Author: The Wistar Institute

Three Wistar alumni returned to their research roots to participate in Wistar’s first Fireside Chat forum as part of the Institute’s Diversity in Science initiative. In front of a video projection of a crackling fire, the trio spoke with humor, thoughtfulness, and disarming honesty to Wistar trainees about their career paths and what they’ve learned since leaving their respective Wistar labs.

The alumni – M. Cecilia Caino, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado; Kevin Alicea-Torres, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell & Molecular Biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao; and Ademi Santiago-Walker, Ph.D. Head of Prostate and CRC Oncology Translation Research at Janssen Pharmaceutical – have diverged on their own unique paths, but agreed that their experiences and their Wistar connections were instrumental in helping them find their footing in academia and the corporate sector. 

Dr. Santiago-Walker, who trained as a postdoc in Dr. Meenhard Herlen’s lab, attributed her smooth transition into the pharmaceutical industry to the skills she learned at Wistar. “I use a lot of the transferable skills I learned in my time here,” she explained. “[Wistar] is a well-oiled machine and there’s a lot of great collaboration, so I had the opportunity to work in a matrixed team similar to what you have in pharma, where you’re working with multiple people from different functions to accomplish your goal.” 

Dr. Alicea-Torres explained that he received his Ph.D. just as the pandemic hit, adding an unplanned layer of complexity to the next step of his career. Although his path wasn’t clearly mapped out, he landed a Mass Media Fellowship that eventually led to a job as a science writer at Telemundo, something that combined his interest in communication with his scientific background. “I used my relationships to establish a network and learn about other opportunities. Networking is crucial, both inside and outside of the science community.” 

Throughout the wide-ranging discussion, the panelists answered a host of questions posed by the audience of trainees, including how to deal with self-doubt, diversifying your skillset, and ways to acquire “soft skills.”

“We’re always working on ourselves,” said Dr. Alicia-Torres. “Be humble throughout the process and be open to the feedback and advice that you receive. People may be observing something that you don’t see, and that might be the very thing you need to address to get that opportunity.”

The event was a joint effort between The Wistar Institute Inclusion Diversity & Equity Council (W-IDE), the Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Education and Training Center, and The Wistar Institute Trainee Association. Long term, the team plans to organize similar events to help budding researchers broaden their skills and learn from real-life experiences. “This event has been an amazing collaboration between a lot of different departments,” said Dr. Jessie Villanueva. “I hope that it’s the beginning of a new partnership between all of us to bring in similar future events.”

The Fireside Chat concluded with a networking reception that featured industry professionals from several local organizations including Spark Therapeutics, American Association of Cancer Research, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Ian Tietjen is a Research Assistant Professor in Wistar’s Montaner Lab, where he investigates traditional African medicinal compounds’ potential for drug origination against viruses like HIV. Dr. Tietjen travels to Africa to work with traditional healers to better understand the function of these compounds.

If you haven’t started this series with part one, click here.

9 August 2023 — After the big community session and the experimental workshop, today was a lighter day with the group. We travelled to Domboshaba, which is a cultural heritage site for the Kalanga peoples that was excavated nearly 100 years ago. The healers pointed out numerous plants that are used for medicines. The place has long been a site for training healers and general spiritual contact with the ancestors. After lunch, we gave some final speeches, and both the Secwepemc delegation and Kalanga healers serenaded all of us with their traditional songs. The healers are being driven home to their local villages or as far as Francistown.

They’re excited to work with biomedical researchers in a way that shares the benefits of collaboration between scientific partners.

10 August 2023 — Today our group of researchers and some healers took a cultural trip out to the Elephant Sands park, where there are very few people but lots of wildlife. There is a watering hole nearby, and the elephants come up very close to you while you are eating lunch. 

On the way back one of the healers seemed to be getting more comfortable with us, asking a lot of questions about how HIV works and health science advice more generally. Afterwards, he treated us all to cups of sour milk from a roadside stand that also had Mopani worms, which are large grubs that are dried and salted. I’ve seen reality shows where contestants have to eat these in order to stay in the competition, but it was nowhere as bad as the shows made it out to be. 

