The PostDocs Forum

PhD student Sarah Chow is our Featured Scientist of the Month. Read Sarah’s blog, Putting My Heart Into Science and make sure to follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn

How did you first become interested in Science?
Playing sports was a huge part of my childhood. As I got older, I became fascinated by how the human body worked. This led me to pursue an undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University’s School of Kinesiology.

During my undergrad, I volunteered as a Kinesiologist helping rehabilitate cardiovascular patients. This made me realize I wanted to dig deeper and learn about the human body’s physiological mechanisms that we usually take for granted.

How did you first decide your area of research?
Thanks to my experience with cardiac rehabilitation, I realized I wanted to focus on the cardiovascular system. I’ve been very fortunate that my supervisor, Dr. Eric Accili is an expert on pacemaker channels of the heart. Thanks to his expertise and guidance, I decided to investigate these ion channels in collaboration with Dr. Filip Van Petegem, an expert crystallographer.

What is your current research about?
Individuals with cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal beating of the heart) can suffer debilitating or life-threatening conditions because the heart lacks a sufficient supply of oxygen. Though successful in treating cardiac arrhythmias, current medications produce side effects that can prevent patients from living their normal everyday lives.

My research focuses on helping to design an alternative pharmaceutical solution for patients with cardiac arrhythmias by investigating the relationship between the heart’s pacemaker channel and a molecule called cyclic AMP.

What is your favourite part of research and lab work? What is the worst part?
To me research is like being a detective: I gather and investigate evidence to understand the whole picture of what happens. It’s exciting and rewarding because each piece of data leads to new and unexplored scientific territory that will ultimately help people lead more healthy and productive lives.

However, research can also be like running a marathon whose finish line is unclear: there is an end but you’re not sure how long it will take to get there. Sometimes, I’ll spend days preparing an experiment designed to supply crucial data. But if it doesn’t work, I not only have to spend the time figuring out what went wrong, but also meticulously prepare another experiment and try again without knowing if I’ll succeed.

In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a scientist to be successful?

A successful scientist needs to be an effective communicator as well as curious. Because of science’s exploratory nature, curiosity is the engine that drives research and determination when setbacks occur. While important, a scientist’s passion for their research can only sustain a project for so long. Science is a collaborative effort that requires input, feedback, and funding from many different sources. Being able to effectively communicate mean being able to share your passion and inspire others to believe in your research.

Can you share any tips for lab management and organization?
Graduate students seldom them, but weekly meetings are a great way to ensure everyone in the lab is on the same page. Meetings are pro-active, providing the opportunity to identify issues in the lab and collaborating on solutions that work for everyone.

I always feel more accomplished when working towards a goal. So I find keeping a to do list is a great way to organize experiments while providing a good overview of the day or week.

What is your next step? Where do you plan to be in ten years?
I plan to be in a job where I have the opportunity to educate the public about current research and the impact it will have on their lives. Also, I hope to play a more active role in science and advocate for the importance of scientific research.