JayHo (JH): American Graduate Research Student, PhD Candidate in Stem Cell Biology
Margaret Chen: iCUBED.us interviewer
(Interview via email, December 2011)

iCUBED.us: Please explain to our readers (aged 13 to 25) the nature of the career for which you are studying. What will you do when and after you get your PhD? And, what do you need to do to get this PhD?

JH: I am a graduate student currently studying adult stem cell (SC) biology. Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how SCs get to where they’ve been found. I’m interested in understanding SCs because they play a key part in regeneration of healthy cells, and occasionally of diseases. My post doctoral dreams, at present, they are that I’d like to head up academic research at a university. However, I'm still trying to figure out other options outside of academia. If something else, I’d try to go to law school or medical school.

What I need to do to get this PhD is to demonstrate a solid knowledge of general biology, and in depth knowledge of my field, and then to design and perform experiments that test pertinent questions in the field. By the end, I should have been published at least once in a scientific journal and be able to show how I have contributed knowledge to the field according to a panel of professors at my university.

iCUBED.us: How many years does it take to get a PhD? And is some of that time paid time? How does one support ones' self through years and years of study?

JH: A science/engineering PhD typically spends anywhere from four to seven years in school. Typically, most biology PhD's that I know finish between 5-6 years. Fortunately, for those of us who are doing a science/engineering PhD, we're finally paid to go to school (and it's year round pay too)! Starting from the first day that we start working in the lab till the time we graduate, we get a stipend from the school. From what I know about the non-science/engineering PhDs, they do get a stipend only during the school year and they need to either save up for those months between the school years or look for a job to support themselves during this time.

iCUBED.us: What do you think are the traits for one to be outstanding in making a career out of scientific research?

JH: Hmmmm...let's see. I think some of the more important traits to be outstanding in a career of scientific research include boldness, stubbornness, and creativity! Be BOLD! Don't be afraid to ask a question if you don't understand something. Be stubborn! Experiments will rarely work the way you want them to, but don't let that stop you from trying to get it to work. Be creative! Research scientists aren't doing the experiments we do just cause someone else has done them before. It's supposed to be stuff that nobody has ever done yet!

iCUBED.us: How did you know this is what you want to do with your life... and what exactly is "it" that WHEN you accomplish it, would enable you to say "I've succeeded"?

JH: I've always enjoyed learning about the physical world around me and being able to perform tests that help me learn even more. Particularly, I’ve always found biology to be fascinating and in my paradigm, one of the main foundations for helping other people (especially in medicine). It’s difficult to say where the “I have succeeded”, but I'd like to say that it is when I have found something in SC biology that brings it right to the hospital clinic, but that may happen years after I have made the initial discovery. Unlike professional and service careers, we in science don't often get to see the direct impact of our work in the world. The only ways to measure progress (and hopefully success) are positions we hold at universities or institutions that we work for, in the numbers of papers we publish in journals, and in the number of grants we get to do our work and research.

iCUBED.us: Who are the scientists you admire - who are your role models, and are they the same? Please explain…

JH: Francis S. Collins (MD, PhD) – Currently the director of the United States National Institutes of Health. Plus, was the leader of the Human Genome Project and developed the techniques that discovered multiple congenital diseases like Cystic Fibrosis. If you’re interested in reading about him more, look him up on Wikipedia! I admire him for his revolutionary contributions to the field and the expansion of molecular biology after that. He is one role model of mine. I use him as a model on how to integrate his personal faith (evangelical Christian) and his work even many others think Christianity and Science are diametrically opposed. Then, there's Charles C. Hong (MD, PhD)- he was my college research mentor while I was doing research as an undergraduate. I admire him for his research that combines both the clinic and the lab. He is also another role model of mine, particularly a model for raising a family while doing scientific research.

iCUBED.us: Tell us about a typical day or two in your life at school, as a "Research Assistant, PhD Candidate"

JH: Wake up, read the bible, eat a quick breakfast (currently oatmeal + honey and peanut butter) and prep a morning coffee. Head off to lab. While at lab, I generally start with making sure the flies I’m growing are fine and keep them well fed. Then I’ll quickly review what I had planned to do for the rest of the day. Usually I’ll start by prepping for dissections after lunch and then try to read up on what’s been published. By this time I either have my own lunch or there is some departmental seminar with food (always look out for these kinds of events both in college and in grad school!). Once that’s done, I do my dissections and begin processing the samples so I can look at them under a microscope. Clean up, write a bit in my lab notebook about what I did, what I saw, and ideas of where things could go. Then I usually work out in the school gym (truthfully, neglected it this fall due to an abnormal load of writing and reading), head home to wash up, cook dinner (or re-heat it) and then relax by either reading news, watching movies, playing some videogames, and occasionally head out with friends to socialize.

iCUBED.us: What is the most significant recent discovery in your field OR what is currently being investigated or discovered? And why is it important, if not too obvious to need explaning.

JH: I'm glad you asked this question, as I've just done a literature search, and reviewed the top discoveries in my field. In adult SCs, the biggest question is now how do they (stem cells) get to where they are found in the body. It's big because it allows us to understand the mechanisms of how they get there and opens the door to treatments. These treatments can be focused on regenerating damaged organs by coaxing resident SCs into areas of high need. But on the aspect of embryonic SCs (ESCs), the biggest development was the induction of a stem cell like state from normal adult cells (induced Pluripotent SCs – iPSCs). This is extremely significant because it not only identifies the factors that make stem cells, but also opens up the door to completely bypassing major ethical issues like destroying embryos to harvest ESCs.

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