June 26, 2024 • 18 mins
#Interview #Maize #Corn #Genetics #Scientists
It's our mid-season break, so we've got a bonus episode talking to a handful of game-loving scientists at the 2024 Maize Genetics Meeting. We talk about science, games, perseverence, the winding path of becoming a scientist, and plenty more.
Timestamps01:35 - Introductions 02:25 - How did you get into science? 06:28 - What do you research? 09:38 - Favorite games? 12:29 - Turning your work into a game? 14:24 - Advice to aspiring scientists 17:44 - Closing remarks
Find our socials at https://www.gamingwithscience.net
LinksGaming with Science™ is produced with the help of the University of Georgia and is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Full TranscriptBrian 0:06 Hello, and welcome to the gaming with science podcast, where we talk about the science behind some of your favorite games.
Jason 0:14 Welcome back to Gaming with Science. This is Jason and it's just me today. So right now we're technically in our mid season break. But to make sure y'all have something, I want to introduce you to a bunch of scientists I met at the Maize Genetics Meeting back in March. And that's maize as in corn, not maze as in puzzles. Although of course, you may have been to a corn maze, which is actually a maze maze. And yeah, anyway, one of my goals with this podcast was trying to show the human side of scientists, we see a bunch of things in Hollywood where scientists are all uber-nerdy or geeky or have no social life. And I want to show that scientists are human, we have interests, we play games, we have fun. And so when I was back at this conference, I wanted to show off what real scientists are like and so I grabbed a microphone and started grabbing some people and just talking with them and ask them questions about how they got into science, what games they like, how we could turn their research into a game, that sort of thing. So, many thanks to the people who let me interview them: Briana, Chip, Jacob, Kate, Kyle, Lauren, and Mohammed; I'll let them all introduce themselves in a little bit. To keep things from getting repetitive, I spliced all the interviews together. So you'll hear me asking one question, but then you'll hear a bunch of them in turn, even though they were recorded at different times in different places, you'll have different amounts of background noises depending on where we were and how much stuff was going on at the time. Also, you probably guessed that being a maize genetics conference, corn genetics, everyone here works on corn. If you'd like this, we'll try to do a few more we'll maybe get some other ones. So without further ado, I'm just gonna let everyone introduce themselves and I hope you enjoy this.
Okay, so first off, can you please introduce yourself?
Brianna 1:37 My name is Brianna Griffin. I'm originally from Florida, but I'm actually at Iowa State University where I study molecular plant pathology.
Chip 1:44 Yeah, I'm Chip Hunter. I work for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Gainesville, Florida.
Jacob 1:51 I am Jacob Kelly. I am a PhD student at the University of Missouri.
Kate 1:56 I'm Kate Eastman, and I'm a graduate student at Purdue and Jen Wisecavers lab.
Kyle 2:01 Hi, my name is Kyle Swentowski. I'm a postdoctoral fellow in David Jackson's lab at Cold Spring Harbor.
Lauren 2:07 I'm Lauren Whitt. I'm a postdoc at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, just recently graduated and I'm a plant genetic researcher.
Mohammed 2:17 My name is Mohammed El-Walid. I'm a fourth year PhD candidate at Cornell University working in Ed Buckler's lab.
Jason 2:25 So what got you into science in the first place?
Brian
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brian (00:06):
Hello, and welcome to the gaming with science podcast,
where we talk about the sciencebehind some of your favorite
games.
Jason (00:14):
Welcome back to Gaming with Science. This is Jason and
it's just me today. So right nowwe're technically in our mid
season break. But to make surey'all have something, I want to
introduce you to a bunch ofscientists I met at the Maize
Genetics Meeting back in March.And that's maize as in corn, not
maze as in puzzles. Although ofcourse, you may have been to a
corn maze, which is actually amaze maze. And yeah, anyway, one
of my goals with this podcastwas trying to show the human
(00:35):
side of scientists, we see abunch of things in Hollywood
where scientists are alluber-nerdy or geeky or have no
social life. And I want to showthat scientists are human, we
have interests, we play games,we have fun. And so when I was
back at this conference, Iwanted to show off what real
scientists are like and so Igrabbed a microphone and started
grabbing some people and justtalking with them and ask them
questions about how they gotinto science, what games they
(00:57):
like, how we could turn theirresearch into a game, that sort
of thing. So, many thanks to thepeople who let me interview
them (01:04):
Briana, Chip, Jacob, Kate, Kyle, Lauren, and Mohammed; I'll
let them all introducethemselves in a little bit. To
keep things from gettingrepetitive, I spliced all the
interviews together. So you'llhear me asking one question, but
then you'll hear a bunch of themin turn, even though they were
recorded at different times indifferent places, you'll have
different amounts of backgroundnoises depending on where we
were and how much stuff wasgoing on at the time. Also, you
(01:24):
probably guessed that being amaize genetics conference, corn
genetics, everyone here works oncorn. If you'd like this, we'll
try to do a few more we'll maybeget some other ones. So without
further ado, I'm just gonna leteveryone introduce themselves
and I hope you enjoy this.
