Latest / EHA Unplugged / Hematology Portraits: Associate Prof Meritxell Alberich Jordà

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Hematology Portraits: Associate Prof Meritxell Alberich Jordà · EHA Unplugged

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  I didn't realize when I finished my PhD that the date of
• 0:06
  finishing and graduating it's very important for my next
• 0:10
  steps. You want to apply for grants,
• 0:12
  fellowships, and it all start sticking when you graduate as a
• 0:17
  PhD. Most of the grants do have a
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  seven-year application deadline from graduating that I was not
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  aware of. Welcome to EHA Unplugged, the
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  official podcast channel of the European Hematology Association
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  EHA. I am your host Isabella Livera.
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  Today's guest is Mary Albert Giorda, A principal investigator
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  based in Prague in the Czech Republic at the Institute of
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  Molecular Genetics and at the Second Faculty of Medicine at
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  Charles University in Moto Hospital.
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  Her work focuses on hematopoietic and leuchemic stem
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  cells, on how the dysregulation drives acute myeloid leukemia
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  AML. But this conversation isn't just
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  about the science, it's about the journey behind it.
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  In this episode, Mary reflects on her path to becoming API,
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  sharing with us what she wishes she had known at the start of
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  her research career. Welcome to this episode, DO.
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  You consider yourself a hematologist?
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  I did a study biology and very soon in my career I got an
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  interest in mythology and I have always been studying in this
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  field, but I'm not an MD, so not a real hematology.
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  Where did you start? When did you become interested
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  in hematology? So I studied in fact
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  biotechnology at the University of Barcelona.
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  That was very theoretical at that time and I was missing
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  experience in the lab. And I got a chance to go abroad
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  to the Netherlands for an Erasmus exchange and it was
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  supposed to be 4 months, and that in fact was extended to one
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  year because I absolutely fell in love with a bench.
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  But at that time I also realized that biotechnology was not
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  really my field. I had a big interest in the
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  medical research and I found a position at the Erasmus MC at
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  the Department of Hematology, where I actually applied for a
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  PhD and that was already in hematology.
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  What was your PhD? So I was studying the effect of
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  the cannabinoid receptors in blood cells, in leukocytes, how
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  they affect myeloid differentiation.
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  We all know cannabinoid receptors for being expressed in
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  brain and we know the effects that they might cause if you
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  stimulate them. But there is another family
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  member, another cannabinoid receptor that is expressing
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  blood and that one was totally under explore.
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  So under the mentorship of Rudelwell, we explore the role
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  of this cannabinoid receptor in a metabolic differentiation and
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  in low chemogenesis. Did you continue this subject
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  after your PD or what did you do after?
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  So during the PhD, we mostly focus on membrane receptors to
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  protein couple receptors and how they activate signaling
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  pathways. But very soon we got interested
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  in understanding deeper the molecular mechanisms that get
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  activated when we stimulate these receptors and we moved to
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  understanding transcription factors.
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  And that brought us to CVP alpha, which is a key
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  transcription factor in myeloid differentiation.
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  So because of that, I search for a postdoc in the field of
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  transcriptional regulation in my alloy differentiation.
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  So in fact, it was like a spin off.
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  How did you develop as a scientist as a postdoc?
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  So if I have to tell you the truth, I was not very sure
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  whether I wanted to do a PhD or even a postdoc, but things just
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  happened. The opportunities came and when
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  I was finishing my PHDI got to meet then tenant that was my
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  mentor in in Boston, and he offered me joining his lab.
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  I was unsure that the postdoc was a good fit for me, but I
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  decided to give it a try. I thought it would be
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  interesting to move from the Netherlands to the States.
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  That's how it went. I started on the topic of CBP
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  alpha, transcriptional regulation and mildly
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  differentiation. And then as the time pass, the
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  project evolved and I end up moving to another transcription
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  factor from the same family that was CBP comma.
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  And also we explored how CBP comma can control myeloid
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  differentiation and again plays a role in the development of
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  acute myeloid leukemia. And the project kind of expand
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  evolve brought new research lines and I took the one that I
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  thought was more suitable and that was how the project
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  evolved. What did you want to do after
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  that? Did you want to?
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  Become API. No, no, that was also not in my
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  plans in in fact, I always thought I would end up working
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  in a company. That was what I thought I could
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  do. And when I was thinking out the
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  transition from Bozo to my next step in my career, I did search
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  for that opportunity. And in fact, I quit the lab
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  thinking that I was moving to a company, but it didn't work out.
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  In fact, I went to Pratt. That's where I I was moving at
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  that time for, for family reasons and I had an agreement
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  with a company, but it didn't work out.
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  So I end up with no job in a country where I did not speak
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  the language. So that was very challenging,
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  didn't want to stay at home. So I said, OK, the only thing I
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  can do here is in fact go back to the lab.
