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Automating Cellular Image Analysis to Find Potential Medicines
Dr. Anne Carpenter. Credit: Juliana Sohn. When she started college, Anne Carpenter, Ph.D., never guessed she’d one day create software for analyzing images of cells that would help identify potential medicines and that thousands of researchers would use. She wasn’t planning to become a computational biologist, or even to focus on science at all, but she’s now an institute scientist and the senior director of the Imaging Platform at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard in Cambridge. Starting Out in Science Before beginning her undergraduate studies at Purdue University...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 22, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cells Tools and Techniques Bioinformatics Cellular Imaging Computational Biology Cool Tools/Techniques Profiles Source Type: blogs

Slideshow: Circles of Life
Every year on March 14, many people eat pie in honor of Pi Day. Mathematically speaking, pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (the distance around the outside) to its diameter (the length from one side of the circle to the other, straight through the center). That means if you divide the circumference of any circle by its diameter, the solution will always be pi, which is roughly 3.14—hence March 14, or 3/14. But pi is an irrational number, which means that the numbers after the decimal point never end. With the help of computers, mathematicians have determined trillions of digits of pi. To celebrate Pi ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 14, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Molecular Structures Cellular Imaging Cool Images Microbes Research Organisms Source Type: blogs

Launching Biomedical Careers for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Group of RIT U-RISE students, including Bo Allaby (standing second from the right) and Maameyaa Asiamah (kneeling in front) who are interviewed in this post. Credit: Dr. Bonnie Jacob. Scientists who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) are underrepresented at all career stages, especially at the Ph.D. level. To address this, the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) training program for undergraduates who are deaf and hard of hearing at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, New York, has committed to lifting barriers and increasing DHH representation in science. ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 8, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Innovating Education, Outreach, and Mentorship With Organic Chemist Neil Garg
Dr. Neil Garg. Credit: Penny Jennings. “An important part of being in science is being in a community,” says Neil Garg, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). That philosophy has led him to prioritize mentorship, diversity, and inclusion—while maintaining research excellence—as well as re-envisioning what it means to educate students and the public. Falling in Love With Chemistry Science was always a part of Dr. Garg’s childhood. He participated in science fairs as a kid but says he did it for the commun...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 1, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Propelling Rare Disease Research for More Than 50 Years
Vials of samples from the NIGMS HGCR. Credit: Coriell Institute for Medical Research. The year 2022 marked 50 years since the creation of the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository (HGCR) at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, New Jersey. The NIGMS HGCR consists of cell lines and DNA samples with a focus on those from people with rare, heritable diseases. “Many rare diseases now have treatments because of the samples in the NIGMS HGCR,” says Nahid Turan, Ph.D., Coriell’s chief biobanking officer and co-principal investigator of the NIGMS HGCR. She gives the example of a rare disease advocacy group wh...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 22, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Genes Injury and Illness Diseases Genomics Scientific Process Source Type: blogs

Students With Visual Impairments Empowered to Explore Chemistry Through SEPA Project
Dr. Shaw (back left) observes SEPA program students engaging with tactile graphics in his lab. Credit: Jordan Koone Students with blindness and low vision are often excluded from chemistry labs and offered few accessible representations of the subject’s imagery, which can significantly hinder their ability to learn about and participate in chemistry. Bryan Shaw, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, hopes to change that through a program funded by an NIGMS Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA). His inspiration to start the program came from his son, who is visually i...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 10, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology STEM Education Uncategorized Training Source Type: blogs

Career Conversations: Q & A with Evolutionary Biologist William Ratcliff
Dr. William Ratcliff. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. William Ratcliff. “Being a researcher is special because there aren’t many jobs that allow you to spend the majority of your time thinking about the things you find the most interesting in the whole world,” says William Ratcliff, Ph.D., an associate professor of biological sciences and the director of the interdisciplinary graduate program in quantitative biosciences at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta. We talked with Dr. Ratcliff about his career path, research on yeast, and advice to budding scientists. Q: How did you first become intereste...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 8, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cells Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Evolutionary Biology Profiles Source Type: blogs

Got Calcium?
Someone’s hand moving to scroll through this blog post is possible because of a mineral that both gives bones their strength and allows muscles to move: calcium. As the most abundant mineral in our bodies, it’s essential for lots of important functions. It’s found in many foods, medicines, and dietary supplements. Calcium keeps your bones strong, allows your muscles to move, and is important for many other bodily functions. The element is found in foods, medicines, and the world around us. Credit: Compound Interest CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Click to enlarge. Committed to Critical Duties For athletes, calc...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 1, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Molecular Structures Cellular Processes Diseases Proteins Source Type: blogs