Okay, so first off, can youplease introduce yourself?
Brianna (01:37):
My name is Brianna Griffin. I'm originally from
Florida, but I'm actually atIowa State University where I
study molecular plant pathology.
Chip (01:44):
Yeah, I'm Chip Hunter. I work for the USDA Agricultural
Research Service in Gainesville,Florida.
Jacob (01:51):
I am Jacob Kelly. I am a PhD student at the University of
Missouri.
Kate (01:56):
I'm Kate Eastman, and I'm a graduate student at Purdue and
Jen Wisecavers lab.
Kyle (02:01):
Hi, my name is Kyle Swentowski. I'm a postdoctoral
fellow in David Jackson's lab atCold Spring Harbor.
Lauren (02:07):
I'm Lauren Whitt. I'm a postdoc at the Donald Danforth
Plant Science Center, justrecently graduated and I'm a
plant genetic researcher.
Mohammed (02:17):
My name is Mohammed El-Walid. I'm a fourth year PhD
candidate at Cornell Universityworking in Ed Buckler's lab.
Jason (02:25):
So what got you into science in the first place?
Brianna (02:27):
I've always been interested in science but it was
it's a kind of an interestingpath though. I actually went to
an art school for middle andhigh school, like science was
definitely not the focus at ourschool, but I just always really
enjoyed it. And as I continuedto advance it, I actually
started to see science as a typeof art form. I just thought it
was very interesting and verycreative, but in a completely
different way than like I wasused to seeing with like the
(02:48):
dancers and the painters andstuff like that. And so
actually, when I started inundergrad, I actually thought I
was gonna go to med school and Iluckily joined a program called
Women in math, science andengineering at Florida State
University. And they're reallybig on getting people more
involved in research likeearlier on. So my sophomore
year, I actually started workingin a maize genetics lab. So corn
(03:11):
corn lab, as I was doing that,at the same time as doing
everything for pre med andworking at the hospital and
stuff, I realized that I reallyenjoyed science, a lot more than
healthcare, nothing wrong withdoctors, you know, we definitely
need them. But at least for me,science just seems so much more
interesting. It was a lot morecreative a field, there was a
lot more options like to do kindof what you wanted to and each
(03:32):
day is very different. And sothat was something that was
really appealing to me.
Chip (03:36):
I was on track to become a dentist like my father, I was
studying for the DAT exam incollege and I took a course and
it was called "the seeds ofchange". And it was taught by an
agronomic professor. But it wasall about genetic engineering in
crops and plants. That onecourse changed my trajectory
because I was so impressed bythe possibility of plant genetic
(03:57):
engineering to improveagriculture. But really to
improve the world. I think thatstill holds such great promise.
We've seen cool successes. Someof the examples that I was
impressed by were, you know,turf grass that can be watered
irrigated with saltwater, rosesthat never wilt, fruit that
doesn't spoil, those kinds ofsorts of things.
Lauren (04:13):
So, let's see, I wanted to be a vet growing up. Where I
was from science, scientistwasn't really a thing you could
be, it was you could be ascience teacher, or you could be
a vet, or you could be a nurse,and I'm not good with blood. I'm
very queasy, unfortunately, asmuch as I loved animals. So I
was like, Oh, I'm gonna be ascience teacher. And so that's
what I went to do. And I took agenetics class, and I really
(04:37):
liked it. And I just went andtalked to the professor, hey, do
you have room in your lab? Canyou just teach me how to do this
stuff? Like how do I extractDNA? How do I isolate a gene,
you know, doing PCR, that kindof stuff. And she had a really
cool project for me to extractDNA from ancient permafrost up
in Alaska, like 50,000 year oldsoil samples and like, you know,
(04:57):
get to try to characterize whatthe plant population looked like
across Alaska as it changedduring the Pleistocene. So you
know, the unknown aspect that Iwas like, Wait, we don't really
know what that is. And she'slike, well, you know, we have
theories. But we don't havelike, you know, the DNA, we
don't have like the proof yet.And it's like, Oh, I get to do
something that no one else hasknown about, like, I get to
contribute something new.
Mohammed (05:17):
Actually, initially, during high school, I studied
more computer science, I alwayshad like an interest in science,
but I didn't really think I'd begood at it necessarily, or
really think that I, I didn'treally know what a scientist
looked like. And so it neverreally occurred to me that
that's something I couldactually do. But my elder sister
(05:40):
was taking this genetics classduring her, during her undergrad
at the University of Missouriand the genetics professor that
she was with requested some likefield help from some students.
And my sister agreed, and askedif she could bring me along. And
this was like, the summer rightafter I graduated high school.
So I went with her. And we weretalking about like, heterosis,
(06:00):
and things like that. And it wasjust, it was kind of captivating
the genetics and starting tolike, understand it a little bit
more, and understand what kindof questions you can ask and
what it looks like, what itreally looks like to be a
scientist and to do science. Andso instead of going to computer
science, I switched tobiochemistry. And I found this
(06:22):
nice avenue where I can do a lotof computational things for
genetics, and now I do.
