Dr. Ravi Rajani is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He is certified in General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, and Vascular Surgery. Some of his clinical interests include vascular trauma, carotid artery disease, and lower extremity limb salvage. Having served as the principal investigator for multiple trauma-specific clinical trials, Dr. Rajani’s research interests include incorporation of endovascular techniques for the management of vascular trauma.

Zoology involves studying the diverse spectrum of organisms in the animal kingdom, but Dr. Justin Gerlach finds his attention especially drawn to snails. Having completed his degree in Zoology at Wadham College, Oxford with a subsequent Ph.D. there in 1994, Dr. Gerlach continued his studies by moving to the University of Cambridge. Since then, he has also taken on the role of coordinator of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Invertebrate Red List Authority. Dr. Gerlach recently returned from an expedition to the Society Islands and has kindly agreed to discuss his findings and his life as a zoologist.

Nearly 850 million visitors come to American museums each year, according to the American Alliance of Museums. These visitors see the many colorful, historic, and informative exhibits, but few see the important behind-the-scenes work that keeps the exhibits running. This is the job of the conservator.

In his office, tucked away in a sixth floor laboratory in the Evans Biomedical Research Center, Dr. Andrew Henderson shared his non-linear path into a career researching infectious disease. Dr. Henderson is an Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and Assistant Dean of the Graduate Medical Sciences division. 

Working with animals and saving their lives is a job that inspires many; but this means that getting into veterinary school is very competitive. In both the US and the UK, universities require a large amount of previous work experience in animal handling and shadowing vets before even applying. However, there are large differences between qualifying for acceptance into veterinary school in the two countries.

Nancie Petrucelli is a genetic counselor with the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. She specializes in genetic counseling related to cancer, and also serves as an associate professor of oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She holds a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. James Reynolds is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University. He also boasts an extensive, successful career in the field of pharmacology and neurotoxicology, and for the past 25 years, his central research focus has been the effects of alcohol on brain function. In particular, his current research project focuses on utilizing eye movement patterns to detect brain abnormalities predictive of developmental delays and brain injury in children.

Finding a career that embodies your interests, goals and values is difficult. For some people that means long hours of discovery in a research lab. For others, the most fulfilling career focuses on interacting with the public, or teaching students. Clinical microbiology is a fascinating interdisciplinary career that masterfullyblends these three fields into one distinct package. To learn more about this niche occupation, I interviewed Dr. Prameet Sheth, PhD, MSc, a clinical microbiologist at the Kingston General Hospital (KGH). 

Dr. Anne Croy is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University. She also holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Reproduction, Development, and Sexual Function, which is reflective of the outstanding contributions she has made to the field of reproductive biology. While her current research interests lie with conditions that affect human pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, she boasts a long career of research in immunology as well.  Currently, Dr. Croy is hanging up her lab coat as she bids farewell to over 30 years in research and heads into retirement.

Author:  Eleanor Sheekey

Dr Jean-Léon Maître is a group leader in the Genetics and Developmental Biology unit at Institute Curie in Paris, one of the leading medical and biophysical research centres in the world. Dr Maître earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, and the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria.

Author:  Niamh Higgins

JYI recently sat down with the vivacious Irish evolutionary biologist Dr. Mary O’Connell to talk about her work, her recent expedition to Peru and what traits undergraduates need to succeed in this field. 

Author:  Hriday Bhambhvani

From upstate New York, to New Mexico, Texas, and finally Alabama, Dr. David Hilton has been around the block to say the least. Hilton completed his doctoral studies in applied physics at Cornell University under the guidance of Dr. Chung Tang and is now an associate professor of physics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Unlike many Ph.D. level researchers, Hilton is actively involved in undergraduate education. He is the sole lecturer for the honors general physics classes at UAB – a class lauded by many a student – and has spearheaded the movement for honors education in introductory physics courses.  

