduate school, and youcan come in at a higher salary ifyou are hired as a post-doc.3

Meet CMB’s Newest Members!Haley AmemiyaWhat fruit would you be?A banana since they are radioactive.Shahana ChumkiWhat fruit would you be?A pomegranate since I believe I amjust as heavenly as the fruit!Morgan GingerichWhat is your dream vacationdestination?The Nordic countries. Really happypeople, awesome hiking, and reallybeautiful fjords --- does it get anybetter?Sumin KimWhat is your favorite food?Tacos.or fresh pasta? It’s a tie.Gabe ManskeOn a Saturday afternoon you can find me.Still in bed, watching Netflix.Pellentesque mollis etRosa MenjivarWhatisyourdreamvacationdestination?justo vitae rhoncus.Greece. Seems like a beautiful place inVivamus magnapictures.ligula, pellentesque utaccumsan eget, sempera tellus. In acodioMunnekeAllysonOna Saturdayafternoon you can find me.mattis, tempus erosid,Biking (now that it’s nice outside!), relaxing,blanditnibh. a perfect cup of coffee.or drinkingHanh TruongFun Fact.The mascot of her undergraduate institution(UC Santa Cruz) is the banana slug.4Spring 2017