Dr. Ian Tietjen is a Research Assistant Professor in Wistar’s Montaner Lab, where he investigates traditional African medicinal compounds’ potential for drug origination against viruses like HIV. Dr. Tietjen travels to Africa to work with traditional healers to better understand the function of these compounds.

If you haven’t started this series with part one, click here.

7 August 2023 — Today was the opening session of our biomedical research project—a major undertaking to better identify and understand natural medicinal compounds. We’re meeting with the community before starting work to inform them about our collaboration with the healers and answer questions.

We began by meeting in the kgotla, which is the traditional meeting house of the village. Because Tutume is the local capital of the district, several Kgosi and Dikgosi, or chiefs and sub-chiefs, from Tutume and the neighboring villages all come to meet. These days everyone wears suits, but at minimum jackets, long skirts and covered shoulders are required in the kgotla. This is a formal session where the community can meet and give formal approval to our proposed plan. Anybody can attend, and in this case, it was broadcast on Botswana TV (BTV) and streamed on Facebook.

We each took a turn speaking about where we come from, what we hope to achieve, and what we hope to avoid. We also had a local poet present one of his works, and a local dancing troupe performed to traditional music. In return, the Secwepemc delegation sang and presented the Tutume Kgosi and a delegate of the Ministry of Education a copy of their book Secwepemc People, Land, and Laws (written by Ignace and Ignace), a 10,000-year history of their peoples. The Secwepemc and local healers are already starting to hit it off and trying to learn from each other how traditional medicines work.

8 August 2023 — Today was the big experimental day, and we all assembled into experimental groups to conduct collaborative research for the workshop. We brought a large amount of lab equipment and reagents as well as plant samples that were blinded to us (meaning we didn’t know what the samples were). In the morning, we ran an antioxidant assay, an assay to measure inhibition of alpha-glucosidase, and an assay to measure anti-trypsin activity. The antioxidant assay reagents spoiled, so we ran an alpha-glucosidase assay with both pure enzyme and pea sprouts, which have high levels of this enzyme.

Basically, alpha-glucosidase is an enzyme that catalyzes complex sugars and starches into simple sugars, which our body needs for energy. However, if there is too much sugar in the body, this can lead to diabetes. Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors from medicinal plants might be leads for future anti-diabetes therapies. We all worked together to run the assays on the blinded compounds.

Interestingly, we found that several medicinal plant extracts have alpha-glucosidase activity on their own, in the absence of pea shoots. Compared to the workshop group using the pure enzyme, we had the opposite results. So, one group found potential leads for anti-diabetes therapies, and we found leads for potentially treating low blood sugar.

The healers’ scientific judgment is sharp. We discussed how sample age and solvents could affect outcomes, and other healers commented on additional controls that could be added. One mentioned that just because this assay didn’t show activity for a certain plant doesn’t mean the plant is invalid — only that it didn’t work in this experiment. There was a lot of discussion among all us over lunch about other ways to target diabetes beyond alpha-glucosidase.

After we conducted experiments, three participants gave result summaries and interpreted them. And their interpretations and results criticisms were spot-on. We then had a long discussion about the next steps of what we could do together. The healers were enthusiastic about future directions after the workshop, and they hope to continue collaborating with us to investigate other samples; there’s more work to be done, and everyone is excited to work together on it.

More scenes from Tutume:

See if you can beat the winning team at the end of the article!

The air is electric with excitement and trepidation. Ph.D. students, research assistants, and postdoctoral fellows alike have gathered in The Wistar’s Grossman Auditorium for one of the year’s most anticipated scholarly summits: The Wistar Institute Postdoc Appreciation Week Trivia Extravaganza. 

Every year, the Wistar Trainee Association — currently led by Dr. Brennah Britten and doctoral candidate S.K. Reiser — celebrates Postdoc Appreciation Week, an opportunity to spotlight the contributions of postdocs to their labs. Because principal investigators (known more commonly as PIs) spend most of their time planning and managing the work of their laboratories, a good deal of on-the-ground science is led by postdoctoral fellows: Ph.D.-bearing scientists on the road to becoming PIs themselves. In the words of Wistar PI Daniel Claiborne, “By the time you’re a postdoc, you’re a scientific machine: from executing experiments to analyzing data to writing papers, you can (and do) do all the steps of producing research.”

