Meet the Researcher
Lucy Brunt
Exeter University
Exeter, U.K.
Current Research
What is your research focus?
I use zebrafish to study cell-cell communication in development. In particular, we study how thin filopodia protrusions, known as cytonemes, can transport Wnt signalling components from cell to cell during zebrafish gastrulation to activate signalling in neighbouring cells.
What current project are you excited about?
We have found that cytonemes in zebrafish development not only transport Wnt ligands from cell to cell, but also Wnt co-receptors, such as Ror2. This suggests that cells which are thought of as ‘blind’ to a Wnt signal - as they don’t not express their own co-receptors - could also be activated, if cytonemes transport both Wnt ligand and co-receptor to the cell.
What do you like about working with zebrafish? What don’t you like about it?
It still surprises me how you can start the day with an egg and by the next morning it has developed in to a fish. I also love the beautiful imaging that you can get from zebrafish and the potential it brings to be able to explore how cells and tissues are working together in a complex environment during development. What I don’t like about working with zebrafish is that I don’t think I have ever left the fish facility without covering myself in water!
Getting to know you better
Where were you born/where did you grow up?
In the UK, Swindon, about an hour from London.
When did you realize you wanted to have a career as a scientist? /What made you realize you wanted to have a career as a scientist?
I was always fascinated by biology, in particular, the fine details such as mechanisms of the cell and how this can go wrong in disease. I wanted to be a research scientist when I realized this would mean that I could not only study biomedical science, but also go beyond current knowledge and study new aspects not currently known.
Where did you do your undergraduate studies? Did you do research with anyone?
I studied Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield. I also gained a summer internship at Cancer Research UK in London, studying telomere biology in Julia Cooper’s lab using yeast.
Where did you do your graduate studies and with whom? What did you work on?
I studied at the University of Bristol on the Wellcome Trust Dynamic Cell Biology PhD programme with Dr. Chrissy Hammond. I studied the role of Wnt signalling and biomechanics in zebrafish jaw joint morphogenesis.
Where did you do postdoctoral studies and with whom? What did you work on?
Currently I am carrying out my postdoc at the Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, in Prof. Steffen Scholpp’s lab, using zebrafish to study cytoneme-mediated Wnt signalling in gastrulation.
What other jobs have you had?
I had summer jobs during university working in a nursery and at a strawberry picking farm!
Science and Careers
Share a turning point or defining moment in your science/career.
Lab work can sometimes seem very singular, but after going to my first international conference, the European zebrafish conference in Barcelona, I was really motivated by the variety of science taking place. It made me realize how dynamic science can be as a career.
If you could be present for any "Eureka" moment in history (i.e. the moment some scientific discovery was made), which moment would you choose? Why?
The experiments that were important to understand the structure of DNA by Rosalind Franklin.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in science/research?
Go for it! The biggest thing I’ve learned, is that you need perseverance. Be open to changing direction in your research and trying new things if it’s not working out. Know that you will build resilience over time.
Where do you think the next scientific breakthroughs are going to occur?
I think it could take place in the field of antibiotic resistance, using AI to help find new compounds in the quest to find new antibiotics.
What is the most challenging part about your science or obtaining your career goals?
Projects can develop slowly and you need perseverance when hitting blocks and difficulties.
Outside of work
What do you enjoy doing outside of work/lab?
Anything related to dancing and music, such as ballet and barre fitness and BodyCombat classes. I also enjoy walking, especially coastal walking in Devon, near Exeter.
What are you reading right now (not including research papers)?
Pillars of the Earth series
Name a favorite song or musical piece.
Human by The Killers
Favorite place you have lived or visited?
Mountains in Austria in the summer
What alternative career would you like to attempt if you could?
A fish related one! ‘Just Keep Swimming’ – Dory, Finding Nemo
Eric Peterman
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA
Current Research
What is your research focus?
My work primarily focuses on skin-resident immune cells known as Langerhans cells, and how they react to different tissue damage paradigms. When I first joined the lab, an outstanding question in the field of skin biology regarded the clearance of debris following axon damage. From work in larval fish and flies, we knew that epidermal keratinocytes, the “building blocks” of skin, could engulf this debris. However, skin becomes increasingly complex as development progresses, including the stratification of skin and introduction of new cell types. I developed a skin explant model that induced axon damage and degeneration, allowing us to examine which cell types could engulf this debris. Contrary to the results in larval animals, we found that keratinocytes did not play a major role in clearance of debris. Instead, Langerhans cells were the primary phagocytes of this debris. Phagocytic roles for Langerhans cells have not been described, so we were excited to find that they could engulf this debris.
