We’re taking time over the following weeks to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us every week to learn more about our early career scientist advocates.

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Patelunas
Career Development Subcommittee
University of Connecticut

Research Interests

Waddington explained developmental specification as a ball rolling down a hill; as the ball rolls, it becomes committed to a trajectory and cannot go back up the hill to change its path. My research examines the trajectory and commitment of muscle progenitors in the mouse limb during embryonic development. As the limb bud grows, muscle progenitors proliferate and begin to differentiate into muscle fibers, and the muscle stem cell is specified from this population. These adult stem cells, termed satellite cells, are essential in postnatal muscle hypertrophy and adult muscle regeneration. Understanding how this essential stem cell is genetically specified during development is key to recapitulating muscle regeneration through therapeutics. My work uses transgenic mouse models to investigate the necessity and sufficiency of genes such as MyoD and Myf5 for satellite cell creation.

As a PhD-trained scientist, you have many career options. What career paths interest you the most?

As I’ve moved through graduate school and broadened my view of the scientific enterprise, three careers have stood out as possibilities: consulting, policy, and entrepreneurship. What these three roles have in common is the opportunity to help direct scientific progress from a high level.

If I were to pursue consulting, I’d be interested in finding a life science consulting agency that works with biotechnology companies to evaluate product development and market strategy. The fast-paced environment, short-term projects, and ability to stay connected to cutting-edge biology attracts me.

If I were to pursue policy, I’d be interested in the administrative responsibilities of funding agencies, such as program development and strategic plan design. Public agencies such as the NIH and NSF are constantly evaluating their programs and seeking the best way to support research. During my public policy curriculum at UConn and my time as President of the Graduate Student Senate, I’ve enjoyed analyzing program funding and providing recommendations for project direction, and these experiences have shown me that policy could be a good fit.

If I were to pursue entrepreneurship, the possibilities are endless. I’ve participated in entrepreneurship programs at UConn for my genetics startup ShrimpBrite, and new ideas are always percolating. What I enjoy most about the startup environment is that you have to take on many roles at any given time. I like the potential for society and science to power innovation.

In addition to your research, how else do you want to advance the scientific enterprise?

I want to build community as long as I’m involved in the scientific enterprise, and I envision contributing to two important sectors: innovation and funding. I believe innovation comes through interdisciplinary collaboration. My own startup, ShrimpBrite, arose from merging my past experience and hobby of aquaculture with my current work in mouse genetics. The greatest innovations often come when experts in disparate fields share a passing conversation that sparks a collaboration. I hope to facilitate interactions that foster this kind of growth.

Community building around funding could come in many forms. As competition for public funds increases and the pool of funding decreases, new ways to fund basic science need to be developed. I envision entrepreneurship and philanthropy playing large roles. Facilitating collaboration between basic researchers and business entrepreneurs opens new funding avenues through angel investment and venture capital. Similarly, private foundations might be interested in funding projects that contribute to their mission, some of which could align with basic research.

As a leader within the Genetics Society of America, what do you hope to accomplish?

Serving on the Career Development Subcommittee provides me with a unique community building opportunity: reaching out to non-academic scientists and interviewing them for the Decoding Life blog series. The inclusion of non-academic scientists within GSA is essential to furthering the Society’s goals. I hope to also bring my Career Development Subcommittee experience to GSA conferences by using knowledge I gain from the professionals I meet to provide outcome-oriented skill programming. The GSA currently engages in professional development for graduate students and postdocs, and I want to help expand it.

Previous leadership experience

Contact

,
View all posts by Editorial Staff »

Read more in

  • Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Julio Molina Pineda 

    We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Julio Molina Pineda  Policy and Advocacy University of Arkansas Research Interest  My research interests focus on using model organisms to genetically dissect complex traits related to human disease. My…

  • Peiwei Chen

    Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Peiwei Chen

    We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA’s Early Career Scientist Committees. Join us to learn more about our early career scientist advocates. Peiwei Chen Accessibility Subcommittee California Institute of Technology Research Interest Far from a harmonious place, the genome is a battleground, where every bit of DNA fights for inheritance and…

  • #Dros23 GSA Poster Award winners

    We are pleased to announce the GSA Poster Award winners from the 64th Annual Drosophila Research Conference! Undergraduate and graduate student members of the GSA were eligible for the awards, and a hard-working team of postdocs volunteered their time as judges. Congratulations to all! Undergraduate Students 1st Place: Sofia Karter Lopez, University of Toronto “Rab11 mediates E-cadherin recycling during…

  • Congratulations to the Fall 2022 DeLill Nasser Awardees!

    GSA is pleased to announce the recipients of the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics for Fall 2022! Given twice a year to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, DeLill Nasser Awards support attendance at meetings and laboratory courses. The award is named in honor of DeLill Nasser, a long-time GSA supporter and National Science Foundation…

  • GENETICS & G3 editors

    New editors join GENETICS, G3 editorial boards

    Several new editors are joining the GSA Journals. We’re excited to welcome Ricardo Zayas to the GENETICS editorial board under the Molecular Genetics of Development section, and on the G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics board, we welcome Polly Campbell, Kevin Vogel, Joe Parker, and Ricardo Mallarino. Ricardo Zayas Associate Editor Ricardo Zayas is a Professor of Biology at…

  • Worms and Flies Provide Key Clues to Medical Mystery

    This article is part of a series of posts outlining the history and impact of research in experimental organisms. The series is developed in collaboration with the GSA Public Communications and Engagement Committee. By the time Bertrand Might was six months old, it was clear something was amiss. His muscles weren’t developing normally; he was…

  • Congratulations to the 2023 Early Career Leadership Program Cohort!

    The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is excited to announce the latest cohort of student, postdoc, and early-career research leaders joining the Early Career Leadership Program.  Participants receive training and mentoring while serving on committees charged with understanding the needs, interests, concerns, and challenges of early career scientist members of the GSA. As part of…

  • 64th Annual Drosophila Research Conference March 1–5, 2023 Chicago, IL and online

    GSA LOCI: Local Outreach Community Initiatives @ GSA Conferences

    Highlights: Local Outreach Community Initiatives (LOCI): The Genetics Society of America is committed to supporting the communities of the host cities of our conferences. This new year, we are excited to reconnect with our GSA community in meaningful ways within and beyond our existing programming. The GSA membership has created a caring and supportive environment…

  • Headshots of the 5 elected members of the GSA Board of Directors on a black background.

    New members of the GSA Board of Directors: 2023–2025

    We are pleased to announce the election of five new leaders to the GSA Board of Directors: 2023 Vice President/2024 President Mariana Wolfner Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow My research has focused on the genes and pathways that mediate sexual development and reproduction, primarily in Drosophila. From…

  • Lance David Miller

    Lance David Miller: Lighting Your Own Fire by Finding the Right Resources

    By Daniel J. Gironda In the Paths to Science Policy series, we talk to individuals who have a passion for science policy and are active in advocacy through their various roles and careers. The series aims to inform and guide early career scientists interested in science policy. This series is brought to you by the…

  • Graça Almeida-Porada: The Importance of Communication in a Technologically Advancing World

    By Daniel J. Gironda In the Paths to Science Policy series, we talk to individuals who have a passion for science policy and are active in advocacy through their various roles and careers. The series aims to inform and guide early career scientists interested in science policy. This series is brought to you by the…