Jason (06:29):
Okay, and what's your research on?
Brianna (06:30):
So generally, I would say that I do crop improvement.
So I work on diseases andworking on plant immunity. So
you know, how you have an immunesystem. And with humans, like
there's also one in plants too,but it's a lot less defined at
this point. And so I'm trying tohelp figure out that so that we
can make stronger plants so thatwe just have better crops for
the future.
Mohammed (06:49):
I do a lot of genomics work, we're trying to map a
freezing tolerance in this wildrelative of corn called
Trispacum dactyloides, a lot ofwhat I've been doing is, is is
trying to figure out how weparse through all this genomics
data, this genetic data that wehave, and try to identify causal
genes related to Tripsacum'sfreezing tolerance, so that we
(07:11):
can introduce it into maize.
Chip (07:13):
I study maize genetics, and especially focused on
defense chemistry, theregulation of defenses against
insects, and pathogens by planthormones.
Lauren (07:24):
We look for places in the genome that are different
across populations. So justgenetic variants, and then we
can link that to changes in whatwe see in the plant. So changes
in their traits. And my researchis to try to narrow that down to
the genes that are actuallyresponsible for that. So just
because there's a change at acertain part of the genome,
doesn't mean specifically thatwe know which gene that that's
(07:46):
telling us is the causal genethat's actually changing, like,
making the plant taller, makingplant shorter. And I guess the
reason I got into it is becauseI found out that we actually
don't know what all the genesdo. So I actually might be able
to discover something new. Andthat's exciting to me.
Kate (08:02):
So I study primarily two different projects. The first is
a sea slug that stealschloroplasts from the algae it
eats and uses its chloroplaststo photosynthesize. And then the
next project is actually maizeinsect interactions, as well as
a wild grass called Setariaviridis. And investigating the
(08:25):
impacts of different caterpillaron plant defense responses.
Jacob (08:30):
I use molecular machines to move large segments of DNA
from one location on achromosome to another location
on a different chromosome. It'sproof of concept research to
show that it can be done. One ofthe major problems that plant
breeders run into is havingdifferent genes of interest
(08:51):
located on differentchromosomes. If we're able to
insert a large segment of DNAinto a plant, and that large
segment of DNA has lots of genesof interest, and then we're able
to move that to a specifictarget site, then, not only can
we partially control theexpression of the large segment
of DNA, like the genes locatedin it, but because it's all
(09:14):
incorporated in the same spot,it inherits together.
Kyle (09:18):
In my research, I'm interested in the differences
between annual and perennialplants. Annuals are really good
at growing and taking everythingthey've produced in their life
and putting it into what's goingto be harvested. Whereas
perennials have to be able torecycle their nutrients and keep
growing year after year. So I'mtrying to figure out how that
process actually works.
Jason (09:38):
So what are some of your favorite games?
Jacob (09:40):
So my favorite game is actually chess. I got into chess
when I was a little boy, my dadtaught me how to play chess, and
he and I would stay up in theevenings. And we would play a
game or two of chess, sometimesthree before bed, and it was a
fun way for my dad and I to bondwith each other.
Jason (09:57):
How long was it until he stopped letting you win and you
legitimately, just legitimatelyjust beating him.
Jacob (10:03):
So I don't think my dad actually ever let me win. He
would kick my butt, he wouldabsolutely wreck me. When I was
like four or five years old, hecould beat me in just a few
moves. And then as I got olderand more experienced, it got to
where I would win about a thirdof the games. And then after I
left for college, I kept playingwith other people that I met
(10:26):
that also loved chess, and I gotbetter. And my dad, he kind of
stopped playing because hedidn't have anyone to play with.
And so now whenever my dad and Iplay, I return the favor from
when I was four or five.
Chip (10:37):
My favorite game of all really is Magic the Gathering, I
think the strategy and you know,constantly evolving game type
that it is, is is the most funfor me. So I've played that game
for quite a long time now, about20 years, I think.
Kate (10:53):
I primarily love a game called Spirit Island. Other than
that, classic board games,things like Monopoly, Risk and
thinking of more modern ones. Ireally like Ecos lately and
Mariposas. They're both kind ofthe same board game producers
kind of animal interactions andthings like that.
Mohammed (11:16):
I think right now I mostly it's a lot of Dungeons
and Dragons, mainly becausethere's not a whole lot of prep
time for me, at least that hasto go into it. So
Jason (11:25):
You're obviously not the GM.
Mohammed (11:26):
No, I am not the GM. I've got, so I'm in two
campaigns, and one of themstarted in like 2020 and is
still going on right now. Andit's a bunch of actually other
graduate students and formergraduate students. Some of them
are real faculty now and joinremotely. But we've been playing
for a few years now, it'sreally, a really good, good way
(11:48):
to kind of take the edge off,enjoy some time with friends and
think about, honestly thinkabout science actually in like a
different context really a lotof the time because I feel like,
especially with something likeDungeons and Dragons, you have a
lot of creative freewill. Andsometimes you can use the things
that you know to help you.
