The Lonely Pipette : helping scientists do better science

Latest Episodes:

TLP #20 : Have you tried multi-plexing ? - George Church Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we talk to George Church about his successful career in DNA repair and his entrepreneurial adventures translating research findings into biotech companies

George proudly describes himself as a biologist-engineer
He ponders whether his dyslexia may have helped him by making him realize he was different from others when he was growing up
He looks for projects in ‘exponential fields’ that combine pure scientific interest, technology breakthroughs and bring societal benefit.
George cautions against using the word ‘impossible’
He talks about how he has contributed to scientific and technology revolutions
He emphasizes the important of considering ethics, safety and security at the outset of ambitious science projects
George remembers how he reacted to having his genome sequenced and speculates about the future of digital genomics and NFTs
When recruiting, he looks for people that are ‘nice’ and have deep knowledge in at least two different fields
George gets up at 4:30 a.m. and his head is immediately whizzing with new ideas
He tells us how much he learns from his grandchildren (and even mends their party dresses)

He mentioned these projects, institutions, companies

Harvard Medical School : https://hms.harvard.edu/
Duke University: https://duke.edu/
Harvard University : https://www.harvard.edu/
NIH Brain Initiative : https://braininitiative.nih.gov/
NIH Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) : https://www.genome.gov/Funded-Programs-Projects/Centers-of-Excellence-in-Genomic-Science
Wyss Institute : https://wyss.harvard.edu/
Personal Genomes : https://www.personalgenomes.org/
TIME 100 Most Influential People : https://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4742749/george-church/
Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves : https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/george-m-church/regenesis/9780465038657/
Nebula Genomics : https://nebula.org/george-church/
23andMe : https://www.23andme.com/
Biogen : https://www.biogen.com/
Gail Martin : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_R._Martin

To find out more about George :

Church Lab Website : https://arep.med.harvard.edu/
George on Twitter : https://twitter.com/geochurch

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #19 : “Should I stay or should I go?” - Jenny Rohn Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we talk with the multi-talented Jenny Rohn about her journey zig-zagging from academia to a biotech-startup, to science publishing and then back into academia.

She tells us about her unconventional path and how she decided to go to a start-up and then come back to academic research
She made long, agonizing lists about pros and cons of leaving or staying in academia
This period of indecision led her to start writing novels
Jenny admits that it was not easy to get back on to an academic path
She warns people against giving negative advise and she always tries to be honest, but positive feedback
Jenny says that In the ‘old days’ there used to be a myth that there was only one way to do science. She says that somewhere in the ‘90s there was a shift but it took a while for the old-guard to notice.
“Do not ever turn away from an opportunity to network. You need to get out and talk to people”
She tells us how she came up with the idea of ‘lab-lit’ and recommends some of her favourites
“If you want to be a writer… you need to write a lot and read a lot”
Jenny shares her thoughts about the place of narrative in scientific writing

She mentioned these labs, resources and lab-lit authors

University College London (UCL) : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/
The Lab Lit website : http://lablit.com/
Science is Vital : https://scienceisvital.org.uk/
Jenny’s blog ‘Mind The Gap’ : https://occamstypewriter.org/mindthegap/
White Coats At Dawn on the Cosmic Shambles network : https://cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/jennyrohn
Her first novel ‘Experimental Heart’ : https://jennyrohn.com/exheart
Her second novel ‘The Honest Look’ : https://jennyrohn.com/honestlook
Her third novel ‘Cat Zero’ : https://jennyrohn.com/catzero
Barbara Kingsolver : http://barbarakingsolver.net/books/
Carl Djerassi : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Djerassi
Allegra Goodman : https://allegragoodman.com/
John William Waterhouse : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Waterhouse

To find out more about Jenny visit her website or follow her on Twitter

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #18 : Why do we go to conferences? - Jean-Léon, Rita, Mariaceleste, Tim Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

Get ready for 2023 ! In this special episode, we're going to change the narrative. We're going to dive into this original narrative-interview with 4 scientists who experienced an original meeting with us. Invited by Jean-Leon Maître in the south of France at the fondation Les Treilles, are you ready to ask yourself why you go to science conferences?