A Career Launched Through “Transformative” NIGMS-Funded Training Programs 
Dr. Brenda Andrade. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Brenda Andrade. Brenda Andrade, Ph.D., assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she first started community college. Through a program at her high school, she’d participated in Saturday morning science labs on the CSULA campus, and that introduction to science led her to think about pursuing some sort of scientific degree. She recalls flipping through the course catalog to the list of science classes needed to transfer to a 4-year university, and “naively going down the list and taking them.” When...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 25, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Mentoring: It ’s In Our Genes
Anyone who’s spent time in an academic science lab has probably heard about lab culture. Many labs boast long, rigorous working hours, while others require graduate students and postdoctoral trainees (postdocs) to meet often-unattainable experiment quotas each week. But is sheer quantity really the gold standard we want to hold ourselves to when it comes to training the next generation of scientists? The #MentorFirst logo. Credit: www.MentorFirst.org. Neil Garg, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Jen Heemstr...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 18, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist STEM Education Training Source Type: blogs

Mentoring Month: NIGMS-Funded Researchers Make Mentoring Meaningful
Mentoring is a vital part of training the next generation of scientists. Through a variety of programs ranging from the undergraduate to faculty levels, NIGMS fosters the training and the development of a strong and diverse biomedical research workforce. To celebrate National Mentoring Month, we’re highlighting a few of the many NIGMS-funded researchers who emphasize being great mentors. Check out the snapshots of our interviews with these mentors to see what they think about mentoring and to access and read their full stories. Dr. Julia Bohannon. Credit: Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Scientist Studie...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 11, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist STEM Education Profiles Research Roundup Training Source Type: blogs

A Tale of Tails: How Reptile Regeneration Could Help Humans
Dr. Thomas Lozito. Credit: Chris Shinn for USC Health Advancement Communications. “I’ve always been interested in science and in lizards. I got my first pet lizard when I was around 4 years old, and it was love at first sight,” says Thomas Lozito, Ph.D., who now studies the creatures as an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. During his childhood, Dr. Lozito turned his parents’ house into a “little zoo” of lizards and amphibians. He sneaked lizards into his dorm room as a college student at Jo...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - January 4, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Injury and Illness Cool Creatures Profiles Regeneration Research Organisms Wound Healing Source Type: blogs

Five Outstanding Stories From 2022
Throughout 2022, we shared the stories of dozens of NIGMS-supported researchers, trainees, and programs. We also highlighted new STEM education resources, tested your knowledge with quizzes, showcased extraordinary scientific images, and more. To celebrate the upcoming new year, we’re highlighting five of our most popular posts from 2022. Check out the list below, and let us know in the comments section which of this year’s posts you liked best! Genetic material inside a virus. Credit: iStock. Public Alerted to Omicron in New Mexico Through Quick Detection Researchers at the University of New Mexico Heal...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 28, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cells Injury and Illness STEM Education Tools and Techniques Cellular Imaging Cool Images COVID-19 Profiles Scientific Process Source Type: blogs

So Much to Do, So Little Selenium Needed
You may know that antioxidants can help protect your cells from oxidative damage, but do you know about selenium—an element often found in special proteins called antioxidant enzymes? Selenium is essential to your body, which means you must get it from the food you eat. But it’s a trace element so you only need a small amount to benefit from its effects. In addition to its antioxidant properties, it’s also important for reproduction, DNA synthesis, and hormone metabolism. In our bodies, selenium works in antioxidant enzymes to help protect us from oxidative damage. The element is also found in antidandruf...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 21, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Molecular Structures Cellular Processes Proteins Source Type: blogs

Career Conversations: Q & A with Biomolecular Engineer Markita Landry
Dr. Markita Landry. Credit: Vilcek Foundation. “I have a hard time envisioning a career more exciting than science. It’s really magical to see an experimental result and, for a moment, be the only person in the universe to know something about the world,” says Markita Landry, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. In an interview, Dr. Landry shares with us her scientific journey, research with nanoparticles, and interests outside of the lab. Q: What sparked your interest in science? A: I was indirectly exposed to science growing up bec...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 14, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Profiles Source Type: blogs