Spotlighting Science PhD candidates

It’s scientifically proven that scientists are hot. Here are five PhD students at Victoria University of Wellington who are researching some pretty fascinating science-y shit. Big brain energy. 

Sahir Hussain (he/him)

Hola! I’m Sahir. I’m a PhD student in Neuroscience, which is the most meta science ever because it's brains trying to understand how brains work. It’s like I’ve been given the latest phone and I have to break down how it functions and interacts with the outside world with zero prior knowledge, and I think there is something inherently cool about that.

My research looks at how a father’s drinking before conception affects the development of their children. While a father does not carry the baby during pregnancy, alcohol has the ability to disrupt gene expression in the sperm, which may cause developmental problems in the child. I’m trying to look at what changes are taking place in the offspring’s brain and their related behaviours, and whether these “hangovers” are seen in the grandchildren as well.

Favourite lab technique: Asking other people for help, particularly Bry and Alex ;)

Favourite science podcast: Smooth Brain Society (selfish plug)

Bryony (she/her)

Kia ora! I’m Bry, and I’m a PhD candidate in Cell and Molecular Bioscience. My research is also Neuroscience-based, so I spend my days contemplating how little I really know about the brain. I’m trying to understand what goes on in the brain in disorders like depression and anxiety. We already know that serotonin and the brain’s energy supply are really important, and I’m trying to link these two aspects together. This means I’m studying mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) in the brain and if they differ with altered serotonin signalling or between sexes. Every now and then, I get to do experiments that produce pretty pictures, and in this one you can see all the mitochondria stained red in a brain section.

My favourite (and least favourite) part about research is exposing sex and gender biases that persist in science. It’s 2022, can anyone tell me why people are still only studying men? 

Favourite place to cry in the lab: PCR set up room

Least favourite lab technique: Western blot

Alex Lister (she/her)

Hi everyone! I’m Alex, a Cell and Molecular Bioscience PhD student. Doing postgrad in Bio was definitely the path for me; there is still so much we don’t know about our own bodies! Science provides us tools to answer tricky questions, but we also need creativity and collaboration to use them well. The more people that get involved with science and ask questions, the closer we get to those answers.

My research focuses on the interaction between serotonin signalling and the immune system. You may be familiar with serotonin in terms of mental health and SSRIs, but did you know it’s also a major player in early brain development? I’m studying whether serotonin signalling is affected by a maternal infection, i.e. if a pregnant person had a virus (looking @ you Covid-19), does that change how the foetal brain develops? To do this, I use an animal model treated with a virus look-a-like (to trigger the immune system), then assess the expression of serotonin-related genes, visualise brain connectivity (such as the neurons in my photo!), and study offspring behaviour.

Fave Lab Technique: Microscopy!

Fave Science Podcast: The Habitat (Sorry Sahir, Smooth Brain Society is good too)

Kate Witt (she/her)

Kia ora! I’m Kate and I’m a PhD candidate in Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience. I’m trying to understand some of the biological and genetic mechanisms underlying certain symptoms in psychiatric disorders, so that we can develop better treatment. I specifically examine the behaviour of rats with a genetic reduction in the dopamine D1 receptor. In other words, I get to play with rats all day and see how they act. Like Bryony, I’ve found a huge sex bias in the literature with hardly any research examining the D1 receptor in females, even thought we know dopamine interacts with estrogen. We (all scientists) need to do research that includes all sexes! Males aren’t the only ones struggling with psychiatric disorders and yet that’s what (most) research focuses on (animal models, specifically). 

All of the misinformation surrounding Covid-19 and vaccines highlights the importance of understanding science. Unfortunately, science tends to be very inaccessible to the general population—whether it’s journals that require an expensive subscription or the use of terminology that only experts understand. Our role as scientists, neuroscientists in particular, is to uncover the inner workings of our brain and to make our research accessible for all. 

Favourite lab technique: effort-based learning paradigms (rats are so smart!) 

Favourite Netflix science doco: Human Nature

Zoe Smeele (she/her)

Hi I’m Zoe, a second year PhD student studying a honey bee parasite, Varroa destructor, and a virus it transmits to bees, deformed wing virus (DWV). Together this parasite and pathogen represent a severe threat to the beekeeping industry globally. My thesis is focused on testing the use of a control strategy for DWV using a molecule called double-stranded RNA, which can be used to inhibit expression of DWV genes in a sequence specific way through a pathway called RNA interference. 

I decided to study viruses, because they are absolutely everywhere and incredibly cool. We think of them as being “bad” or “nasty,” but they can be essential for some organisms to live! We don’t know that much about them and I think the importance of understanding their dynamics and how they evolve should kind of go without saying. 

Favourite thing about working with bees: Watching the new bees chew their way out of the cell! It never gets old! 

Favourite thing to listen to in the lab: Recently it has been the new Florence + The Machine album and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. 

A new bee with deformed wings, a symptom of DWV, and a varroa mite on her abdomen.