36 The Young Darwinian The articles here illustrate how diverse My parents are my heroes. They are and inspiring curiosity can be, and how both passionate scientists, and my it stimulated these people to become sister and I grew up in an environment professional scientists or engineers. surrounded by science. My parents exposed me to many interesting and Dr Chiara Pazzagli knowledgeable people, as well as Curious researcher in biomedicine and interesting places. They opened my drug discovery mind to the world, and they taught me to explore every path with freedom, Key words: passion and curiosity. falling stars, 2. When and why did you decide to cells, choose science as a career, labyrinths particularly what or who inspired Curious you? Did you have any family connections to careers in science? Even though I was surrounded by science, I was no good at maths, people physics or chemistry at school. When I Age: 35 years finished college I didn’t want to study Novartis Institutes for BioMedical science at all, but rather become a Research - NIBR journalist or a psychologist. I tried Translational Medicine different faculties, which were all Novartis Campus WSJ-386.12.48.29 uninteresting to me. One day I CH-4056 Basel Switzerland attended by chance, with a friend, a Email: [email protected] biology lesson at the University, where a passionate Professor stated that ‘a cell is the smallest entity capable of its Ten questions own life, and you can think of it as the Be curious! 1. What made you curious when smallest, but infinitive, Universe’. At you were young, and did you this exact moment I realized I was in have any heroes who influenced the right place, ready and curious to you? For example, is there a learn more about Nature. person, place, event, or 3. Where did you grow up, and what moment that influenced was your educational path? or changed your way of thinking? I grew up in the beautiful city of Florence, in Italy. I carried out my With my family, we used university studies there too, becoming to lie down in the garden a scientist in 2011, with a thesis based watching falling stars on rare diseases. During my studies I during the warm went on a summer exchange to summer nights in Washington DC, at the National Tuscany, and I used to Institute of Health, where I performed be stunned by the my first research as a scientist. I then vastness of the sky moved to Germany for my PhD, where and those sparkling I defended my thesis in Molecular stars. Also, one day - I was Medicine in 2014. 12 back then - my dad came back from work, bringing with 4. How has your career developed him petri dishes. My sister after university, and how was and I were allowed to put it funded? our hands in them, just for During my final years at the University I fun. The following morning, realized I wanted to carry out research my dad brought the into Rare Diseases, being affected by dishes back from the lab, one myself. I wanted to commit to a where they incubated for topic that was poorly explored, to two weeks. He let us contribute meaningfully to science, and watch what developed to help patients. My journey to achieve on the medium of the my dream brought me to Germany, dishes – different bacteria and where my research, conferences and fungus. Everything that was on travel exchanges were mainly funded our dirty hand, invisible to the by the Excellence Programs SGBM and naked eye, was now the DFG, the German Research displayed in colorful foundation, or by other awards that I patterns. All those achieved. Finally, in 2015, I landed at mysteries of the infinitive Novartis in Basel, where I am big, and the infinitive small, collaborating with international teams fascinated me. I think and experts to develop new treatments developed my interest in for patients with rare diseases, or Nature back then. other unmet medical needs. Issue 1 January 2018 The Young Darwinian 37 5. Have you had any break-though to help the surgery! Even if this meeting e) Mascalchi, M. et al . 2017. Circulating moments in your research? If so was very successful, and relevant for tumor cells and microemboli can what were they, and how did they the trial, I have to say it was quite an differentiate malignant and benign affect your development? unusual experience, which I am not pulmonary lesions. J Cancer. 8(12):2223- My initial experiments were a mess. looking forward to repeat. 2230. DOI: 10.7150/jca.18418. Very few worked, and I had to spend 9. List six key publications (not eCollection 2017. A liquid biopsy is the several nights and weekends in the necessarily yours), and explain why sampling and analysis of blood. This lab. Also, being far from home, and you have chosen them. technique is mainly used as a immersed in an entirely new cultural a) Saiki, R.K. et al . 1988. Primer-directed diagnostic and monitoring tool for setting, making new friends, and enzymatic amplification of DNA with a diseases such as cancer, with the providing good performance in my thermostable DNA polymerase. Science added benefit of being largely non- research, was not always easy. But I 239 (4839),487-491. The PCR invasive. This procedure can thus be worked hard, and became more (polymerase chain reaction) is a very performed more frequently, to skilled with time. The support of my special technique that allows you to monitor relapse or the efficiency of family and new friends kept my make an enormous number of copies cancer treatments over time. motivation high. I have learned a lot DNA extracted from the organism's 10. What advice would you give a from all those stressful times, which cells. PCR is one of the ‘Eureka’ curious young mind? Imagine your turned into great positive changes. discoveries, as it is very simple, and is ten year old self, if you started They’ve taught me a lot, and made me used for so many things, such as again! Is there a big unanswered stronger. Finally, in 2017, I had my paternity testing, screening for genetic question today? research published in an important disorders, criminal investigations, or Science is very exciting, and offers a journal, with one of my fluorescent to identify cancers and pathogens. wide and interdisciplinary area to cells on the cover page! b) Herb, B.R. 2014. Epigenetics as an work in. It has many unexplored 6. What do you regard as your most answer to Darwin's ‘special difficulty’. topics to be investigated, many important discoveries and Front Genet. 5, 321. DOI: innovative technologies to use and inventions, and why? 10.3389/fgene.2014.00321. Organisms implement. There’s space for I think my most important discoveries with the same genome can respond everyone. However, I think it’s were achieved by observing living cells differently to their environment, and important to acknowledge that under the microscope, recording them develop different phenotypes. This sometimes there’s a lot of in time-lapse while they moved into a phenomenon is called epigenetic, and competition and poor collaboration petri dish. I discovered that some cells allows organisms to respond between scientists. Don’t let them prefer to adhere and move on special successfully to evolution and survival obstacle your curiosity, or push you substrates, and they can even acquire hurdles. The authors describe what away from your dreams and scientific the ability to walk and jump, one on top happens to honey bee’s larvae during interests. Take your risks and follow of the other if they are missing some their development. All larvae are your path with integrity and by anchoring proteins. (Pazzagli, C., et al ., genetically the same. However if a larva seeking for collaboration. 2017. Absence of the Integrin α3 Subunit is fed with the royal jelly it turns into a Induces an Activated Phenotype in Human queen, able to reproduce. If not, the Keratinocytes. J Invest Dermatol. larvae become sterile workers. So food 137(6):1387-1391. DOI: 10.1016/j.jid. is able to interfere with the differential 2017.01.018. Epub 2017 Feb 3.) development of reproductive organs! 7. Can you think of anything that c) Abbott, B.P. et al . 2017. (LIGO Scientific could have done better, and do you Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration). have any regrets? GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Actually, I don’t have major regrets. Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Working in the field of rare diseases, Inspiral. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 161101 – which I really like, is very stimulating to 16. This publication is an example of Curiosity inspires, discovert reveals me. But I also find it very challenging, as international teamwork, and a massive the topic is poorly explored, and there effort from scientists from all over the are not many knowledgeable scientists world. For the first time in history, after that can support you. They are also many years of difficult research and rare! Thus, such research leaves a lot of experimental limitations, they could space for creativity and imagination. But detect gravitational waves originating it can also bring you to a halt, and a bit in the space from two merging stars. of isolation. I would have liked to discuss d) Wilmut, I. 2013. A tribute to Keith my research with a broader team of Campbell: the birth of the first clone of scientists, and brainstorm how we an adult vertebrate, ‘Dolly’ the sheep. could apply the discoveries to patients.