Category: Being a Scientist

Haley Bridgewater: Taking the Sting Out of Vaccines

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Haley Bridgewater, a graduate student at Boise State University in Idaho, is sure she wants to continue studying infectious diseases after she graduates with her Ph.D., but she’s finding it difficult to choose a specific topic within that branch of biomedical science. “My problem is that I like them all. The more I look into specific research topics to narrow down my options, the longer my list of potential topics grows,” she says.

A portrait image of Haley Bridgewater standing on a bridge over a river.
Haley Bridgewater in front of the Boise River on Boise State University campus. Credit: Elise Overgaard, Ph.D., Boise State University.

Haley’s early introduction to science wasn’t related to the biological sciences at all. She grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where her dad studied nuclear chemistry. Discussions about chemistry, physics, and rockets surrounded her, and she would often stare up at the night sky to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower or the International Space Station passing by. But she was even more curious about what was below her feet: What makes an insect different from a rock? What does the microscopic world look like? She received a microscope one year for her birthday and carried it with her everywhere so she could try to answer these questions.

Global Experiences

Haley took an advanced biology class in high school, where she learned not only about the living world, but also the many exciting scientific careers available, such as becoming a researcher. She moved to Tacoma, Washington, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), where she majored in biology and global religion.

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Investigating the Inner Workings of Ion Channels With Sudha Chakrapani

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A headshot of Dr. Chakrapani.
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani.

“Curiosity was a central theme in my learning process,” says Sudha Chakrapani, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the department of pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. As a high schooler in India, she especially enjoyed her science classes because they fostered her curiosity and allowed her to ask more questions than other subjects did. She was curious about how to use science to solve the challenges she and her community faced, like access to safe drinking water. Seawater surrounded them, so could they find a way to convert it into drinking water?

As part of India’s annual National Teachers’ Day celebration, high school seniors take on the role of educators and teach their younger peers for the day. Dr. Chakrapani loved the experience, and it solidified what she already knew: She wanted to go to college to be a science teacher. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she entered back-to-back master’s programs in biochemistry and biomedical engineering, where she had the opportunity to do hands-on research.

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Advice to Future Scientists

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This post is part of our miniseries on becoming a scientist. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series that you may have missed!

We’ve interviewed many NIGMS-funded researchers over the years to learn about their career paths and passions inside and outside the laboratory. Many have shared advice for students who are interested in pursuing a career in science. We’ve compiled a handful of those nuggets of advice here and hope that they help you find inspiration to chase your career goals. Check out the links to the full Biomedical Beat blog posts featuring these researchers if you haven’t already.

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Inventing New Ways to Build Bonds: Q&A With Elias Picazo

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 A portrait image of Dr. Elias Picazo.
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Elias Picazo.

“Science has always impacted me, but I didn’t realize how much until I actually became a scientist,” says Elias Picazo, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. We talked to Dr. Picazo about his path to becoming a scientist, some of the challenges he faced along the way, and his research inventing new ways to make chemical bonds.

Get to Know Dr. Picazo

  • Books or movies? Movies
  • Beach or mountains? Mountains
  • Favorite music genre? Pop
  • Rainy or sunny? Sunny
  • Salty or sweet? Sweet
  • Music or podcast? Podcast
  • Washing glassware in the lab or dishes in your kitchen? Glassware
  • Favorite lab tool? Magnetic stirrer
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Building the Future of Research: Celebrating Postdocs and Training Programs

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To celebrate the 2024 National Postdoc Appreciation Week, we’re revisiting some scientists we’ve interviewed on the blog and how their postdoctoral experiences and NIGMS-funded training shaped their careers.

Headshots of the six researchers featured in the blog post.
Top row, left to right: Drs. Ahna Skop, Jeff Mudridge, and Nkrumah Grant. Bottom row, left to right: Drs. Mia Huang, Jesse Hall, and Caroline Palavicino-Maggio. Credit: NIGMS.
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What Careers Can Biomedical Scientists Have?