Kyle (12:08):
So, I'm into both board games and video games video game
wise. Some of my all timefavorites are Age of Empires,
Civilization, some first personshooter games, and then as far
as board games go, I've latelybeen into this plant base board,
plant molecular biology gamecalled Cellulose. But I also I
love pretty much any board gameyou could throw at me.
Jason (12:29):
And so if we were to take your research and turn it into a
game, what would it be like?
Brianna (12:35):
I probably would say that it would be an open world
adventure, where it's kind of achoose your own adventure,
there's an overarching goal. Butat the same time, there's a lot
of different pathways you cantake to like reach the end goal.
And there's also a lot of sidequests you can do that maybe
distract you from the mainmission, but still may be
interesting, and still may getyou some cool results along the
way also.
Jason (12:53):
So is that one about your research itself, or is that
about being a graduate student?
Brianna (12:57):
Probably both, honestly
Lauren (12:59):
It'd honestly be probably pretty similar to the
Evolution board game, where youget to evolve your species to
out compete with the people atthe table for limited resources
and give them certain traits andkind of like play with the
population size and like theanimal size and how much
resources they need. So I reallyliked that aspect of it. But
trying to make it more likeevolution and actually adding
the random part into it actuallyhad a teacher in undergrad who
(13:22):
taught us a lab that way wherehe added in random aspects to
it. So maybe adding a little bitmore of the plants back into it?
And so like, you know, animalsare always fun, like maybe more
of like, you know, growing likeyour plant population and
competing for maybe undergroundresources.
Kate (13:35):
I've worked a lot with horizontal gene transfer, which
is non-hereditary passing ofgenetic information. So I've
looked into these fungi thatlive in trees and pass genes
between the trees that they livein, or other plants. And I also
studied this sea slug that weexpected had stolen some genes
(13:56):
from the algae and eats so thatit can support these
chloroplasts. So it'd probablybe different organisms stealing
components of other organisms.
Jason (14:06):
Sounds like you'd be stealing bits and pieces from
other players creatures andtrying to make the best one.
Kate (14:10):
Yes, yeah, kind of like Spore. If you ever played that
game on the computer, you'remaking this organism and slowly
evolving it and adapting it toits environment. Yeah, that,
that would probably be myinspiration.
Jason (14:24):
I assume we have some aspiring scientists among our
listeners. So what sort ofadvice would you give to them?
Jacob (14:30):
I would say focus on what you love. And then as you focus
on the science that you enjoylearning about the most, you
will come across people that canpoint you in the right direction
for not just learning more, butactually getting involved in the
science and being able to pushthe perimeter of what is known
and ultimately make discoveriesand discover things related to
(14:54):
what it is that you areinterested in.
Kate (14:56):
Just stay passionate about things. I have always loved
science. Science. But when itbecomes your job, you have to
remember to separate your lovefor something from your hatred
of a nine to five, or yourdislike for school or things
like that. So just kind oflooking back at what got me
(15:17):
passionate about science. Andwhat I really love helps me to
stay committed and stay driven.
Mohammed (15:23):
It's much more doable than you think. There are a lot
of challenges along the way. Andthen also, you do get paid for
your PhD, you don't have to payfor that. So I think that was,
that was something that really,I didn't realize until I started
working in a laboratory anddidn't know that was a thing.
And then also, I think that themost important thing is really
(15:44):
to make sure that you canmaintain good relationships with
your advisor, and with yourcolleagues, and then that you
also have like a good balanceoutside of work, because it
really is just like more of amarathon than anything. And I
think that transition from fromundergrad where everything did
feel like a race to kind ofslowing it down and just trying
(16:05):
to keep taking slow stepsforward was a challenge for me
initially.
Chip (16:10):
Yeah, dive in early as you can and try to find a place that
you can have freedom to play, tolearn and to do experiments. My
personal philosophy is withstudents is to really let them
take a stab at leadingexperiments and design
experiments.
Kyle (16:26):
If you really love what you're doing, keep going with
it. I know it's gonna be a lotof hard work, but the dedication
you put into it with anything inlife will really pay off later.
Lauren (16:35):
Definitely talk to your professors. I didn't know that
that was the thing that youcould do until one of my friends
told me that she was working insomeone's lab. And so it's like,
yeah, just go up and talk to aprofessor. They're normal
people, they have first names, alot of professors I know like to
go by their first names,actually. You know, a lot of
them are going to be really downto earth and also want to pass
on, like, I'm sure everyscientist had a previous
(16:57):
scientist that inspired themwhen they were a student. At
least for me, and a lot ofpeople I know, it's like wanting
to pass that forward. And justshowing that you're interested
is like all we need, it's likeyou don't have to know all this
stuff. You don't have to knowhow to do DNA extraction, you
don't need to know how to use Ror Python, I can teach you that.