But today, lab coats and nitrile gloves have been set aside in favor of raw determination. “We’re feeling all righty,” said one trivia team (team name: All Righty). “Oh, we’re very confident,” said another team, who’d named themselves, “The [Redacted Name of a Popular Burger Restaurant] Haters” — so-called because they had successfully lobbied for a trivia luncheon of Mexican food in lieu of hamburgers. 

Contestants weathered four rounds: general science trivia; Wistar-specific trivia; a picture round requiring the recognition of esoteric scientific instruments; and Philadelphia trivia provided by one trivia-enthused Wistar PI. 

S.K. Reiser and doctoral candidate Ilan Kirkel alternated as hosts, each holding court with merciless adherence to the competition’s rigor. “You either get full marks — or nothing!” said Ilan when asking which two elements were liquid at room temperature. 

The competition kept a brisk pace, only pausing when Dr. Jason Diaz , education director in the Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Education and Training Center, interrupted to lament  everyone’s missing an easy question in the Wistar trivia round. “If you’ve ever passed our office, you should have known whose ashes are kept here — I’m very disappointed!” 

After a whirlwind three-way race between the top teams — [Redacted Burger Restaurant] Haters, Shine, and D&D — the final winner-take-all event was revealed: a Wistar yo-yo competition, with authentic Wistar-branded yo-yos. Dr. David Stieg of the [Burger] Haters faced off in the dramatic finale against Dr. Brennah Britten of Shine. But after Dr. Stieg walked the dog, catted the cradle and generally wowed the room with his yo-yo prowess, the winner became clear.

The winners went home with Wistar goodies, a sense of accomplishment, and 23 points to their name — plus the satisfaction of having enjoyed their preferred lunch.

Can you beat the winning Wistar trainees? Test your knowledge below!

For each correct answer, award yourself one point. The photo round is not included:; to test your score against the winning team, add 5 points to your total, which is what the winning team scored in the photo round.

QUESTIONS

Round One: General Science

• What is the average lifecycle of a red blood cell?
• Which two elements on the periodic table are liquids at room temperature?
• At what temperature are Celsius and Fahrenheit equal?
• What does LASER stand for?
• How many bones do sharks have in their bodies?
• What is the only planet that spins clockwise?
• What instrument is used to measure wind speed?
• What is the smallest named interval of time?

Round Two: Wistar History

• Who founded The Wistar Institute?
• When was The Wistar Institute founded?
• Who was the first female scientist at Wistar?
• How many PIs are there at Wistar?
• What was the first vaccine developed at Wistar?
• Whom is the tower at Wistar named after?
• Which cytokine was discovered at Wistar?
• Whose ashes are kept at the Wistar Institute?

Final Round: Philadelphia Trivia, Courtesy of a Generous Wistar PI

• When it opened in 1874, which family attraction —the first of its kind in America—charged visitors 25 cents to enter?
• Philadelphia’s border with New Jersey is created entirely by what river?
• A historic street in Philadelphia, with 32 houses built between 1703 and 1836, is called what?
• What museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia contains historical anatomical specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment?
• What dialect, primarily spoken by Mennonites and Amish, is spoken by over 300,000 people and is named as a combination of where it was developed and the language it is a dialect of?
• Identify the following pattern: 40 37 36 33 30 22 19
• In 1775 Philadelphia, John Behrent built the first American version of what instrument?
• A statue of whom sits at the top of Philadelphia city hall?

Bonus: Identify the following Wistar PI:

• “This PI has grandparents born in Ecuador, Ireland and Spain.  They are the first in their family to graduate college, and their favorite movie is The Warriors.”

