by Natalie Punt

Every weekday morning I drove fifteen minutes to lab. Not a bad commute, except I passed summer on the way. Friends and family were going to the beach, taking vacations, boating at the lake and leisurely shopping. Our summers briefly
intersected on my drive to the lab where I spent my summer learning statistics and analyzing functional protein domains. The greatest challenge I faced this summer was not a co-variant statistics problem or a misbehaving experiment, it was working over the summer.

Summer is a continual celebration. I love finding the best beaches to go to with my friends, talking late into warm summer nights, shopping summer retail sales, hiking and camping and going on trips to new places. Despite the promises to myself and friends that my summer research would not dominate my summer life, I knew my summer would be severely limited.

by Natalie Punt

My inspirations and motivation come from many sources. Good science especially motivates me. Science that changes the frontier of knowledge and how it is applied inspires me to challenge what I know and drives me to create. I am also
inspired by the knowledge, drive and courage of innovative scientists whom change the way we think about science through their ideas.

It’s no surprise that my greatest sources of inspiration are the scientists who have changed their respective fields with their ideas, especially in genomics. Genomics, or the study of all the genes that make up an organism, is changing faster than Moore’s law predicted. Innovations within genomics are profoundly influencing technology, biology and medicine. I am inspired by the prominent scientists in this field, such as Elaine Ostrander, Vadim Gladyshev, Eric Lander and George Church. Their findings contribute to multiple fields and technology. For example, in the process of developing the complete sequence of the dog’s genome, Elaine Ostrander identified genes responsible for the dog’s unique biology and contributed to the development of genome sequencing technology.

by Natalie Punt

Comparative genomics relies heavily on methods to compare genes from one species to another. A popular tool used to compare genes or protein is BLAST. Over the summer, I have been using BLAST to compare cancer-related proteins in the Naked Mole Rat to proteins with similar function and sequence in human, mouse and dog. When I present my work to other students and faculty, I am often met with a resounding, “What is BLAST”?

The first time I was asked that question, I thought the student was from a foreign planet, because who hasn’t heard of BLAST?! However, as I was asked the question with increasing frequency I realized that many people have heard of BLAST yet don’t understand how it works. Here, I will attempt to outline the basic concepts of BLAST. In addition, I will give examples of how BLAST has changed our daily lives.

by Natalie Punt

As our summer progresses, the amount of knowledge and skill I am developing increases. This is the first research project that originated from my original idea and holding the reins is thrilling and demanding. So far, I have learned three things from the creation and design process. These three things can be applied to all aspects of life and here is how I applied them to my summer research.

1) Work hard
Hard work or working hard is ubiquitous in science. It is the common factor behind most experiments, publications and careers. I consider hard work a gradient, with many integrated levels. What one considers hard may be easy for another. Similarly, some are more capable of sustaining a high level of work and productivity.

I am learning what my definition of hard work is and how to maintain a high level of work. I define hard work- as working with purpose towards a set, defined goal. This means modulating my output to match my goals. And working towards a goal requires having a goal that can be defined. Working hard in my project has required me to develop clear, achievable goals and progress with purpose towards my goals.  

by Natalie Punt

Life outside of the lab? Preposterous! Fortunately I have no problem taking a day, or two, or three off from work. And Southern California has a variety of activities for me to choose from when I ditch the lab to go play.

Our lab is located in Pomona, California- one hour from Los Angeles, Newport and Laguna Beach and two hours from San Diego and Santa Barbara. These cities have some of the world’s best beaches but also amazing museums, art galleries, and delicious food. 

Almost every highway in Southern California goes to LA. Consequently, I frequently find myself there. Every time I’m in LA, I must go to Westwood, one of the rare walkable towns in LA. It is home to UCLA with academic types abound. The village is a great place to explore and relax with trendy shops and tasty eateries. I like to catch a movie in Westwood, since many movie premiers are held there and attended by celebrities. Westwood is close to the Pacific Palisades, one of the top ten most beautiful places on earth. After watching the sun setting into the Pacific Ocean, with dolphins jumping up from the surf and the Malibu hills framing the scene, I understood why.

by Natalie Punt

“Intelligent, fast-paced, with a take-no prisoners style of research”, is how my new mentor,
Dr. Irizarry, was first described to me. Working with Dr. Irizarry over the summer has compelled me to agree with the description. However, I would like to add another descriptor- extraordinary. 

I sat down with Dr. Irizarry to ask him about his background, scientific interests, and future direction.

Natalie: What was your background starting in high school? Did you prepare for a
scientific career?

Dr. Irizarry: In high school, I was interested in science and math. As an undergrad at RPI, I mainly took math and science classes that I was interested in, e.g. physical chemistry, quantitative physics, biochemistry and biophysics, and put off declaring a major. My first
undergraduate research project was studying how to inhibit cocaine addiction in rats. The project worked well and I was in the lab on Saturdays taking care of the rats. But, I disliked the animal research and ended up doing my senior thesis in Dr. Salerno’s computational biology lab modeling the theoretical structure of Nitric Oxide Synthase.

by Natalie Punt

Research is Dynamic

When I was a kid, I guess I was what you’d call a “dork.” I read books three grades above my expected level, made honor roll every year, and won many awards in reading and math. Not much has changed since then—except that I’ve realized a “dork” is really someone who pursues their intellectual passions.

Pursuing my intellectual passions is exactly why I chose a career path in veterinarian research. Another positive aspect of this career path is that it gives me the opportunity to be surrounded by other “dorks.” Being on campus in the summer doing research, I am surrounded by like-minded people pursuing their interests and passions. During the summer, we can celebrate our unique attributes by parading openly through the library and lingering near the offices of distinguished professors in hopes of enticing them into conversation.

By Natalie Punt

utilizes a comparative biology approach to study the physiology and pathology of the animal kingdom, veterinarians are experts at identifying features that are shared across all animals from those that are unique to a particular species.  This knowledge is becoming exceedingly valuable in biomedical research to identify conserved biological systems in animal models.    

Prior to attending veterinarian school I knew I was interested in biomedical research for the opportunity to study animals and pursue my passion for scientific discovery. With that self-knowledge I naturally gravitated towards the campus research community. By the first semester I found a mentor with similar interests in comparative genetics and had access to many mammalian annotated and sequenced genomes. 

True to the nature of science- my initial research 
project bears no resemblance to my current project however they are intrinsically linked. My initial research project was elucidating the genetics behind high altitude adaptation in the Snow Leopard. Yet my current project is focused on identifying the anti-cancer genetics of the Naked Mole Rat.