But if you have the desire to doit, then you know, that's really
all we're looking for. And we'reall just a bunch of nerds
(17:18):
really. So we love sharingcommon interests. And you know,
what makes us passionate. So,you know, don't be afraid to I
guess show that side either. Youknow that I guess there's a
stereotype about scientistsbeing a certain way and being,
you know, only concerned abouttheir research and very serious
and very analytical, but a lotof us are really fun. We have
other outside hobbies, we havefandoms that we like to do
(17:40):
sports that we like to do. Andso just talk to a scientist and
figure out if it's for you.
Jason (17:46):
And I can't really top that so thank you very much to
Brianna, Chip, Jacob, Kate,Kyle, Lauren, and Mohamed for
letting me interview them. Thankyou for sharing a little bit
about themselves. And thank youto you all for listening. This
episode was a bit of anexperiment. So if you have
strong opinions about whether weshould do this again or not do
it again, go ahead and jump onthe Discord and let us know.
Link is atwww.gamingwithscience.net. You
(18:08):
can get the invite there, jumpon, talk to us. We really
friendly people. Get on & let usknow if there's something you
want us to do more of. And withthat, we'll go ahead and wrap it
up for now. Y'all have a greatweek, happy gaming and have fun
playing dice with the universe.This has been the gaming with
Science Podcast copyright 2024.Listeners are free to reuse this
(18:30):
recording for any non commercialpurpose as long as credit is
given to Gaming with Science.This podcast is produced with
support from the University ofGeorgia. All opinions are those
of the hosts and do not implyendorsement by the sponsors. If
you wish to purchase any of thegames we talked about, we
encourage you to do so throughyour friendly local game store.
Thank you and have fun playingdice with the universe.
Hello, and welcome to the gaming with science podcast,
where we talk about the sciencebehind some of your favorite
games.
Jason (00:14):
Welcome back to Gaming with Science. This is Jason and
it's just me today. So right nowwe're technically in our mid
season break. But to make surey'all have something, I want to
introduce you to a bunch ofscientists I met at the Maize
Genetics Meeting back in March.And that's maize as in corn, not
maze as in puzzles. Although ofcourse, you may have been to a
corn maze, which is actually amaze maze. And yeah, anyway, one
of my goals with this podcastwas trying to show the human
(00:35):
side of scientists, we see abunch of things in Hollywood
where scientists are alluber-nerdy or geeky or have no
social life. And I want to showthat scientists are human, we
have interests, we play games,we have fun. And so when I was
back at this conference, Iwanted to show off what real
scientists are like and so Igrabbed a microphone and started
grabbing some people and justtalking with them and ask them
questions about how they gotinto science, what games they
(00:57):
like, how we could turn theirresearch into a game, that sort
of thing. So, many thanks to thepeople who let me interview
them (01:04):
Briana, Chip, Jacob, Kate, Kyle, Lauren, and Mohammed; I'll
let them all introducethemselves in a little bit. To
keep things from gettingrepetitive, I spliced all the
interviews together. So you'llhear me asking one question, but
then you'll hear a bunch of themin turn, even though they were
recorded at different times indifferent places, you'll have
different amounts of backgroundnoises depending on where we
were and how much stuff wasgoing on at the time. Also, you
(01:24):
probably guessed that being amaize genetics conference, corn
genetics, everyone here works oncorn. If you'd like this, we'll
try to do a few more we'll maybeget some other ones. So without
further ado, I'm just gonna leteveryone introduce themselves
and I hope you enjoy this.
Okay, so first off, can youplease introduce yourself?
Brianna (01:37):
My name is Brianna Griffin. I'm originally from
Florida, but I'm actually atIowa State University where I
study molecular plant pathology.
Chip (01:44):
Yeah, I'm Chip Hunter. I work for the USDA Agricultural
Research Service in Gainesville,Florida.
Jacob (01:51):
I am Jacob Kelly. I am a PhD student at the University of
Missouri.
Kate (01:56):
I'm Kate Eastman, and I'm a graduate student at Purdue and
Jen Wisecavers lab.
Kyle (02:01):
Hi, my name is Kyle Swentowski. I'm a postdoctoral
fellow in David Jackson's lab atCold Spring Harbor.
Lauren (02:07):
I'm Lauren Whitt. I'm a postdoc at the Donald Danforth
Plant Science Center, justrecently graduated and I'm a
plant genetic researcher.
Mohammed (02:17):
My name is Mohammed El-Walid. I'm a fourth year PhD
candidate at Cornell Universityworking in Ed Buckler's lab.
Jason (02:25):
So what got you into science in the first place?