ANSWERS

Round One: General Science

• What is the average lifecycle of a red blood cell? 120 days
• Which two elements on the periodic table are liquids at room temperature? Mercury and bromine
• At what temperature are Celsius and Fahrenheit equal? Negative 40
• What does LASER stand for? Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
• How many bones do sharks have in their bodies? Zero (sharks only have cartilage)
• What is the only planet that spins clockwise? Venus
• What instrument is used to measure wind speed? Anemometer
• What is the smallest named interval of time? The Planck Time/Duration/Interval

Round Two: Wistar History

• Who founded The Wistar Institute? General Isaac Jones Wistar
• When was The Wistar Institute founded? 1892
• Who was the first female scientist at Wistar? Helen Dean King
• How many PIs are there at Wistar? 34 (33 also acceptable)
• What was the first vaccine developed at Wistar? Rubella (rabies also acceptable)
• Who is the tower named after? Robert and Penny Fox
• Which cytokine was discovered at Wistar? Interleukin-12 (IL-12)
• Whose ashes are kept at the Wistar Institute? Isaac Wistar’s

Final Round: Philadelphia Trivia, Courtesy of a Generous Wistar PI

• When it opened in 1874, which family attraction —the first of its kind in America—charged visitors 25 cents to enter? The Philadelphia Zoo
• Philadelphia’s border with New Jersey is created entirely by what river? The Delaware River
• A historic street in Philadelphia, with 32 houses built between 1703 and 1836, is called what? Elfreth’s Alley
• What museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia contains historical anatomical specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment? The Mütter Museum
• What dialect, primarily spoken by Mennonites and Amish, is spoken by over 300,000 people and is named as a combination of where it was developed and the language it is a dialect of? Pennsylvania Dutch/German
• Identify the following pattern: 40 37 36 33 30 22 19 SEPTA Trolley Lines
• In 1775 Philadelphia, John Behrent built the first American version of what instrument? Piano
• A statue of whom sits at the top of Philadelphia city hall? William Penn

Bonus: Identify the following Wistar PI:

• “This PI has grandparents born in Ecuador, Ireland and Spain.  They are the first in their family to graduate college, and their favorite movie is The Warriors.” Dr. Maureen Murphy

“If you want to make sure that you’re creative and innovative, you need to have a big table and people at it with a lot of different perspectives,” said Marie A. Bernard, M.D., NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Diversity, during Wistar’s Diversity in Science Series. “Traditionally, science academia has been very pyramidal, you get to the peak where there’s only a small number of people, but you need those other perspectives. If you don’t have those diverse minds at the table, you’re missing out on talent. If we are going to maintain our leadership role in biomedical research across the globe, we need to take advantage of all that talent.”

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing the narratives, perspectives, and points of view of five dynamic scientists living in Philadelphia with cultural roots in South America and Spain. Angela Rios Angula (in the Chen lab), Segundo Del Aguila (in the Villanueva lab) and Rocio Inga (in the Villanueva lab) are from Peru. Marta Tarquis Medina (in the Escolano lab) is from Spain. And Maria Belen Palacio (in the Escolano lab) is from Argentina.

Together, they discussed the initial spark that put them on a path to science; the journey of building community and dynamic careers; and connecting with others through celebrating the vast and varied experiences of Hispanic people from different backgrounds.

Snapshots of the Beginning Scientist

Segundo Del Aguila: My high school biology teacher was a scientist. What I mean is she thought and asked questions like a scientist—she was pragmatic. I liked the way she thought about and viewed everyday problems, but especially how she arrived at the ideal question that got to the heart of a problem. She was a biologist, and because of my interest in understanding life, I decided to take that route too.

In Peru’s capital city of Lima, I knew of three big universities that had biology programs, and I managed to get a scholarship to the best one in research—Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University. I remember that, during the application process, you could write down five different career tracks, but I put only one: biology. The academic advisor told me I had blank spaces and should fill out more, but I knew it was only biology for me.

Angela Rios Angula: When I was young, I was very shy but also very curious. Plants made me wonder how, why and where do they grow? That led me to understand how bacteria survive, and that led me to the human body. Because of this curiosity and passion, I decided to become a scientist; I knew I was not going to give up on whatever I started.

Rocio Inga: I’m from the same university as Angela and Segundo. Our university has only biomedical careers, so it’s very specialized. It is connected to a big hospital and other biomedical research institutes, so we could start learning in the lab early on, within a nurturing scientific environment.
I too was curious as a kid—always looking at bugs and plants and wondering about how they work. My father is a chemical engineer, and he told me about biochemistry as a career, and I’m glad I followed his advice. While taking courses at the university, it was the molecular biology course that really made me passionate. I’ve been fortunate to have many different science career experiences; I’ve worked many years on the molecular biology of Leishmania parasites, worked with cancer cells, worked at different research institutes, and taught at university.

