News & Blog

Postdoc and grad student positions available in the Grewal Lab to study growth control in animal development

/ savrajgrewal

The lab is looking to recruit new postdocs and grad students. Our lab investigates how growth is controlled during animal development. We use a combination of molecular and genetic approaches to investigate the cell-cell signalling pathways and the genetic mechanisms that govern the control of cell, tissue and body growth in Drosophila. Our main focus to-date has been the conserved insulin and TOR kinase pathways, and understanding how they regulate cellular and animal metabolism to drive growth. Further information on our research can be found here. Recent publications can be found here.

POSTDOCS: applicants with a Ph.D. and strong background in developmental biology, genetics, or molecular biology are encouraged to apply. Interested individuals should send a CV and a short statement of research interests to grewalss@ucalgary.

GRAD STUDENTS: applicants with a strong undergraduate degree in any area related to the biological sciences are encouraged to apply. Interested individuals should send a CV and  a short statement of research interests to grewalss@ucalgary.

Books that educate, stimulate and inspire (part 3).

/ savrajgrewal

411prgf103l-_sx316_bo1204203200_Books that educate, stimulate and inspire (part 3).

Scientific research is portrayed as an objective pursuit, but it is always influenced by an array of subjective emotions – joy, frustration, rejection, validation, egotism, confidence, worry, friendship, competition, intuition, luck, success, failure. For better or worse, it is these emotions that often determine how discoveries are made and how science is communicated.

I enjoy reading books that delve into the stories behind research discoveries and that reveal the passion, politics and personalities that drive scientific research. I previously compiled some lists of books that I recommend (you can find the lists here and here). Here is a new list of more recent books I’ve read. I hope you enjoy these. Feel free to suggest others – I’m always looking for a good read.

An Essay of Science and Narcissism: How do high-ego personalities drive research in life sciences by Bruno Lemaitre. In this very enjoyable book, Bruno Lemaitre (a Drosophila researcher) gives us his view on how narcissism and ego influence the way modern science (primarily in the biological sciences) is conducted, judged and rewarded. I highly recommend this book – read it and in Bruno’s descriptions, you’ll recognize many prominent researchers in your field. Also keep this book in mind if you read any of the other books on this or my previous lists.

Natural Obsessions by Natalie Angier. During the early ’80s, Natalie Angier spent about a year in the labs of two prominent cancer researchers, Robert Weinberg and Michael Wigler, at a time when both labs were making major discoveries into oncogene function. This book is her account of that time. It’s an amazing book that shows the good (amazing science, great scientists), the bad (competitiveness, shitty mentoring) and ugly (ego, narcissism, sexism) of life in a research lab. Have things changed since the 80s? I’m not so sure, but we definitely need more books like this. Highly recommended!!

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. There have been lots of positive reviews of this great book. I agree with all of them.

A Feeling for the Organism by Evelyn Fox Keller. A detailed account of the life and career of Barbara McClintock. Evelyn Fox Keller does a great job in describing the struggles McClintock faced getting research positions and in discussing why it took so long for her discoveries about transposable elements to be accepted. Hint: sexism.

Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA by Catherine Brady. A very nice account of the life and career of Elizabeth Blackburn (written before she was awarded the Nobel prize). It does a great job describing the struggles she faced against gender discrimination, and also the political battles she faced regarding stem cell research when she was on the President’s Council on Bioethics during the Bush years.

Dorothy Hodgkin: A Life by Georgina Ferry.  A great account of the life of one of the great scientists of the last century and the only British female scientist to receive the Nobel Prize.

Life’s Great Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code by Matthew Cobb. Like  the superb ‘The Eighth Day of Creation” by Horace Freeland Judson, this excellent book by Cobb describes the period spanning the work that led to the discovery of the structure of DNA to the early days of molecular biology, when the processes of gene transcription and translation were just being described and understood. This book also goes a little further than Judson’s, and describes the implications of this ‘golden age of molecular biology’ for science and society now.

In Search of Memory: The emergence of a new science of mind by Eric Kandel. An enjoyable memoir from Kandel describing his early life and his research career – I refer you to Lemaitre’s book above. This book also includes a bizarre description of an event in young Kandel’s life  – what a perv.

p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code by Sue Armstrong. A lovely, clear description of the discovery and early research on p53. It does a great job describing the early work that tried to decipher whether p53 was actually an oncogene or tumor suppressor – a great account of how knowledge we take for granted now was not always so clear cut. A great book for grad students.

The Man in the Monkeynut Coat: William Astbury and the forgotten road to the double-helix by Kersten Hall. A very nice book on the life of William Astbury, an important structural biologists, whose role in the research leading up to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is often forgotten.

Life’s Blueprint: The science and art of embryo creation. by Benny Shilo. A lovely, layman’s account of the process of embryogenesis by Benny Shilo (another Drosophila researcher). The book juxtaposes images of developing embryos and organisms with Benny’s own beautiful photography such that the photos become visual metaphor for the developmental process.

Books that educate, stimulate and inspire (part 2).

/ savrajgrewal

Books that educate, stimulate and inspire (part 2).

Scientific research is portrayed as an objective pursuit, but it is always influenced by an array of subjective emotions – joy, frustration, rejection, validation, egotism, confidence, worry, friendship, competition, intuition, luck, success, failure. For better or worse, it is these forces that often determine how discoveries are made and how science is communicated.

