The PostDocs Forum

Postdoc Zoe Fonseca-Kelly is this month’s Featured Scientist. Aside from her postdoc position at the University of Pennsylvania, Zoe serves as Chair of the National Postdoctoral Association‘s Outreach Committee.

How did you first become interested in the science field?
I guess my scientific career began with what every budding scientist probably has as a child – a home chemistry set! That or the “experiments” in my mothers kitchen putting as many of her spices and baking soda in a glass and seeing what would happen! I am originally from Ireland and our school system is a bit different, by the end of high-school, we are essentially choosing our college major. Science was not really on my agenda until my final two years of high school when we sat for our entry exams for college and at that point I decided to do Science. The first two years in college are relatively general but I gravitated toward the biological sciences and by my 3^rd year decided to major in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. It covered a lot of areas and a lot of new subject fields at the time and just peaked my interest.

Please share a bit about your research: How did you choose the topic of your studies? What was your favorite project that you worked on?
I am a molecular biologist by trade, my PhD being in cancer research. Choosing my PhD I was attracted by the potential translational nature of my research, even though basic research is usually a long way from the bedside. As I look back, it has always been more translational work that has interested me the most. My favorite project was during part of my PhD where I was at the Beatson Laboratories in Glasgow, Scotland. There I did some work on a gene that we had identified as associated with melanoma progression, TSPY. I got to do my first set of mouse experiments and made some correlations between TSPY and human tumor specimens.

What are you currently working on?
Currently I am working as part of a small group whose main focus is optic neuritis at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. We are studying the mechanism of action of a number of drugs that have neuroprotective functions.

What is your favorite part of research and lab work? What is the worst part?
My favorite part of research is seeing something work that has a potential therapeutic role. The worst part is when things stop working for absolutely no reason. Picking yourself up and finding the energy to start again is always tough.

In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a scientist to be successful?
Patience, perseverance and a willingness to collaborate

Can you share any tips for lab management and organization?
I’m a list junkie – that and actually using a calendar can help you plan out your experiments and time so you actually end up with enough time to do your experiments and have a life.

How did you become involved with the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA)?
As soon as I moved to Philadelphia I became involved with the postdoctoral association at Thomas Jefferson University. After a year in that, and hearing about the NPA from several friends and colleagues, it was a natural progression to get involved. I volunteered to join a committee and somehow instead became Vice-Chair of the Outreach Committee! I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with L. David Finger, as Chair for the past 18 months. We have had a recent role change, but I remain excited as to what we can do for the NPA in the coming months.

NPA’s recent campaign involved getting in touch with U.S. Senators and Representatives and urging them to increase funds to the NIH training program which directly affects postdoc stipends, have you seen any immediate results or received any responses yet?
Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the NIH, mentioned our concerns during his testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee regarding the NIH budget.

Several postdocs have responded with concerns about losing jobs. In reality, increasing stipends will result in the loss of only 92 training positions of the 17000+ positions available.  (Here is the exact wording from the President’s Budget: “NIH will support 17,164 Full-Time Training Positions (FTTPs), which is 92 FTTPs below the FY 2010 level.”

What other efforts to improve postdoc conditions are being made?
We are continually striving to stay abreast of any developments and changes in policies across all sectors that may affect policies and address them as appropriate. We are continually striving to get an increased recognition of who postdocs are both within institutions and in the public forum – one of our main campaigns for this is National Postdoc Appreciation Week. This year it occurs from September 20-24^th 2010. Also next year we are organizing A Day on the Hill in conjunction with the 2011 Annual Meeting in Bethesda.  The NPA is focusing on data collection efforts with NSF, phd.org, the National Academies so that we can continually serve the needs of postdocs.

On the national level, we are visiting with Federal agencies and submitting letters regarding postdoc conditions. On the institutional level, we are providing support and resources for postdoc offices and associations. We also provide resources to postdocs all of which are available on our website. There are additional benefits if you are a full member.

What is your next step? Where do you plan to be in ten years?
My next step will probably be a career move out of bench science. Ideally I would like to work in something related to / directly involved with postdoctoral affairs. This is something that gets me out of bed in the morning and makes me tick! In 10 years, ideally I would like to be running a postdoctoral development office!

For more information about the NPA visit www.nationalpostdoc.org. Also follow @nationalpostdoc on Twitter.