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This post is part of a miniseries on becoming a biomedical scientist. Check out other posts in the series if you missed them!

Many of us enjoy learning about topics like plants, weather, or rocks, but did you know that you can make a career out of your love for science? Scientist is a job title, just like carpenter, firefighter, or lawyer. At NIGMS, we work to get students interested in careers in health science. Read on to learn about some of the different jobs that biomedical scientists do and the level of education they require. (Find more info on the different education paths in our first post of this series.) And who knows, maybe this post will spark your interest in pursuing one of these jobs in the future!

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Membranes, Malaria, and the Mosaic of Science: Q&A With John Jimah

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Dr. John Jimah standing in a lab.
Credit: Todd Reichert, Princeton University.

“I think it’s really an exciting time for science. Some people might think that everything out there to be discovered has already been discovered, but that’s far from the truth. There is still much, much more to discover,” says John Jimah, Ph.D., an assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. We talked with him about how he moved internationally to pursue his career, how his current research on cell membranes could help treat malaria, and how science holds space for everyone.

Get to Know Dr. Jimah

  • Books or movies? Movies
  • Coffee or tea? Mocha
  • Beach or mountains? Beach
  • Cats or dogs? Dogs
  • Music, podcasts, or quiet? Podcasts
  • Early bird or night owl? Early bird
  • Childhood dream job? Judge
  • Favorite hobby? Bicycling
  • Favorite piece of lab safety equipment? Gloves
  • A scientist (past or present) you’d like to meet? Leonardo da Vinci
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From Fireflies to Physiology: Q&A With Yvon Woappi

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A headshot of Dr. Woappi.
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Yvon Woappi.

“In high school, one of my teachers encouraged me to take an advanced biology class, and I’m so glad I did,” says Yvon Woappi, Ph.D. “The class opened my eyes to the fact that there were other people who loved nature like I did—they’re called biologists!” Now, Dr. Woappi is an assistant professor of physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia University in New York City. We talked with him about his early love of nature and the night sky, the support he received from NIGMS training programs, and his research on wound healing.

Get to Know Dr. Woappi

  • Coffee or tea? Tea
  • Favorite music genre? Makossa, which originated in Douala, Cameroon
  • Cats or dogs? Cats
  • Rainy or sunny? Rainy
  • Ocean or lake? Ocean
  • Childhood dream job? Painter
  • Favorite hobby? Chess
  • Favorite lab tool? Fluorescent microscope
  • Favorite pipette size? 100 microliters
  • A scientist (past or present) you’d like to meet? Jonas Salk (who developed a safe and effective polio vaccine)

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How Can I Become a Biomedical Scientist?

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This post is the first in our miniseries on becoming a biomedical scientist. Check out other posts in the series if you missed them!

Do you love learning about science but aren’t sure how to turn it into a career? Or maybe you already know that you want to be a scientist but you’re wondering what steps it takes? If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place!

A researcher wearing a lab coat and goggles and looking at test tubes in a rack.
Credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health.

For most people, the path to becoming a scientist starts in the classroom, where you might be introduced to topics like biology, chemistry, and physics. After high school, some science-loving students choose to follow a path to becoming a doctor or a teacher, but those are just two of the many biomedical scientific careers available. Regardless of what field you’re interested in, here’s a rough guide to the different levels of training that scientists may have.

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Trainee Colton Pelletier Builds a Rotifer-Studying Robot

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Colton Pelletier posing in front of complex laboratory machinery and a computer screen.
Colton Pelletier with Roti-Bot. Credit: Grace Boland, RWU.

During his time at Roger Williams University (RWU) in Bristol, Rhode Island, Colton Pelletier built a robot that will help simplify data collection for research projects in the lab he worked in—and others—for years to come. Aiding in Colton’s success in the lab was NIGMS funding through the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program. INBRE funds statewide networks of higher education in IDeA states such as Rhode Island, which have historically received low levels of NIH funding. The program supports faculty research, mentoring, student participation in research, and research infrastructure by connecting primarily undergraduate institutions with research-intensive universities in the state.

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