What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your research
I am a research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center. I use a combination of biochemical and cell-based approaches to investigate how cells respond to agents that damage the chromosomes and how malfunction of these repair mechanisms contribute to cancer of neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, I study how a molecular pathway termed homologous recombination, an universal biological mechanism, maintains the genome’s stability.
What are you excited about in science communication?
As laboratory scientists, we spend most of our time trying to make an impact by discovery-making. We hope our findings could move science forward or provide the foundations for new technologies. However, making discoveries without the ability to share their importance to various audiences severely diminishes our work’s potential. I believe this is why science communication is critical for highlighting the value of our work.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellow program?
I believe preprints achieve many science publishing goals, but within a much shorter time frame, while making science more accessible, open, and transparent. I advocate for their adoption, and ASAPbio is the leading organization raising awareness in biological sciences.
Ask me about...
History, cooking, fermentation and baking!