Sarah Vose is joining a postdoctoral team at Harvard School of Public Health after graduating with Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology. In her exit interview, Sarah shares about her leaning experiences and plans for the future.

Q: What inspired you to join NST?

A: Professor Casida's research on pesticide metabolism.

Q: What were the highlights of your experience here as a student?

A: Forming relationships with other students, and ... learning! Looking back, I realize how much knowledge I have gained in the last 5 years.

A: Professor Casida has been an amazing mentor and teacher.

Q: What did you like the most?

A: The thrill of having my own project. It's always very exciting to get good results and see that my ideas are working.

Q: What did you dislike the most?

A: The agony of having my own project.

Q: What are your plans and hopes for your postdoctoral position in Harvard?

A: The position is in a biochemistry laboratory and my project will be very different from my graduate research. I hope to learn new techniques and new areas of research that will make me a well-rounded scientist.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

A: In 5 years, I hope that I'm done with my postdoc. In 10 years, I would like to be a professor at a 4- or 5-year college in the northeastern US.

Q: What is your biggest professional dream?

A: I desire a career that is rewarding and allows me to express myself and make an impact on other people. I think I can achieve these goals by teaching undergraduates and introducing them to basic research in preparation for graduate school.

Q: What is your biggest personal dream?

A: My biggest personal dream is to achieve a balance among all of my dreams: to become a professor, a fashion designer, a mother, and a yoga teacher.

Q: If you had a message for those students that have just started their graduate studies, what would it say?

A: Just hang in there. There are times when it feels like everything is going wrong, and you cry, and you get mad, and it stinks. Round up some friends and visit Triple Rock or Jupiter, and things get better.

Q: Anything else you'd like to share?

 A: I'd like to thank everyone in the NST department. I've gleaned knowledge and advice from so many amazing people through seminars, in classes, at parties, and even in bars .  

May 15, 2008

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Graduating with a Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology, Daniel Nomura is honored with the Adelle Davis Award for his outstanding graduate research achievements. In his exit interview he shares about his experience of being in the program and postdoctoral plans.

Q: What inspired you to join Nutritional Science and Toxicology?

A: I joined the Molecular Toxicology program because of its unique interdisciplinary nature and the faculty's high quality of research. The highly integrative nature of our program is evident from the publication record of our Moltox faculty that are cross listed with molecular and cell biology, chemistry, integrative biology, environmental sciences, and public health.

Q: What were the highlights of your experience here as a student?

A: The research I was able to do under Dr. John Casida and the novel discoveries we were able to make across various fields, including neurobiology, toxicology and nutrition were the highlights of my graduate experience.

Q: Who has provided you with the most guidance and inspiration during your studies in the program?

A: Dr. Casida provided me with guidance and inspiration throughout both my undergraduate and graduate studies. Also, the collaboration with my future professor Dr. Benjamin Cravatt has been a constant inspiration.  

Q: What did you like the most? 

A: I've made some excellent friends throughout my graduate tenure in NST. I've had the great fortune of also being able to collaborate scientifically with my friends, with whom I plan to continue collaborating with during my postdoctoral studies.

Q: What did you dislike the most? 

A: Nothing.   

Q: After graduating here at UC Berkley you’re taking on a postgraduate fellow position at   The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Ca. What are your plans and hopes for this endeavor?

A: I’m joining Benjamin Cravatt's lab where I will be further pursuing some of the discoveries I made during my graduate tenure concerning the connection between endocannabinoids and eicosanoid signaling pathways. Our initial studies showed that the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (through monoacylglycerol lipase) supplied arachidonic acid, possibly for inflammatory pathways in brain.

I will pursue this not only in brain but also in cancer to determine whether highly selective monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitors can be used to lower eicosanoid signaling and thereby slow the progression of tumorigenesis using proteomic and metabolomic platforms.

Also, I will be continuing the collaboration I started here at Berkeley looking at the selective contribution of endocannabinoid signaling to the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years from now?

A: I would like to obtain a professor position in either toxicology or chemical biology.

Q: What are your grandest personal and professional dreams?  

A: My biggest dream would be to obtain a professor position back here at UC Berkeley. I would also like to discover drug targets and drugs which are efficacious without adverse effects while also developing toxicological tools to assess negative effects of environmental toxicants.

Q: If you had a message for those students that have just started their graduate studies, what would it say?

A: Graduate school can be very daunting at times with the pressure to excel academically and scientifically. I've seen quite a few students quit or become depressed when research isn't going well. My advice is to not give up even under stressful conditions and to recognize that research is a marathon and not a sprint.

I would also advise students to develop several projects early in their graduate studies (some that are high-impact, some discovery-driven, mostly hypothesis-driven, and some that are relatively easy projects) so that if one project fails, you can still rely on the other ones.

Also, I would encourage collaboration with other students and faculty in the department as well as outside of the university.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?    

A: One thing I've noticed going to various meetings and conferences is that the level and quality of students at Berkeley is unparalleled. I feel honored to have been able to work alongside some of the most talented, brightest and innovative scientists.

May 10, 2008