1st Place & People's Choice Award Winner
Anne Villacastin - "Sorghum and Me: a Complicated Relationship"
SLAM Finalist 3Q4
How did you initially get interested in science?
I guess I was a curious child, I enjoyed watching nature documentaries and learning facts about different topics in science. I remember being amazed by the images of planets, exotic animals, and new machines that I saw on TV or in books. I also liked to conduct simple experiments at home, such as growing crystals, making slime, or sprouting seeds. Science gave me a sense of wonder and curiosity that motivated me to learn more and pursue a career in this field.
What is your favorite place at the Lab?
My special spot - the corner laminar flow hood right next to the windows in the plant tissue culture room. I used to hate this place because we’d spend long hours isolated in this room, we call it the dungeon. But now I have come to enjoy my time working under the hood. This is where I do most of my experiments and now that I’ve had some interesting results (I was able to make ruby red and pink grasses here!), I have come to love it. I also get to burn through a ton of my podcasts while working here. I think it is one of the things I’ll miss most when I leave the lab.
Most memorable moment at the Lab?
My very first day up the hill, when I went to get my ID, a huge deer went up to me as I was waiting behind the badging office. I thought it was really cool because that’s the closest I’ve been to one. It felt like a sign of good luck, as if I had summoned a Patronus like Harry Potter.
What are your hobbies or interests outside the Lab?
I’m a huge escape room geek, in my previous lab we used to go to one almost every month. I also like taking my dog out on hikes and camping. We enjoy exploring new places and being close to nature.
Vy Duong - "Understanding Proteins, the Pasta-Shaped Machines in All Living Organisms"
SLAM Finalist 3Q4
How did you initially get interested in science?
I always wanted a pet as a child. Since we didn’t get dogs till later, I collected a lot of animals: bugs, lizards, frogs, caterpillars. My fascination with nature really inspired me to go into science. Asking those “why” questions really.
What is your favorite place at the Lab?
Looking at the views from the balcony.
Most memorable moment at the Lab?
JGI User Meeting, or meeting colleagues from other labs randomly during lunch
What are your hobbies or interests outside the Lab?
Rock climbing, spending time with dogs
Vy's Script: "Understanding Proteins, the Pasta-Shaped Machines in All Living Organisms"
The other night, I decide to cook mom’s spaghetti. *pause* I’m at the grocery store, and there’s this giant wall of pasta. Spaghetti, fettuccine, fusilli, there’s so many. And I realized, the pasta’s shape affects how it clings to other ingredients. For example spiral shaped fusilli pasta clings to more sauce than spaghetti. And there’s something else where shape matters a lot too. Nature’s created proteins, shaped like different types of pasta. Proteins are involved in almost all biological processes in every living cell. And different protein shapes have specific functions, like how different pastas cling to ingredients differently.
Here at the Joint Genome Institute, we’re investigating how protein shape affects function.
I’m researching proteins involved in photosynthesis, it’s a complex important biological process all around us. And with global warming, we can apply what we learn to for example create more resilient food crops. Specifically, I focus on proteins in this small green alga. It’s photosynthetic, like plants, and easy to cultivate. I’m using AI tools to predict protein structures of unknown genes in this green alga and investigate how they may be involved in photosynthesis.
Essentially, I compare protein structures to predict function. It’s like comparing spiral fusilli pasta with fusilli which some parts look like that. In the above example, the grey protein is an unknown protein of interest. The yellow protein is a known photosynthesis-related protein and it functions to assemble other known photosynthesis proteins. By aligning and overlapping these two proteins, I’m able to show that this previously unknown grey protein possibly has the same function as this yellow one. We can then validate this experimentally as well.
Combining analyses of protein sequences and structures with experiments allows me to tackle difficult questions. How does shape translate to function? How are these proteins involved in photosynthesis? It’s like asking why does fusilli pasta cling to more sauce? I demonstrate that with the previous example.
There’s so many useful applications we can obtain from understanding the protein structure-function relationship in photosynthesis and we can apply this in areas such as genetic enhancement of food crops, generation of sustainable biofuels, anything involving proteins, the list goes on. The pastabilities are endless and if you have a bowl of mom’s spaghetti tonight, I hope you think of proteins.