#IAmScience

#IAmScience Marc Johnson

March 22, 2017 By Mary Jane Rogers in #IAmScience Tags: virology

By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC

“#IAmScience because the mysteries of the natural world aren’t going to solve themselves.”

Since the third grade, Marc Johnson never wanted to be anything else but a mad scientist. What began as experimenting with sprouting seeds and chemistry sets has blossomed into a career in virology. Specifically, he studies the “moves and countermoves” of viral components, a few hundred thousand at time! His advice for people wondering if science is for them: “If you’ve ever stayed up until 4 in the morning to finish a puzzle, you might be a scientist.”

#IAmScience Lloyd Sumner

March 15, 2017 By Mary Jane Rogers in #IAmScience Tags: biochemistry, Metabolomics

By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC

“#IAmScience because I have an infinite curiosity and we have some powerful toolsets that I am confident will make a difference, not just in plant biochemistry, but in many scientific arenas.”

What change you would like to see in this world because of your research?

“I’m a technology junkie at heart. We are developing tools that can potentially advance many areas, and not just my own personal research program. I want to continue to build upon these tools and also apply them in a meaningful manner. On the plant side, I want to discover and characterize many new biochemical pathways, and use this information to make stronger, healthier and more productive plants. I also want to apply these cutting-edge tools to an ever expanding set of problems; i.e. cancer, veterinary medicine, nutrition, etc. I’m confident that every day when I get up, by the end of that day, week or month that we are making that difference.” -Lloyd Sumner

#IAmScience Scott Peck

March 8, 2017 By Mary Jane Rogers in #IAmScience Tags: biochemistry, plant science

By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC

“#IAmScience because I want to discover. I want to ‘see’ – by understanding – things that others haven’t ‘seen’ before.”

Every day we make decisions based off on what we encounter in the environment. Plants do the same thing. Scott Peck, a Chicago-area native, is a biochemist who studies how plants translate information they receive about the environment (such as changes in light and temperature) into their own chemical “decisions”, also known as signal transduction. For him, it’s about making biology into a puzzle. Put the right pieces together, and you find ways to create more resistant crops or more effective antibiotics. With today’s technology and Peck’s passion for plant communication, anything could be possible.

#IAmScience Debbie Allen

February 22, 2017 By Mary Jane Rogers in #IAmScience Tags: graduate research

By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC

“#IAmScience because during their journey all graduate students deserve expertise, care and advocacy from graduate coordinators.”

As Coordinator of Graduate Life Science Initiatives, Debbie Allen facilitates several activities supporting graduate recruitment, training, mentoring and career services. In other words, she’s been the “mama bear” to many life sciences graduate students over the years, and is passionate about student advocacy. To Debbie, while understanding the hard science her students study is important, supporting those students through their challenges and triumphs, and guiding them closer to their goals motivates her every day.

#IAmScience Arianna Soldati

February 15, 2017 By Mary Jane Rogers in #IAmScience Tags: volcanology

By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC

“#IAmScience because through my research, I can expand the bubble of human knowledge and I think that’s a pretty amazing thing. We don’t have a volcano, so we make our own.”

Imagine stirring rock. Sounds impossible? Not to Arianna Soldati, a volcanology expert conducting #MizzouResearch on the viscosity of rock. By heating and then stirring rocky material in a machine that acts like a miniature volcano, she identifies its viscosity, or thickness. As someone who has always been interested in volcanos, she is passionate about saving people from dangerous eruptions. “By knowing the signs, people are more likely to get to safety in time.”