Brianna (02:27):
I've always been interested in science but it was
it's a kind of an interestingpath though. I actually went to
an art school for middle andhigh school, like science was
definitely not the focus at ourschool, but I just always really
enjoyed it. And as I continuedto advance it, I actually
started to see science as a typeof art form. I just thought it
was very interesting and verycreative, but in a completely
different way than like I wasused to seeing with like the
(02:48):
dancers and the painters andstuff like that. And so
actually, when I started inundergrad, I actually thought I
was gonna go to med school and Iluckily joined a program called
Women in math, science andengineering at Florida State
University. And they're reallybig on getting people more
involved in research likeearlier on. So my sophomore
year, I actually started workingin a maize genetics lab. So corn
(03:11):
corn lab, as I was doing that,at the same time as doing
everything for pre med andworking at the hospital and
stuff, I realized that I reallyenjoyed science, a lot more than
healthcare, nothing wrong withdoctors, you know, we definitely
need them. But at least for me,science just seems so much more
interesting. It was a lot morecreative a field, there was a
lot more options like to do kindof what you wanted to and each
(03:32):
day is very different. And sothat was something that was
really appealing to me.
Chip (03:36):
I was on track to become a dentist like my father, I was
studying for the DAT exam incollege and I took a course and
it was called "the seeds ofchange". And it was taught by an
agronomic professor. But it wasall about genetic engineering in
crops and plants. That onecourse changed my trajectory
because I was so impressed bythe possibility of plant genetic
(03:57):
engineering to improveagriculture. But really to
improve the world. I think thatstill holds such great promise.
We've seen cool successes. Someof the examples that I was
impressed by were, you know,turf grass that can be watered
irrigated with saltwater, rosesthat never wilt, fruit that
doesn't spoil, those kinds ofsorts of things.
Lauren (04:13):
So, let's see, I wanted to be a vet growing up. Where I
was from science, scientistwasn't really a thing you could
be, it was you could be ascience teacher, or you could be
a vet, or you could be a nurse,and I'm not good with blood. I'm
very queasy, unfortunately, asmuch as I loved animals. So I
was like, Oh, I'm gonna be ascience teacher. And so that's
what I went to do. And I took agenetics class, and I really
(04:37):
liked it. And I just went andtalked to the professor, hey, do
you have room in your lab? Canyou just teach me how to do this
stuff? Like how do I extractDNA? How do I isolate a gene,
you know, doing PCR, that kindof stuff. And she had a really
cool project for me to extractDNA from ancient permafrost up
in Alaska, like 50,000 year oldsoil samples and like, you know,
(04:57):
get to try to characterize whatthe plant population looked like
across Alaska as it changedduring the Pleistocene. So you
know, the unknown aspect that Iwas like, Wait, we don't really
know what that is. And she'slike, well, you know, we have
theories. But we don't havelike, you know, the DNA, we
don't have like the proof yet.And it's like, Oh, I get to do
something that no one else hasknown about, like, I get to
contribute something new.
Mohammed (05:17):
Actually, initially, during high school, I studied
more computer science, I alwayshad like an interest in science,
but I didn't really think I'd begood at it necessarily, or
really think that I, I didn'treally know what a scientist
looked like. And so it neverreally occurred to me that
that's something I couldactually do. But my elder sister
(05:40):
was taking this genetics classduring her, during her undergrad
at the University of Missouriand the genetics professor that
she was with requested some likefield help from some students.
And my sister agreed, and askedif she could bring me along. And
this was like, the summer rightafter I graduated high school.
So I went with her. And we weretalking about like, heterosis,
(06:00):
and things like that. And it wasjust, it was kind of captivating
the genetics and starting tolike, understand it a little bit
more, and understand what kindof questions you can ask and
what it looks like, what itreally looks like to be a
scientist and to do science. Andso instead of going to computer
science, I switched tobiochemistry. And I found this
(06:22):
nice avenue where I can do a lotof computational things for
genetics, and now I do.
Jason (06:29):
Okay, and what's your research on?
Brianna (06:30):
So generally, I would say that I do crop improvement.
So I work on diseases andworking on plant immunity. So
you know, how you have an immunesystem. And with humans, like
there's also one in plants too,but it's a lot less defined at
this point. And so I'm trying tohelp figure out that so that we
can make stronger plants so thatwe just have better crops for
the future.
Mohammed (06:49):
I do a lot of genomics work, we're trying to map a
freezing tolerance in this wildrelative of corn called
Trispacum dactyloides, a lot ofwhat I've been doing is, is is
trying to figure out how weparse through all this genomics
data, this genetic data that wehave, and try to identify causal
genes related to Tripsacum'sfreezing tolerance, so that we
(07:11):
can introduce it into maize.
Chip (07:13):
I study maize genetics, and especially focused on
defense chemistry, theregulation of defenses against
insects, and pathogens by planthormones.
Lauren (07:24):
We look for places in the genome that are different
across populations. So justgenetic variants, and then we
can link that to changes in whatwe see in the plant. So changes
in their traits. And my researchis to try to narrow that down to
the genes that are actuallyresponsible for that. So just
because there's a change at acertain part of the genome,
doesn't mean specifically thatwe know which gene that that's
(07:46):
telling us is the causal genethat's actually changing, like,
making the plant taller, makingplant shorter. And I guess the
reason I got into it is becauseI found out that we actually
don't know what all the genesdo. So I actually might be able
to discover something new. Andthat's exciting to me.
