Q&As in 2021

Dr. Aparna Bhaduri is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Bhaduri received her PhD in 2016 from Stanford University, and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, before starting her independent research career at UCLA. In this Q&A, Dr. Bhaduri tells us about her current work, the joys and challenges of starting a lab during a pandemic, and recent advances in developmental neuroscience.

In recognition of LGBTQ+ STEM Day on November 18th, we celebrate the achievements of queer researchers and their efforts to improve representation in STEM. Scott Cocker and Kyle Shanebeck are PhD students at the University of Alberta and co-founders of Scientific QUEERies, a biweekly seminar series that provides a platform for queer STEM professionals to share their achievements and personal stories. In this Q&A, we asked Scott and Kyle about their own research experiences, what it means to be queer in STEM, and the importance of initiatives like Scientific QUEERies.

As part of our celebration of LGBTQ+ STEM Day, we asked queer researchers and faculty about their academic experiences, role models, and how they promote an inclusive research environment.

Cinzia Fornai is a Scientific Coordinator with the Vienna School of Interdisciplinary Dentistry, and was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich. Her current role is focussed more on clinical research than her previous academic positions, and was facilitated by strong interdisciplinary collaboration.

October 12th is Ada Lovelace Day. Every year on this day we celebrate the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Although we have made progress in terms of gender equality in STEM, hurdles are still faced and changes are still needed. We spoke to Professor Jacqueline Gottlieb, Dr Kirsty Bannister and Natahsa Pushkin about their journeys in STEM in what are still male-dominated disciplines.

World Mental Health Day and Ada Lovelace Day are just 2 days apart. Whilst we use World Mental Health Day on October 10 to highlight what still needs to be done to address some of the gaps in our understanding of mental health, Ada Lovelace Day on October 12 celebrates Women in STEM. We spoke to Dr. Annemarie Schumacher Dimech—President and co-founder of the Women’s Brain Project—who embodies both days and strives to advance not only our gender-specific understanding of mental health but is also flying the flag for women in STEM careers.

This year’s theme for Peer Review Week is “Identity”, with a focus on promoting equity in peer review practices and recognizing how personal identity can influence the process. While many researchers may involve trainees with their reviews, not all will acknowledge the contributions made by these early-career researchers or request that journals provide them with direct recognition. In this Q&A, we asked pairs of faculty and post-doctoral fellows who previously co-reviewed manuscripts at Communications Biology to reflect on their experiences with peer review, and the importance of including and recognizing early-career researchers as part of this process.

In celebration of Peer Review Week 2021, we asked pairs of faculty mentors and their trainees to reflect on their experiences as co-reviewers for manuscripts at Communications Biology, and the importance of providing peer review opportunities and recognition to early-career researchers.

Sahika Inal is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at KAUST and has been leading the Organic Bioelectronics group since 2016. With a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from the University of Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany) and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Bioelectronics at the Centre Microelectronique de Provence in France, she is an expert in the characterization of conjugated polymers and biomedical device development. In this Q&A, Dr. Inal tells us about her research interests, excitement of constantly learning in the lab and the expanding biosensor field.

Carol Ibe is a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Saunders Lab at the John Innes Centre, Norwich. She received her PhD in Plant Sciences (as a Gates Scholar) from the University of Cambridge in 2020. From Nigeria, Carol understands the urgent need to develop the right capacity to advance bioscience education, research, and innovation to eradicate hunger, malnutrition, and extreme poverty in Africa. This led her to set up the JR Biotek Foundation, a non-profit organisation that is providing Africa-based early-career agricultural researchers with the right skillset and opportunities to improve widely consumed crop varieties in African countries, and to foster links between the lab and market to support smallholder farmers in the region. Her unwavering dedication and passion to improve the lives of others through her research and Foundation’s work has led to numerous awards including the University of Cambridge Society for the Application of Research Awards (CSAR) and the 2019 Bill Gates Sr. Prize.