Author:  Maria Zagorulya

JYI spoke with Julia Ablaeva, a Russian lab technician working at University of Rochester. Ablaeva tells us what it’s like to be the power horse of the research lab and how she got there. Today she performs cutting-edge research in cancer and ageing in the laboratory of Dr. Gorbunova and Dr. Seluanov.

Author:  Emma Loewe

One morning in 2004, molecular geneticist Lisa Satterwhite was sitting at her office in Duke Hospital’s Cardiology Department when she came across a newspaper article that would ultimately shape the trajectory of her research. Lisa was struck by the story of Carlitos Herrera-Candelario, a child born without arms or legs. Carlitos was a victim of tetra-amelia, a rare disorder characterized by missing limbs, and he also suffered spinal and lung deformities

Author:  Aiman Faruqi

Dr. Ryan Mills, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, and the Department of Human Genetics, at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Mills earned his Bachelor’s degree in biology at Wabash College, his Ph.D. in bioinformatics at Georgia Tech, and was a postdoctoral fellow at both Emory University and Harvard Medical School. His research is focused on developing algorithms for identifying structural variation in human genomes and assessing their role in various disease phenotypes

Author:  Anastasiya Maryukova

My career started with doing an honors undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, double majoring in biochemistry and biomedical sciences. During my third and fourth year summers I worked as a high school biology tutor/teacher at Atomic Energy Chalk River Laboratories (AECL). It was an enjoyable experience and it gave me work experience during my undergraduate years, which was important for making future connections. After completing my B.Sc., I proceeded to a combined MSc/Ph.D degree at University of Toronto, specializing in medical bio physics.

Author:  Maria Zagorulya

I went to undergrad at the University of Toronto, so I did my Bachelor’s of Science at the University of Toronto and then I did my Master’s of Science degree, also at the University of Toronto and then things get strange. I went to the University of Paris in France, and I was in a graduate program there for about a year and a half but I ran out of money for one thing and also the lifestyle was a little bit too much, I wasn’t sleeping because I was staying awake in Paris every night.

Author:  Belinda Ongaro

Dr. Jeff McIntyre initially completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta. At the turn of the century, however, Dr. McIntyre began pursuing a new passion. He attained his Doctor of Chiropractic at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto and later received a certificate in Graston technique at CMCC and a certificate in Medical Acupuncture at McMaster University. He now applies his diverse skills to developing personalized chiropractic treatment programs for his patients at Park Place Chiropractic in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

Author:  Anastasiya Maryukova

Nadezda (Nadia) Maryukova, a former mathematics professor at the Bryansk State University for over twenty years and a present-day private tutor, believes that a deep interest and passion for the subject are the beginning requirements to become a professor.

Author:  Aiman Faruqi

“Since the discovery of the atom, chemistry has tried to explain phenomena at the atomic level. This motivated the development of theories that could predict molecular structure and behavior. Due to the immensely small size of atoms, however, experimental techniques have trouble seeing these details—thus computational chemistry stepped in to directly simulate the properties of very small things,” says Dr. Paul Zimmerman, a computational chemist at the University of Michigan.

Author:  Maria Zagorulya

Dr. Ronnie Guillet, M.D., Ph.D., is a neonatologist at Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital. She also teaches and researches neonatal brain development and injury at the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, NY. Dr. Guillet earned her Bachelor’s degree in biology at SUNY at Albany, her Ph.D. in biophysics at University of Rochester and  her M.D. at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Author:  Belinda Ongaro

Mrs. Sandra Eberhardt-Page is currently a Biology teacher at Archbishop O'Leary Highschool in Edmonton, Alberta. She attended Concordia and the University of Alberta and holds a Bachelor of Education. She has been teaching for 17 years.

Author:  Maria Zagorulya

At the most critical times they come to your rescue. They always know what to do. Never afraid, never hesitant, they quickly size up the scene, assess the situation, make a firm decision and act immediately: the adeptness is astonishing. You trust them with your life. Skillful, confident and always prepared, paramedics are the superheroes of today.