Kate (08:02):
So I study primarily two different projects. The first is
a sea slug that stealschloroplasts from the algae it
eats and uses its chloroplaststo photosynthesize. And then the
next project is actually maizeinsect interactions, as well as
a wild grass called Setariaviridis. And investigating the
(08:25):
impacts of different caterpillaron plant defense responses.
Jacob (08:30):
I use molecular machines to move large segments of DNA
from one location on achromosome to another location
on a different chromosome. It'sproof of concept research to
show that it can be done. One ofthe major problems that plant
breeders run into is havingdifferent genes of interest
(08:51):
located on differentchromosomes. If we're able to
insert a large segment of DNAinto a plant, and that large
segment of DNA has lots of genesof interest, and then we're able
to move that to a specifictarget site, then, not only can
we partially control theexpression of the large segment
of DNA, like the genes locatedin it, but because it's all
(09:14):
incorporated in the same spot,it inherits together.
Kyle (09:18):
In my research, I'm interested in the differences
between annual and perennialplants. Annuals are really good
at growing and taking everythingthey've produced in their life
and putting it into what's goingto be harvested. Whereas
perennials have to be able torecycle their nutrients and keep
growing year after year. So I'mtrying to figure out how that
process actually works.
Jason (09:38):
So what are some of your favorite games?
Jacob (09:40):
So my favorite game is actually chess. I got into chess
when I was a little boy, my dadtaught me how to play chess, and
he and I would stay up in theevenings. And we would play a
game or two of chess, sometimesthree before bed, and it was a
fun way for my dad and I to bondwith each other.
Jason (09:57):
How long was it until he stopped letting you win and you
legitimately, just legitimatelyjust beating him.
Jacob (10:03):
So I don't think my dad actually ever let me win. He
would kick my butt, he wouldabsolutely wreck me. When I was
like four or five years old, hecould beat me in just a few
moves. And then as I got olderand more experienced, it got to
where I would win about a thirdof the games. And then after I
left for college, I kept playingwith other people that I met
(10:26):
that also loved chess, and I gotbetter. And my dad, he kind of
stopped playing because hedidn't have anyone to play with.
And so now whenever my dad and Iplay, I return the favor from
when I was four or five.
Chip (10:37):
My favorite game of all really is Magic the Gathering, I
think the strategy and you know,constantly evolving game type
that it is, is is the most funfor me. So I've played that game
for quite a long time now, about20 years, I think.
Kate (10:53):
I primarily love a game called Spirit Island. Other than
that, classic board games,things like Monopoly, Risk and
thinking of more modern ones. Ireally like Ecos lately and
Mariposas. They're both kind ofthe same board game producers
kind of animal interactions andthings like that.
Mohammed (11:16):
I think right now I mostly it's a lot of Dungeons
and Dragons, mainly becausethere's not a whole lot of prep
time for me, at least that hasto go into it. So
Jason (11:25):
You're obviously not the GM.
Mohammed (11:26):
No, I am not the GM. I've got, so I'm in two
campaigns, and one of themstarted in like 2020 and is
still going on right now. Andit's a bunch of actually other
graduate students and formergraduate students. Some of them
are real faculty now and joinremotely. But we've been playing
for a few years now, it'sreally, a really good, good way
(11:48):
to kind of take the edge off,enjoy some time with friends and
think about, honestly thinkabout science actually in like a
different context really a lotof the time because I feel like,
especially with something likeDungeons and Dragons, you have a
lot of creative freewill. Andsometimes you can use the things
that you know to help you.
Kyle (12:08):
So, I'm into both board games and video games video game
wise. Some of my all timefavorites are Age of Empires,
Civilization, some first personshooter games, and then as far
as board games go, I've latelybeen into this plant base board,
plant molecular biology gamecalled Cellulose. But I also I
love pretty much any board gameyou could throw at me.
Jason (12:29):
And so if we were to take your research and turn it into a
game, what would it be like?
Brianna (12:35):
I probably would say that it would be an open world
adventure, where it's kind of achoose your own adventure,
there's an overarching goal. Butat the same time, there's a lot
of different pathways you cantake to like reach the end goal.
And there's also a lot of sidequests you can do that maybe
distract you from the mainmission, but still may be
interesting, and still may getyou some cool results along the
way also.
Jason (12:53):
So is that one about your research itself, or is that
about being a graduate student?
Brianna (12:57):
Probably both, honestly
Lauren (12:59):
It'd honestly be probably pretty similar to the
Evolution board game, where youget to evolve your species to
out compete with the people atthe table for limited resources
and give them certain traits andkind of like play with the
population size and like theanimal size and how much
resources they need. So I reallyliked that aspect of it. But
trying to make it more likeevolution and actually adding
the random part into it actuallyhad a teacher in undergrad who
(13:22):
taught us a lab that way wherehe added in random aspects to
it. So maybe adding a little bitmore of the plants back into it?
And so like, you know, animalsare always fun, like maybe more
of like, you know, growing likeyour plant population and
competing for maybe undergroundresources.