Building off this work, I combined my skin explant system with new damage paradigms, transgenic tools, and pharmacological perturbations to explore functions and regulation of the dynamics dendrites that Langerhans cells possess. I found that the actin cytoskeleton is responsible for controlling dendrite dynamics, and inhibiting Rho-associated kinase affected shape transitions and migratory elements typical of Langerhans cells.
What current project are you excited about?
In tandem with studying the actin cytoskeleton in Langerhans cells, I’ve also been focusing on the microtubule cytoskeleton. The cells are absolutely wonderful to image, and we’re seeing some neat biology during tissue damage.
What do you like about working with zebrafish? What don’t you like about it?
I wanted to join a zebrafish lab for my postdoc specifically use time-lapse microscopy as my primary form of data collection, and I can happily say that desire has been fulfilled. I think a particular challenge working with adult fish is manipulating cells in an inducible and tissue-specific way. There are lots of great labs pioneering the tool design side of zebrafish work, but sometimes adopting new strategies with your promoters and genes of interest can take some time.
Getting to know you better
Where were you born/where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town in central Massachusetts.
When did you realize you wanted to have a career as a scientist? /What made you realize you wanted to have a career as a scientist?
My mom was a nurse and so I always felt a little attached to doing something in the medical field, but a series of unpleasant experiences shadowing doctors at clinics and emergency rooms put that idea to rest. During my third year as an undergraduate, I took a short course over spring break at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. For 6 days, we were as immersed as undergraduates could possibly be in science, and it was here that I was initially introduced to zebrafish as a model organism, and biomedical research as a whole.
When I eventually did start working at the bench, it was enjoyable; I liked working with my hands, and I enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspect. At that point, the puzzles were simple, such as getting PCR conditions right, and since then I’ve encountered more complex puzzles that require more complex solutions. That’s not to say I still don’t struggle with genotyping.
Where did you do your undergraduate studies? Did you do research with anyone?
I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Maine. I met Dr. Carol Kim at the aforementioned MDIBL short course and carried out an undergraduate thesis in her lab.
Where did you do your graduate studies and with whom? What did you work on?
I stayed in Dr. Kim’s lab for a Master’s thesis, where I studied innate immune responses to bacterial infection using larval zebrafish as a model. Looking back, I stayed in the lab because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after finishing undergrad, but I found academic research and the lifestyle compelling enough to want to continue for a Ph.D.
I moved west to the University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus, where I eventually joined the lab of Dr. Rytis Prekeris. I deviated from zebrafish, using cell culture as a model to study cell division. I used a combination of biochemistry and microscopy to answer my research questions, but it was really the time-lapse microscopy that would eventually compel me to move back to using zebrafish as a model.
What other jobs have you had?
As a kid, I was a referee for youth soccer. I’ve worked as a cashier and shipping/receiving in retail, and as an educational aide at a zoo.
Science and Careers
Share a turning point or defining moment in your science/career.
In graduate school, I had an eye-opening experience with the trials and tribulations of attempting to get a manuscript accepted. Nearly two years of back and forth was incomprehensible. Thankfully I wasn’t at a point in my career where I was desperate for the manuscript to get accepted. This was right before the time that bioRxiv and preprinting really took off, but the lesson I’ve learned from it is that I will always put my work on a preprint server, because I do not know how long it will actually take to reach publication.
If you could be present for any "Eureka" moment in history (i.e. the moment some scientific discovery was made), which moment would you choose? Why?
The very first moments monitoring GFP expression in E. coli and C. elegans published in the 1994 Chalfie et al paper. As someone who relies exclusively on fluorescent proteins to monitor and visualize cells and subcellular structures, it would have been neat to have been present.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in science/research?
Come in with an open mind as to what you might want to work on. And know it’s probably an old trope by now but learn to code!
Where do you think the next scientific breakthroughs are going to occur?
Last year I went to a regenerative biology symposium, and the work people are doing with 3D printing and “bio-ink” is incredible. As the biomedical sciences catches up with the bioengineering side of things, we’ll see some great breakthroughs
Outside of work
What do you enjoy doing outside of work/lab?
I try to get outside as much as possible, so for me that means biking to and from work, hiking, and camping in the summer. I’ve also started playing table tennis regularly; I thought I was good but I’ve been knocked down a few pegs recently.
What are you reading right now (not including research papers)?
Children’s books for my daughter! Other than that, an array of things. I think the last few books I have read included “Crying in H-Mart” by Michelle Zauner, some George Saunders short stories, and Jennifer Doudna’s biography.
Favorite place you have lived or visited?
I feel lucky that I’ve enjoyed everywhere I have lived. Perhaps it is nostalgia, but I loved the 6 years I spent in Maine.
What alternative career would you like to attempt if you could?
I would try to be a chef, or at least a line cook.