Biosciences

Yumary Vasquez - "Going Viral... Literally: The Giant Virus Edition"

SLAM Finalist 3Q4 - Yumary Vasquez

How did you initially get interested in science?

I’m not sure. I do know that when I was 5 I wrote that “When I grow up I will be a scientist” and that worked out! I have picture-proof as well!

What is your favorite place at the Lab?

My favorite place is the 3rd floor IGB breakroom because we have all of our IGB-wide events there. I love the chance to spend time with my coworkers and do fun activities.

Most memorable moment at the Lab?

Thanks to the friends I’ve made at the Lab, I have tons of memorable moments. One in particular is the wonderful cake my friends ordered to celebrate my birthday onsite.

What are your hobbies or interests outside the Lab?

I have two major hobbies: baking (specialization on cake decorating) and visiting breweries. Luckily, Bay Area has tons of breweries so I’ll always have somewhere new to visit.

Yumary's Script - "Going Viral... Literally: The Giant Virus Edition"

Has anyone here ever gone viral?

Maybe it was a hilarious tweet, a TikTok challenge, or—dare I say it—a 'Macarena' dance video.

But there’s something that hasn’t hit your social media feeds, even though it’s been going viral for millions of years.

Let’s talk about GIANT viruses.

Giant viruses are much larger than the typical tiny troublemakers that you’re probably thinking about right now.

A 100 times bigger than the virus that causes COVID.

And get this - giant viruses are found everywhere!

In water, air, soil, even in your own gut microbiome

The giant viruses I’m studying don’t infect humans,

Instead they could be the key to finding new ways to clean up the environment, or even fighting pathogens

For example, you may be familiar with harmful algal blooms which can ruin your family vacation faster than an embarrassing photo - and also devastate aquatic ecosystems.

Giant viruses infect the algae responsible for these blooms and stop them from growing out of control.

It's not just algae, they also infect and eliminate brain-eating amoeba in the environment.

Sounds like the kind of viral sensation that should be taking over your social media feeds, right?

Yet, for many of you, this is probably the first time you have even heard of them.

That’s because giant viruses were only discovered 20 years ago!

Thanks to the advancements in metagenomics, the process of sequencing DNA from the environment,

We can finally give these fascinating viruses the research attention they deserve!

My goal is to identify new genes in giant viruses not found in any other organisms so we can better understand their unique biology.

These genes could reveal how giant viruses got so big and how they are able to infect different organisms.

My approach is to use metagenomics and computational tools to analyze thousands of viral genomes.

And it’s working!

I'm not finding just a few new genes, I'm talking hundreds of genes never seen before,

Genes I believe could lead to targeted, environmentally friendly ways to control algae or brain-eating amoeba.

So that your next family vacation is picture perfect!

I’m on a mission to make these giant viruses "go viral" beyond the lab.

So I want all of you to help me spread the word about these incredible giants.

Let’s make giant viruses the next viral sensation,

because they could lead us to the next big scientific breakthrough.

And who wouldn't want to go viral for that?

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