And how did you first become interested in science?
While, at first, I wasn’t sure I’d like to interview and report on my PI, Alejandro, this was actually a great assignment! I enjoyed getting to know him better (as I only talk to him maybe twice a week, during cake-time), and it was interesting comparing my life/interest in science with his and other mentors’ stories.
Like the overachiever I am, I thought the interview was meant to be written formally, so I have a nice report typed below…however, if you’re like me, you’d enjoy the cliffnotes and highlights I’m going to mention here:
Dr. Alejandro Aballay was born in Argentina, where he remained until obtaining his Ph.D. in Biology for cell signaling. He then came to the Washington U. in St. Louis to fulfill his post-doc in genetics, during which time he helped to pioneer the organism C. elegans as a research tool by proving it’s susceptible to the same pathogens as humans and other mammals. He began studying host-pathogen interactions and has worked in the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics department at Duke for 4 years.
Alejandro seems to have taken a fairly linear path through school to his current position–from the onset of his education, he knew he wanted a career in academics and (quite successfully) has achieved his position as a professional scientist.
One reservation I have about becoming a researcher is the level of isolation a lab seems to have, as compared with other scientific professions (namely, medicine). However, when I asked Alejandro whether he feels isolated, he responded strongly, saying, “No, not by any means. It’s the way that science actually works, by interacting with new people and discussing new ideas. It’s true that scientists spend a fair amount of time in their offices writing grants and business-related emails, but it’s all the time discussing with members of the lab, a network of other colleagues—it may seem isolated but it’s not by any means.”
If you’re interested, here’s the long format of my interview:
Biographical Information
Dr. Alejandro Aballay, my P.I., is a member of the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology department at Duke, where he heads a lab and teaches classes in the medical and graduate schools on microbiology, molecular genetics and innate immunity. After receiving his Ph.D. certificate for his work studying intracellular trafficking in Argentine university, he completed his postdoctoral training at the Washington University in St. Louis. He has worked at Duke for 4 years, and is an esteemed member of the international scientific community. He is an esteemed scientist in the US and in Argentina, his native country, who often invites him to review grants, give talks and advise the government scientists.
Ph.D. and Post-Doc Work
As mentioned above, Alejandro earned his Ph.D. in Argentina for his work studying cell biology and intracellular trafficking. When deciding where to continue his education, he came to Wash U. to strengthen his knowledge of genetics. Although he began training with the idea of developing C. elegans as a mechanism to study trafficking, for a variety of reasons the project did not work as it was supposed to; instead, he began studying host-pathogen interactions. He helped pioneer C. elegans as a model organism for genetic studies by showing its use with pathogens with a narrower host range, finding that similar virulence factors from the pathogen Salmonella affect C. elegans and mammalian hosts, demonstrating C. elegans’ potential as a model for human disease. He identified the programmed cell death pathway as part of the immune response in C. elegans, and then looked for his independent pathway at Duke University.
Current Research
The Aballay lab studies host-pathogen interactions using “genetic and functional genomic methodologies to study the genetic bases of innate immunity,” infecting the worm C. elegans as a model for mammalian disease. Currently, he is very excited about studying the communication between the nervous and immune systems in innate immunity, particularly in studying cellular signaling to determine the neurological control of the inflammatory response.
On Being a Scientist
Explaining how he first became interested in science, Alejandro says, “There is no one particular memory, but during my first classes of biology in high school…it was clear that I wanted to follow a career in academics from the very beginning.” After considering doing his Ph.D. in Physics, he decided it was “too dry” and decided instead to obtain his Ph.D. in Biology. When asked if the life of an academic scientist is isolated, he responds strongly “No, not by any means. It’s the way that science actually works, by interacting with new people and discussing new ideas. It’s true that scientists spend a fair amount of time in their offices writing grants and business-related emails, but it’s all the time discussing with members of the lab, a network of other colleagues—it may seem isolated but it’s not by any means.”
That’s a long post for now, and I’ll be sure to post pictures soon!