Marta Tarquis Medina: I was super interested in medicine and health care when I was young but knew being a doctor was stressful and demanding. My school had a mini laboratory and good mentors, and I realized I liked being in a laboratory and could have a career in science. I got my bachelor’s degree in biology, left Spain to get my master’s in Germany, and left Germany with a Ph.D. in diabetes.

Belen Palacio: My journey doesn’t go back that far. My high school principal invited a German friend to give a talk about his chemical engineering career working in nanomaterials. I asked what I needed to study to obtain a similar career. But in college, I didn’t like chemistry much, but I did like biology. I tracked into biotechnology and pursued a Ph.D. in developmental biology.

When I was looking for a postdoctoral fellow position, I knew one thing for sure: I wanted my work to mean something to society. I don’t research for the pleasure of research. There must be a greater purpose.

Finding Community

Rocio: We don’t celebrate specific themes, but we celebrate together. We watched the World Cup, we celebrated Peruvian Independence on July 28. We connect over lunch and coffee. We bring back sweets and desserts from our trips home to share with everyone in the lab.

Belen: I’m very family-oriented, so it’s been hard for me. I came abroad and left my whole family in Argentina. The first few months were shocking because I missed my family, my friends and my routine. So, being new to the U.S. and Philadelphia, you must find a new routine. You go out and try to find your people, but you need to build a new community.

Marta: A new scientist comes to Wistar and we ask them, “Do you speak Spanish? Come meet us.” Then Rocio gathers us all together! Rocio, you bring everyone together.

Rocio: Yes, I always liked to gather people together especially those who have recently arrived at Wistar. It’s a chance for them to meet and make new friends. And if they need help with anything, we can help.

Biomedical Role Models

Belen: I didn’t have a role model during my Ph.D. When I came to Wistar and met Amelia, I was stunned how a person can influence your science so much and how they can help you become a better scientist. In Germany during my postdoctoral training, my PI wasn’t around much, and it seemed like I was just carrying out tasks. I had completely lost my passion and almost gave up on science. Then I came to Wistar, and Amelia showed me a new and completely different science panorama. She is encouraging at every step and pushes you in a positive way to become your best version.

Segundo: Jessie is a great mentor. She is my role model, and I am on a similar path to science as she was. We came to the U.S. after studying at the same university. She started as a research assistant and then applied for a Ph.D. program, which is exactly what I’m planning to do. Even though I don’t have a Ph.D., I’m trying to learn and mature as a student would in a Ph.D. program. I will try to be an inspiration for others starting out in scientific careers.

Diversity Matters

Belen: For the next generation of Hispanic scientists, they need to build the foundations of their scientific path. I ended up in immunology, but I didn’t study immunology. When I was getting my Ph.D., I had to learn why I was doing each experiment because if something went wrong, you had to fix it. I knew exactly what each product was and each step in an experiment. I made things from scratch. In my lab, it was not an option to buy a kit or fancy equipment. Here in the U.S., you can buy a kit and in four days you have the result, but do you understand what each step means to your sample or to what you’re doing?

Marta: Regarding science funding in Spain, it’s my view that we must learn to solve problems in a different way. We must think outside the box because we may not have the money to buy the equipment or supplies for an experiment. So we must get to the same conclusion, through a different approach. I think people that come from poorer countries have an out-of-the-box thinking that enriches the lab.

Belen: Try doing science in a developing country. There are many things scientists in the U.S. take for granted because of the technology here. For example, it would take me a year to get an antibody from the U.S. to arrive to Argentina because of customs. This forces us to fully understand the methods of an experiment. In my lab in Argentina, if something doesn’t work, you can’t get a new one or try it again. When you don’t have extra funds, you really think deeply about the protocols and how you will conduct an experiment. You only have one try. Make sure you can accomplish what is important.

Rocio: It’s good to have scientists from different backgrounds, with different ways of seeing things, using different approaches in science. I think that’s the beauty of science: to come together from differences and approach the same problem. And even the youngest people in the lab may think they can’t contribute yet, but even their questions and ideas help to solve a scientific problem.