Professor Akiko Iwasaki’s research focuses on the mechanisms of immune defense against viruses at mucosal surfaces, which are a major site of entry for infectious agents. Professor Iwasaki received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Toronto and completed her postdoctoral training with the National Institutes of Health before joining Yale’s faculty in 2000. She has received many awards and honors and has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2014. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018, to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Professor Iwasaki is also well known for her Twitter advocacy of women and underrepresented minorities in the science and medicine fields. In addition, Professor Iwasaki co-directs the IMPACT (Implementing Medical and Public Health Actions against Coronavirus in Connecticut) team to generate an extensive biorepository for specimens collected from patients and health care workers, as well as implementing viral testing in both groups.

Alice Soragni is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Originally from Italy, she received her PhD in Physical Chemistry from the ETH of Zurich and a postdoc with David Eisenberg (UCLA) before starting her independent lab in December 2016. In this Q&A, Dr. Soragni tells us about her research on organoids, importance of learning from peers while starting an independent research career and of creating inclusive and diverse lab practices.

The theme for World Brain Day (WBD) this year is ‘Stopping MS’. Despite the amazing progress that science and medicine have made in the development of therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), access to such therapies is still a major challenge in many parts of the world. We spoke to Professor Tissa Wijeratne, one of the founders of WBD, who has steered many initiatives that aim to improve brain health globally and Dr Joanna Laurson-Doube about the actions needed to improve MS treatment worldwide.

This year’s World Brain Day is focused on stopping Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Although amazing progress has resulted in the development of relatively successful MS therapies, access to such therapies is a major problem for most of the world. In addition, major advances are still needed that would enable more precise treatment of MS for all patient demographics. We therefore spoke to Dr Maurico Farez, whose pioneering work focuses on the use of AI for precision medicine in MS and Helen Onourah, who has highlighted crucial issues surrounding the inequities that exist in MS research.

Dr. Sebastian Groh is a postdoctoral researcher at University College London, UK, and co-founder of Trans In STEM. We asked them about their experiences as an early career palaeontologist, and the challenges faced by transgender scientists in academia.

Dr Maël Lebreton is about to set up his own lab at the Paris School of Economics, in September 2021, thanks to an ERC Starting Grant. In the meantime he holds a part-time position at the Swiss Center for Affective Science at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, where he has been a Senior Research Associate since 2018. Mael originally obtained a B.Sc and MSc in Biosciences from the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, and a PhD in Cognitive Neurosciences from Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6 (now Sorbonne Université) in 2013. He then moved to the University of Amsterdam, where he spent over 4 years as a postdoc at the Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision-Making at the Faculty of Economics and Business. This is where he truly began his independent research career.

Denise Akob is a Research Microbiologist for the United State Geological Survey (USGS), based at the Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center in Reston, VA. Dr. Akob received her Ph.D. in 2008 from Florida State University and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Friedrich Schiller University Jena before starting her independent research career with the USGS in 2012. In this Q&A, Dr. Akob tells us about her current work, experiences in federal research, and the best bacterial taxa.

Helen Vuong is a postdoctoral fellow in the Hsiao lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she is currently funded by a K99 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health. In this Q&A, Dr. Vuong tells us about her current work and the importance of tailoring scientific educational experiences to students. Dr. Vuong also shares tips on how to better support young parents in STEM.

Yi Arial Zeng has been a Principal Investigator at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (SIBCB), Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2010. In this interview she talks about her research, but also shares her experience of the challenges facing a group leader and highlights the importance of art and beauty in science and beyond.

Willias Masocha is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at Kuwait University where he studies the pathophysiology and treatment of neuropathic pain. Professor Masocha obtained a Bachelor of Pharmacy Honours from the University of Zimbabwe followed by a PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Granada before undertaking his postdoctoral training and International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) fellowship at the Karolinska Institutet. He began his independent research career at Kuwait University in 2006. In this Q&A he tells us about his current work and his perspectives on neuroscience research in the Middle East and Africa. He also shares tips for young scientists—particularly those based in Africa.