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  That is what I know. So I had some, some contacts in,
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  in Czech Republic and I talked to the director of the Institute
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  of Molecular Genetics at the time.
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  But Slavoreshi, I explained the situation, I'm jobless and he
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  said, well, we can offer you a job, but there is not an open
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  position for group leader, but you can build up up to you.
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  So I went there. I, I asked for funding.
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  In a short period of time, I was able to, to recruit some
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  funding, set up some projects. And soon after I I got the
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  opportunity to establish myself independently at IMG.
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  That is where I must still right now.
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  It sounds easy, but it's not because you had to apply for
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  funding for a project on your own line.
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  How did you find your own line of research in Boston?
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  I spent seven years and that gave me time to focus on my main
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  projects. But we also had some side
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  projects that well were coming up as we were doing our work.
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  Some of them established the basis for future research that
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  in principle I was leaving behind.
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  However, when the plan change and I had to set up my own lab,
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  I contact my former Pi, explained the situation and I
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  said 10. I'm interested in following up
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  those things that I left halfway or we're just starting.
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  Would you be supportive? Would you be willing to have a
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  collaboration with me? We could do this together and I
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  was very lucky because the antenna was open to support me
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  to giving me animal reagents and things that would really help me
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  to establish my own projects. But again, it was as a follow up
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  of what I was doing later on when the Lapa start running
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  after 2-3 years, we finish the initial projects and we expanded
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  a bit more. The worst stem cell biology,
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  inflammation, acute inflammation, but also chronic
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  inflammation. And that's what the lab has been
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  working on during the last years.
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  So we still do myeloid differentiation.
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  We still focus on leukemia, mostly AML, but we have been
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  also getting more interesting, more more interest in the immune
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  regulation of a stem cell biology.
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  What do you think are the main findings are you associated with
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  during the last years we have been working a lot on on chronic
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  and acute inflammation and how those conditions affect stem
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  cells, their fitness, their functionality, their fate.
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  And I think that I'm still, I guess part of those studies with
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  18 and the transcription factor CPR facility become a, but I
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  think that during the last years we have evolved towards
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  something that was more ours, more from our lab.
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  We have developed our own models, in vivo models to study
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  these conditions of inflammation.
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  And I think that those are the studies I'm the most proud of.
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  I would guess if you have to choose one project, well, I
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  think more than a project itself, what I really have been
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  enjoying during these years as an independent scientist is the
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  fact I had on my students and a mentorship.
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  I could provide them. Science is important.
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  I love the projects we have under research we do.
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  I like to understand every insight of the stem cells and
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  how they react to to external cue.
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  But overall that I think that the most important thing is the
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  world I have been doing with my PhD students, the the
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  interactions, the collaborations, training,
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  mentorship, helping them to grow up as a scientist.
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  I think that's the nice thing about my job.
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  Are there any of your findings that are finding an application?
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  So the work we have been doing on AML during the last years has
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  been in a very close collaboration with a company,
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  French company Advanced Value Design.
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  And those are really on the course of clinical trial phase
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  one with a specific compound a company develop and we provide
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  all the the muting data to validate fundings and then
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  allowing us to move to human clinical trials for a relapse
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  and protector AML. So that's what I would think is
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  the most translational thing we have ever done.
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  But it did not really steam from my own lab.
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  It was in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company.
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  The other side of the lab is working on really fundamental
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  projects, really basic research. I think my work will not really
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  directly lead to a clinical trial product or drug
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  development because that's not what we are focusing on.
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  But I think that we are providing the knowledge to
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  establish the basis for understanding how we can
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  therapeutically target, for instance, chronic inflammation
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  and to prevent the effects that this condition which is actually
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  very prevalent in our society. I mean think about it, auto
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  inflammatory disorders, cancers, diabetes, many conditions do
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  have this hallmark of chronic inflammation.
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  So we know now based on on our studies and many others that
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  this chronic inflammation affects the stem cells not only
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  in, let's say in and when the muscles or in other systems, but
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  also in the metaboietic system. So by preventing the effects
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  that this chronic inflammation might have on the metabolitical
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  stem cells, we might be preserving the risk of
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  developing other hematological disorders.
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  So we are not really focusing on drug targeting, but we provide
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  the basis to build up on on that.
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  Can you explain how do you become involved in J first?
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  So when I was a PhD student, I already joined some of the
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  meetings at IHA. That was really at the early
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  days of and then when I was thinking about the step towards
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  the post doc, I was suggested to apply for an EHA fellowship.
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  When I wrote a fellowship at that time, I seen we were only
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  giving 2. So it was the early days of
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  those guns and fellowships. But I was awarded one of them
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  and in fact that helped me to go for my post doc abroad.
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  And after that, soon after obtaining the fellowship, I was
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  able to also enroll in several committees.