Kate (13:35):
I've worked a lot with horizontal gene transfer, which
is non-hereditary passing ofgenetic information. So I've
looked into these fungi thatlive in trees and pass genes
between the trees that they livein, or other plants. And I also
studied this sea slug that weexpected had stolen some genes
(13:56):
from the algae and eats so thatit can support these
chloroplasts. So it'd probablybe different organisms stealing
components of other organisms.
Jason (14:06):
Sounds like you'd be stealing bits and pieces from
other players creatures andtrying to make the best one.
Kate (14:10):
Yes, yeah, kind of like Spore. If you ever played that
game on the computer, you'remaking this organism and slowly
evolving it and adapting it toits environment. Yeah, that,
that would probably be myinspiration.
Jason (14:24):
I assume we have some aspiring scientists among our
listeners. So what sort ofadvice would you give to them?
Jacob (14:30):
I would say focus on what you love. And then as you focus
on the science that you enjoylearning about the most, you
will come across people that canpoint you in the right direction
for not just learning more, butactually getting involved in the
science and being able to pushthe perimeter of what is known
and ultimately make discoveriesand discover things related to
(14:54):
what it is that you areinterested in.
Kate (14:56):
Just stay passionate about things. I have always loved
science. Science. But when itbecomes your job, you have to
remember to separate your lovefor something from your hatred
of a nine to five, or yourdislike for school or things
like that. So just kind oflooking back at what got me
(15:17):
passionate about science. Andwhat I really love helps me to
stay committed and stay driven.
Mohammed (15:23):
It's much more doable than you think. There are a lot
of challenges along the way. Andthen also, you do get paid for
your PhD, you don't have to payfor that. So I think that was,
that was something that really,I didn't realize until I started
working in a laboratory anddidn't know that was a thing.
And then also, I think that themost important thing is really
(15:44):
to make sure that you canmaintain good relationships with
your advisor, and with yourcolleagues, and then that you
also have like a good balanceoutside of work, because it
really is just like more of amarathon than anything. And I
think that transition from fromundergrad where everything did
feel like a race to kind ofslowing it down and just trying
(16:05):
to keep taking slow stepsforward was a challenge for me
initially.
Chip (16:10):
Yeah, dive in early as you can and try to find a place that
you can have freedom to play, tolearn and to do experiments. My
personal philosophy is withstudents is to really let them
take a stab at leadingexperiments and design
experiments.
Kyle (16:26):
If you really love what you're doing, keep going with
it. I know it's gonna be a lotof hard work, but the dedication
you put into it with anything inlife will really pay off later.
Lauren (16:35):
Definitely talk to your professors. I didn't know that
that was the thing that youcould do until one of my friends
told me that she was working insomeone's lab. And so it's like,
yeah, just go up and talk to aprofessor. They're normal
people, they have first names, alot of professors I know like to
go by their first names,actually. You know, a lot of
them are going to be really downto earth and also want to pass
on, like, I'm sure everyscientist had a previous
(16:57):
scientist that inspired themwhen they were a student. At
least for me, and a lot ofpeople I know, it's like wanting
to pass that forward. And justshowing that you're interested
is like all we need, it's likeyou don't have to know all this
stuff. You don't have to knowhow to do DNA extraction, you
don't need to know how to use Ror Python, I can teach you that.
But if you have the desire to doit, then you know, that's really
all we're looking for. And we'reall just a bunch of nerds
(17:18):
really. So we love sharingcommon interests. And you know,
what makes us passionate. So,you know, don't be afraid to I
guess show that side either. Youknow that I guess there's a
stereotype about scientistsbeing a certain way and being,
you know, only concerned abouttheir research and very serious
and very analytical, but a lotof us are really fun. We have
other outside hobbies, we havefandoms that we like to do
(17:40):
sports that we like to do. Andso just talk to a scientist and
figure out if it's for you.
Jason (17:46):
And I can't really top that so thank you very much to
Brianna, Chip, Jacob, Kate,Kyle, Lauren, and Mohamed for
letting me interview them. Thankyou for sharing a little bit
about themselves. And thank youto you all for listening. This
episode was a bit of anexperiment. So if you have
strong opinions about whether weshould do this again or not do
it again, go ahead and jump onthe Discord and let us know.
Link is atwww.gamingwithscience.net. You
(18:08):
can get the invite there, jumpon, talk to us. We really
friendly people. Get on & let usknow if there's something you
want us to do more of. And withthat, we'll go ahead and wrap it
up for now. Y'all have a greatweek, happy gaming and have fun
playing dice with the universe.This has been the gaming with
Science Podcast copyright 2024.Listeners are free to reuse this
(18:30):
recording for any non commercialpurpose as long as credit is
given to Gaming with Science.This podcast is produced with
support from the University ofGeorgia. All opinions are those
of the hosts and do not implyendorsement by the sponsors. If
you wish to purchase any of thegames we talked about, we
encourage you to do so throughyour friendly local game store.
Thank you and have fun playingdice with the universe.
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