I enjoy reading books that delve into the stories behind research discoveries and that reveal the passion, politics and personalities that drive scientific research. About a year ago, I compiled a list of books that I recommend (click here to see them). Here is a new list of more recent books I’ve read. I hope you enjoy these. Feel free to suggest others – I’m always looking for a good read.

Blue skies and bench space: Adventures in Cancer Research by Kathy Weston. A fantastic and enjoyable description of the science, scientists and personalities at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories in London, especially during the ‘70s and ‘80s, when the ICRF was at the forefront of research in developmental biology, cell cycle control, apoptosis and cancer. The book also serves as an excellent companion and comparison to “Life Illuminated” (below). You can also read the book free online here.

Life Illuminated: Selected Papers from Cold Spring Harbor
Volume 2, 1972–1994. An account of some of the key papers that emerged from CSHL at a time when the Laboratory was producing some of the key breakthroughs in our understanding of DNA replication, transcription, tumor viruses and cancer biology. Each paper has a commentary from one of the investigators involved in the work.

Paths to Innovation: Discovering Recombinant DNA, Oncogenes, and Prions, in One Medical School, Over One Decade. and Ambition and delight. by Henry Bourne. These are two enjoyable books from Henry Bourne. The first (Paths to Innovation) is a wonderful account of an exciting period in the history of UCSF, when the University recruited and fostered young, talented scientists who went on to make Nobel prize-winning fundamental discoveries in molecular and cellular biology. In the second book (Ambition and Delight) Henry Bourne provides an honest, enjoyable and often funny account of his career in academic research – an excellent book for young scientists embarking on a career in research.

Apprentice to genius. The Making of a Scientific Dynasty. By Robert Kanigel. A wonderful book that describes a dynasty of mentor-protégé relationships among a group of brilliant neuroscientists (Steve Brodie, Julius Axelrod, Sol Snyder, and Candace Pertall). It’s one of the best and most incredibly honest accounts of what scientific mentor-protégé relationships are really like. Highly recommended

Brave Genius: A Scientist, a Philosopher, and Their Daring Adventures from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize. By Sean B. Carroll An amazing account of the story of Jacques Monod and Albert Camus, two friends involved in the French Resistance during the Second World War, and who then went on to produce some of the greatest work in their respective fields (molecular biology and literature)

Ordinary geniuses. How Two Mavericks Shaped Modern Science. By Gino Segre. This enjoyable book tells the story of Max Delbruck and George Gamow, two friends who pioneered some of the most important breakthroughs in molecular biology and physics in the last century.

Laboratory Life. The Construction of Scientific Facts. By Bruno Latour. In this book, Bruno Latour, presents a sociological study of the process of lab research and scientific discovery. Although the study was conducted decades ago, there is a lot to learn from this book on how and why scientific research is organized the way it is. We need more books like this.

Entering an Unseen World. A Founding Laboratory and Origins of Modern Cell Biology (1910-1974) by Carol L Moberg. This enjoyable book describes the history of cell biology told through some of the pioneering discoveries made over the last century at the Rockefeller University

The Molecular Vision of Life. Caltech, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Rise of the New Biology by Lily E Kay. This books provides an interesting account of a period between the ‘30s and ‘50s when Caltech and the Rockefeller Foundation joined forces to foster the biology that ultimately would lead and inspire to rise of modern genetics and molecular biology. Interestingly, this work had its roots in an early eugenics program supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.

 

 

Postdoc and PhD positions available in the Grewal lab to study metabolism and growth control during animal development

/ savrajgrewal

The lab is looking to recruit new postdocs and grad students. Our lab investigates how growth is controlled during animal development. We use a combination of molecular and genetic approaches to investigate the cell-cell signalling pathways and the genetic mechanisms that govern the control of cell, tissue and body growth in Drosophila. Our main focus to-date has been the conserved insulin and TOR kinase pathways, and understanding how they regulate cellular and animal metabolism to drive growth. Further information on our research can be found here. Recent publications can be found here.

POSTDOCS: applicants with a Ph.D. and strong background in developmental biology, genetics, or molecular biology are encouraged to apply. Interested individuals should send a CV, a short statement of research interests, and three names of references to grewalss@ucalgary.

GRAD STUDENTS: applicants with a strong undergraduate degree in any area related to the biological sciences are encouraged to apply. Interested individuals should send a CV, a short statement of research interests, and three names of references to grewalss@ucalgary.

“Eighth day of Creation” for developmental biology?

/ savrajgrewal

“Eighth day of Creation” for developmental biology?

I’ve just posted a list of science books that I recommend for all molecular, cellular and developmental biologists. In this list I included the classic book “The Eighth Day of Creation: Makes of the Revolution in Biology” by Horace Freeland Judson.

The “Eighth Day” has become a classic for several reasons. First, the subject matter: the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA and the subsequent work in molecular biology rank as some of the important breakthroughs in 20th century science. Second, the personalities: an incredible group of unique, quirky, but ultimately brilliant scientists. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the writer, Horace Freeland Judson: Judson portrayed the science and scientists with great style and insight.

What could or would a modern “Eighth Day” look like? Certainly, there is plenty to write on the theme of the original book – molecular biology. But what about an “Eighth Day” for modern developmental biology? This is something I started to think about following a twitter conversation with @avinashtn. To my knowledge no such book exists. However, I think there is a fascinating story to tell – perhaps too much to tell (flies, fish, worms, screens, molecular genetics, and more) – and plenty of interesting characters and personalities. But who would write it? Who is the Judson of our time?