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  So I participated at that time in the scientific program
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  committee, the research committee, then I jumped to the
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  fellowship and grant committee, later on to the stakeholder
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  committee. So I have been actually in in
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  many, many committees at the EHA through all my career.
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  And I think that that has really helped me to have this community
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  of scientists, hematologists around me that really have been
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  very, very supportive and inspiring.
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  And also has helped me a lot to build up a network, which I
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  think it's very important in the job we do that we don't get just
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  close in our labs, focus only on what we do, but we also expand
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  to really see what's happening in the clinics, what are the
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  needs there, how can I contribute to that.
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  And I think the EHA has been part of all this interaction and
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  development. The CHA is most more associated
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  in general with clinical. Research.
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  But you're really the example that researcher can also benefit
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  and have an important role participating in EHA.
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  And think that that's a bit maybe the all view of EHA to
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  have mostly an association based on clinical research and
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  clinicians. But during the last years we
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  have been expanding a lot. We have been opening ourselves
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  more towards fundamental research physician scientists,
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  promoting them. And I think that now the the
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  research community is also enjoying EHAA.
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  Couple of years ago I was elected as a board member, which
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  allowed me to bring the boys of researchers to the association.
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  And, and I hope that with this little step that I do, I can
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  also push a little bit more the association to open their eyes
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  and opportunities for researchers to be also part of
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  the community. And I think that it's maybe
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  taking a while, but a step by step we are really getting
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  there. So I'm I'm very happy about
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  that. Do you think that hematology is
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  a field where there's a particular close relationship
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  between research and. Clinics where many.
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  Research findings are being translated quickly to the
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  clinics, yes, but this goes in both directions.
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  I think that we as scientists really have to pay attention to
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  what's happening in the clinics when we are thinking about what
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  to base our projects on, what to develop, what are the needs in
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  the clinics. And then the research, the
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  results that we provide can be applied or used to think about
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  therapies. So it's, I think it's a two way
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  relationship. So scientists can benefit, I
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  think from working closer with clinicians and I think
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  clinicians can also benefit when working closer with with us
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  researchers. So what are your main activities
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  at the moment? So, so this is interesting
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  because at the beginning when you establish your lab, you're
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  still very close to what's happening on the bench.
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  I did like a lot actually pipetting.
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  So as soon as I could, I would be there with a, with a team
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  doing experiments. As the time passes by, you get
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  other duties. You are teaching at the faculty,
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  you are on several committees at the university, PhD Student
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  Association committees. I also, I'm very actively at the
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  HA, participating at several committees, the board, the
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  executive board. So you start being less close to
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  the bench and more involved in what I call administration,
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  which is not admin by itself. But yeah, right now I spend most
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  of the time on the computer, either writing, reviewing,
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  assessing, preparing presentations.
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  But I keep time every week to talk to my students, to still
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  know what's happening in the lab, what are they dealing with?
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  What are the troubles, and try to help them to to move those
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  projects forward. Is there one lesson that you
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  wish you? Had.
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  Known when you started. There are many actually, but
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  there is one that I think it's very important.
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  I didn't realize when I finished my PhD that the date of
• 16:08
  finishing and graduating, it's very important for my next
• 16:12
  steps. You want to apply for grants,
• 16:14
  fellowships, and it all starts sticking when you graduate as a
• 16:19
  PhD. Most of the grants do have a
• 16:22
  seven-year application deadline from graduating that I was not
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  aware of. So I was enjoying my post doc
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  and I spent seven years in Boston as a postdoc without
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  thinking that if I wanted to be API, which in principle was not
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  the case, but if I wanted to be APII had to keep in mind that
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  the deadline for grant applications was seven years
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  from graduation. The seven years have been a
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  little bit. Some agencies is 3/4, some
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  others is 10. Some are flexible, but that's
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  something very important to keep in mind when you are on the
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  transition from postdoc, maybe towards for the BI.
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  Is there anything else you would like to add for the audience
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  that I haven't asked something that was important in your
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  career? I think it's important to be
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  aware that sometimes you should not have very high expectations.
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  You should know what you want and that's fantastic.
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  Go for it. But sometimes things will
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  happen, opportunities will appear, and science is like a
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  tree pride. And it's not only about the end
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  goal is also the right you have along.
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  So try to enjoy each of the steps that you are going
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  through. Sometimes they can be very
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  tough. Opportunities will come up.
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  You have to search for them. But do not obsess on the end
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  goal. That's what I always tell my PhD
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  students. They see the end goal as getting
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  the PhD, but that takes four or five years.
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  So enjoy also all the little steps that you gained through
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  that process and be proud of them, not only Diacon.
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  Thank you very much for sharing with us your journey.
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  Thank you, Isabel, thanks to you.
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  Thank you to the audience for listening.
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  If you enjoyed this podcast, please like it and stay tuned
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  for more episodes of EHM Plot.