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Dr. Beth Weaver is a Professor in the Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology and the Department of Oncology/McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She is co-Leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. She received her B.S. in biochemistry from Brown University and her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego. