Mentors’ comments
I invited a number of the JUSTL mentors if they could give me their views about the programme and about the participants who worked with them. Their comments are shown below.
Dr Scott Brady (UIC Distinguished Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA).
Mentored: Tori Nan XIAO, Chi Wai LEE, Franki Kai-Hei TSE, & Idy Hiu-ting HO
“Having maintained a summer research programme at the Marine Biological Laboratory since 1982, I have benefited from the efforts of many student visitors (both graduate and undergraduate students) who spent time in Woods Hole and helped us to generate critical data. One of the rewards of maintaining my summer research is the opportunity to work closely with students at the bench, engaging them in frontline research. When Professor Miller first approached me about hosting students, I immediately agreed and never regretted my decision. The students from the JUSTL programme were particularly memorable as bright, enthusiastic students that were eager to learn. Since the JUSTL students came from varied backgrounds, the experience was enriching for both the JUSTL students and their American counterparts that were also working in the laboratory. Despite the distance, some of the JUSTL students have stayed in touch and I always enjoy hearing how their careers have advanced. Needless to say, I was sorry when the programme ended in 2015 and hope that a similar programme could be created to continue bringing Chinese students to Woods Hole for a research experience.”
Dr Scott Lindell (Research Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA)
Mentored: Connie Pui Ling LAU & Hongmei JING
“I have fond memories of mentoring Connie and Hongmei.
Hong Kong students are particularly well-prepared for working in modern biological laboratories. My projects involved the cultivation of microalgal strains and prospecting for ones with the most potential for producing lipids of economic utility. Connie and Hongmei exercised excellent sterile culture habits. They organized efficient methods of evaluating the strains with cellular stains. All in all, their successes helped propel our success in publishing, and my continuing on a research path of “algae to bio-fuels” which continues to this day.”
Roxanna Smolowitz DVM (Associate Professor, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, USA)
Mentored: Summer Min SHEN
“Very little was known about the number and types of blood cells in fish and nothing was known about blood cells in toadfish (Opsanus tau), an important research animal at the MBL. Summer’s work was very helpful in gaining an understanding the types and numbers of blood cells of the toadfish. This information helps in determining and maintaining the health status of the fish maintained in aquatic holding tanks at the MBL. Additionally, Summer was a committed, conscientious student and a pleasure to work with.”
Dr Ann M. Tarrant (Associate Scientist with Tenure, Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA)
Mentored: Jacky Chun Kit KWOK
“I was surprised when Andy Miller contacted me about possibly hosting a student in the lab through the JUSTL programme. I hadn’t heard of the programme before and wasn’t sure what to expect. He connected me with Jacky Kwok, a graduate student with interests in marine toxicology. Jacky completed a project in which we studied the effects of combined environmental stressors (chemical pollutants and UV radiation) on a sea anemone. The project was environmentally relevant because marine animals living in shallow water often experience this combination of stressors in their natural environment. Jacky’s project was exhausting because it required lab work during both day and night to make sure the experimental animals were continually exposed to the test chemicals. He never complained, but I think he was getting pretty worn out toward the end and maybe wondered whether it would be worth it. The fatigue melted away after the experiment was completed and he began analyzing the samples to learn how the animals had responded to the stressors. I was very impressed with Jacky’s lab skills. I quickly learned that I could trust him to accurately calculate chemical concentrations, develop experimental protocols, and analyze complicated arrays of samples. In the end we found that the anemones responded very strongly to UV radiation and even more strongly to the combination of stressors. We published this work in the Journal of Experimental Biology with Jacky as a co-author.”
Alessandro Rubinacci, M.D. (Head, Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy)
Mentored: Harvey Yin Seng CHAN, Jacky Tin Shing HUNG, & Jason Wing-yiu KAN
“It’s a pleasure to be able to write about the JUSTL programme. I met the JUSTL students - Jacky Hung, Harvey Chan and Jason Kan - in the summers of 2013 and 2014, during my visiting at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts for a collaborative research with Professor Andrew L. Miller of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Director of the JUSTL programme, together with Professors Joseph G. Kunkel of the University of New England, and Paola Divieti Pajevic of the Boston University, USA.
The JUSTL students were involved in our advanced study on the regulation of calcium metabolism in neonatal mice by applying the scanning ion-selective electrode technique (SIET) to measure calcium and protons fluxes at the bone-plasma interface in living bones maintained ex vivo in physiological conditions after targeted modifications of the PTH receptors in osteocytes. During the study, the students demonstrated a high scientific interest, outstanding technical skills in complex and demanding experimental systems, and critical capacity in solving the relevant difficulties as well as great enthusiasm in participating in the scientific discussions.
From a mentor’s perspective, I found the JUSTL programme very educative and insightful. In the setting of the JUSTL programme, all the students found an optimal scientific environment where they had the opportunity to integrate into their different areas of expertise, scientific fields, and international networks of the research team, and of the host institution. In this setting, the students all showed promise for a successful career in research. The JUSTL programme was highly effective and established the experimental basis for two publications in the journals, Bone and Fisheries Science.”
Drs Clare M. Waterman (NIH Distinguished Investigator and Director of Cell Biology and Physiology Center), and Robert Fischer (Staff Scientist), National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MA, USA.
Mentored: Penny Pui Ling LAM
“During our 2012 collaborative summer research work at the MBL, we were fortunate to work with the JUSTL Fellow, Penny Lam, who came to us via a collaboration with her mentor, Dr Anna Huttenlocher. Penny, an expert in zebrafish embryology and transgenesis, came to work with us to learn to do live confocal intravital microscopy and digital image analysis. Penny was an enthusiastic learner and was both skilled with her hands and adept at critical thinking. These traits, coupled with her bright personality made it a joy to work with her for the summer. In fact, we learned as much from her as she did from us, and we continued on with the collaboration with her and Dr Huttenlocher to author three research papers from our time there at MBL. The active intellectual environment at the MBL played a great role in fostering this collaboration, such that we have initiated several other similarly productive collaborations at the MBL in the years since working with Penny.”
Dr Alan M. Kuzirian (Associate Scientist, Marine Biological Laboratory)
Mentored: Tim Yue Him WONG, Ian Wing Yin MO & Jacky Tin Shing HUNG
“I participated in the JUSTL programme, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA-USA for the years, 2010, 2012, 2013. I served as a mentor to one student each of those summers. Our Research Associate, George Bell also assisted.
I can say without reservation that the total JUSTL experience was very productive and enjoyable. All the students I mentored and with whom I came in contact were excellent. They were enthusiastic, very receptive to the materials presented and very intellectually capable. They were all totally successful during their time at the MBL which included lab work, obtaining and reading reference materials, to their final execution of oral/visual presentations at the end of the summer.
Their experiences were not all science and work. Woods Hole is very culturally diverse especially during the summer when people from all areas of the world come to attend courses and carry out research. JUSTL students adjusted readily to living in this totally diverse mix of people. It was a personal pleasure for me to share cultures and customs with them, to learn from them what was important to their lives and what future goals they wished to achieve. I am so pleased to have been able to participate in some small way to their education and life experiences.
My only regret is that the programme ended and new JUSTL students no longer come to us at the MBL. I fully understand the rigors that programmes like JUSTL require, but I would suggest that if possible, it be reinstated, both for the students’ career development, as well as the pleasure and fulfillment for us as mentors.”