Our special guests are :

Jean-Léon Maître, the organizer of the meeting, CNRS research director at the Institut Curie, at Paris, France
Rita Mateus, group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (TUD) in Dresden, Germany.
Mariaceleste Aragona, associate professor and group leader of the tissue architecture lab at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Tim Saunders, associate professor and group leader of an interdisciplinary group of the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology at Warwick University in England.

This episode is linked to an article published by Jean-Léon Maître on The Node : https://thenode.biologists.com/present-and-future-of-quantitative-developmental-biology-in-les-treilles/events/

Note : The constraints of this episode allowed us to focus only on small-scale conferences. It goes without saying that none of the guests, nor we, think that this format should replace the classic meeting format which has other advantages. This episode only aims to bring a new perspective on how we interact as scientists. Small-scale formats are a way to inspire other ways of connecting the scientific community.

We thanks Jean-Léon Maître and the Fondation Les Treilles for the invitation.

To find out more about the guests :

Jean-Léon Maître : https://institut-curie.org/team/maitre
Rita Mateus : https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/rita-mateus/research-focus
Mariaceleste Aragona : https://renew.ku.dk/research/reseach-groups/aragona/
Tim Saunders : https://mechanochemistry.org/Saunders/MainSite/Saunders_lab_v4_3.htm

To find out more about Renaud :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/

To find out more about Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #17 : Brothers in arms : building a collective grant-writing community - Matthew Weitzman Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

This week we have a surprise treat - a conversation with Jonathan’s twin brother, Matt. He discusses his energetic commitment to mentoring and grant-writing workshops. They share their genetics, but also a desire to “help scientists do better science”

Matthew comments on the usefulness of healthy competition in science
Matt compares the joy of running a lab to cooking in the kitchen
He loves the flexibility of science and constantly stimulated by interactions with colleagues and young scientists and new ideas
Matt makes a strong argument for peer-to-peer mentoring, cascade mentoring and seizing constant casual mentoring opportunities
He comments on the advantages of going to a small lab for graduate school and he advises students to look carefully at the type of scientific questions, the environment of the lab and the chemistry of the PI/mentor relationship
Matt describes his pioneering Grant Proposal Success (GPS) grant-writing program and the importance of collective, grant-writing communities. Matt dissects the grant structure and tells us what funding committees are looking for
He suggests that staggering projects and having work at different stages can help to integrate life and manage the lab

He mentioned these institutions :

University of Leeds, UK : https://www.leeds.ac.uk/
University of Pennsylvania : https://www.upenn.edu/
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) : https://www.chop.edu/
National Institutes of Health (NIH) : https://www.nih.gov/
Salk Institute for Biological Studies : https://www.salk.edu/
University of California San Diego : https://ucsd.edu/

To find out more about Matt visit his website or follow him on Twitter :
https://twitter.com/WeitzmanLab
https://www.chop.edu/doctors/weitzman-matthew-d
https://pathology.med.upenn.edu/department/people/517/matthew-d-weitzman

30 Second Genetics : https://www.amazon.com/30-Second-Genetics-revolutionary-discoveries-explained/dp/1782405097

To find out more about Renaud :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/

To find out more about Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #16 : Campaigning to change the culture - Ashani Weeraratna Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

This week, we talk with Ashani Weeraratna about her inspiring path from apartheid South Africa to director, professor and activist.

Ashi cites good advice that she remembers “ read voraciously … and be engaged with the literature”
She insists that mentoring is all about the trainees and hearing their individual needs
Ashi believes that diversity of thought needs diversity of population and stresses the importance of welcoming different groups into the lab
For her, representation matters and it is key to achieving full equity
She also comments on the importance of the microenvironment (for cancer cells and for researchers)
She shares her thoughts about juggling a life in two cities
And she encourages us to remember that “the most important trait is kindness”
And Ashi concludes by telling us to enjoy the journey

She mentioned these institutions, people and resources

St. Mary's College of Maryland : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s_College_of_Maryland
George Washington University : https://www.gwu.edu/
Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center : https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/
National Institutes of Health : https://www.nih.gov/
Wistar Institute : https://wistar.org/
University of Pennsylvania : https://www.upenn.edu/
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health : https://publichealth.jhu.edu/
National Cancer Institute : https://www.cancer.gov/
Steven Patierno : https://medicine.duke.edu/profile/steven-patierno
Jeff Trent : https://www.tgen.org/faculty-profiles/jeffrey-trent/
National Cancer Advisory Board : https://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/ncab/ncab.htm

To find out more about Ashi visit her websites or follow her on Twitter
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/3918/ashani-t-weeraratna
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/details/ashani-weeraratna
https://research.jhu.edu/members/ashani-weeraratna/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashani_Weeraratna
on Twitter : @AshaniTW
“Is Cancer Inevitable?” by Ashi : https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12767/cancer-inevitable
To find out more about Renaud :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/

To find out more about Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #15 : Enjoy the journey - André Choulika Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we speak with André Choulika about his exciting journey from a bench scientist to a biotech entrepreneur taking genomic engineering to the clinic

André shares his fascination about the logic of biological systems and his admiration for experimentalists
“You can always do something else if it fails” insists André
André stresses that the boss has to take responsibilities for decisions
“You don’t hire people to tell them what to do, but they should tell you what needs to be done”
“Cash is more important than your mother”(we hope Andre’s mother isn’t listening)
“Success has thousands of fathers but failure is lonely” (lonelier than a pipette!)
André is modest about success; “None of us are VIPs” and he insists that the people who wash the dishes are as important as the CEO of the company
He describes the collective contributions and the shared success that characterize the biotech industry
For André “Leadership is more important than management”
He insists that a successful meeting is one than lasts less time than allocated

He mentioned these labs, scientists, institutions and companies

Richard Mulligan : https://genetics.hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/richard-charles-mulligan
Institut Pasteur : https://www.pasteur.fr/en
Maxime Schwartz : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime_Schwartz
Margaret Buckingham : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Buckingham
HEC Business School : https://www.hec.edu/en
New England Biolabs (NEB) : https://international.neb.com/
Steve Jobs : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
Bernard Dujon : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Dujon

To find out more about André visit his website and his companies :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Choulika
https://www.linkedin.com/in/choulika/
Cellectis : https://cellectis.com/en
Calyxt : https://calyxt.com/
To find out more about Renaud :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/

To find out more about Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #14 : How to get good at failing - Jen Heemstra Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we step beyond the life sciences to talk with Jen Heemstra, a professor of chemistry who brings much energy to thinking about mentoring and improving academic culture

Jen tells us how early failures drove her to strive for success in science
She shares how she overcame early doubts about an academic career
She talks about how different students need different mentoring styles and how important it is to adjust each time
She admits that she is so excited about all her roles that she struggles with focusing and setting priorities
Great teams are made up of people with different perspectives and different ways of seeing the world - and they are a group of equals
Jen has a lot of thoughts about how to embrace failing and taking comfort from failures
She thinks it’s important to recognize cognitive distortions to overcome imposter syndrome narratives
Jen shares personal thoughts about her approach to self care practices and to improving academic culture for others
Don’t make your decisions based on other people’s expectations

She mentioned these institutions, people and resources

Washington University in St Louis : https://chemistry.wustl.edu/people/jennifer-heemstra
Emory University : https://www.emory.edu/
Jen’s Blog - Things that change the way I think : http://thingsthatchangethewayithink.blogspot.com/
Lynn Hill : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Hill

To find out more about Jen visit her website or follow her on Twitter
https://chemistry.wustl.edu/people/jennifer-heemstra
https://www.heemstralab.com/
https://twitter.com/HeemstraLab
https://twitter.com/jenheemstra
To find out more about Renaud :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/

To find out more about Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #13 : Translating knowledge towards society - Steve Jackson Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we speak with Steve Jackson about his successful career in DNA repair and his entrepreneurial adventures translating research findings into biotech companies

He remembers his early passion for innovation and for dark heavy rock
He was even turned down by the University of Cambridge when he first applied
Steve reminisces about the serendipity that led him into the DNA repair field
How important it is to create a collaborative, cooperative and fun lab environment
“The highs become higher… and the lows become higher”
Steve speaks openly about the importance of honesty and trust and how he establishes his key lab values
He tells us how he chose the names for his biotech companies and what drove him to become an entrepreneur
A hot tip from Steve: “Never be afraid to ask for advice”
Steve thinks it might be good not to have TOO much money in the lab
Another hot tip “The enemy of the best is the good”
Steve’s work has led to the treatment of tens of thousands of patients

He mentioned these labs, scientists, institutions and companies

To find out more about Steve visit his website and look for him in the bar at meetings

To find out more about Renaud :

To find out more about Jonathan :

To learn more about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler
https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/
https://twitter.com/amariamusique
And Bab Tista - Text Me Records / GrandBankss

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #12 : Science without frontiers - Edith Heard Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we were honoured to kick-off Season 2 talking to Edith Heard about her journey to become the first woman to lead the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
She tells us about her early experiences of patients with diseases
Edith emphasizes the importance of doubt for a scientist
She says “mentoring is about caring” and mentions TLP guest Susan Gasser
She stresses the importance of changing environments (like taking a sabbatical) and stepping out of your comfort zone
She lays out her version for running a lab and encouraging collaboration
Edith tells us why she moved to the EMBL in Heidelberg - the challenges and the self-doubts
There is something magical about bringing researchers together from such different backgrounds and origins to serve European science
She gives us lots of insights that she has never shared before
She tells us about the importance of stepping out to disconnect and have time to think
Edith tries to put herself in other people’s position to become a better leader
And she shares how important her husband Vincent has been during their scientific journeys together

She mentioned these labs, institutions and scientists
University of Cambridge
Institut Curie
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
College de France
Susan Gasser
Mike Fried
David Spector
Christine Petit
Daniel Louvard
Vincent Colot

To find out more about Edith visit her website or follow her on Twitter
https://www.embl.org/groups/heard/
https://www.college-de-france.fr/chaire/edith-heard-epigenetique-et-memoire-cellulaire-chaire-statutaire (in French)
https://twitter.com/heard_lab?lang=en
Edith Heard is a laureate of the 2020 For Women in Science Award

To send us feedback, comments & ideas :
https://bit.ly/TLPVoice
https://twitter.com/LonelyPipette

To find out more about Renaud
https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
https://twitter.com/LePourpre

To find out more about Jonathan
https://linktr.ee/epigenetique
https://twitter.com/Epigenetique

Soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler

Support the show

💌 Subcribe to our newsletter and receive the episodes and news directly in your mailbox : https://tinyurl.com/TLPNL

To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20

TLP #11 : We are back! Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

In this episode Renaud and Jonathan share their excitement about the launch of Season 2 of The Lonely Pipette podcast

They look back at Season 1 and what they learned from the tips of the TLP guests
Renaud and Jonathan share their thoughts about science communication
They update The Lonely Pipette community about what we have been up to over the last year
Renaud describes his Cell Worlds immersive cell biology show
Renaud explains how important it is to be persistent in science communication
Jonathan talks about the challenges of mentoring and student supervision
Renaud and Jonathan share some teasers and hopes for Season 2

We mentioned these projects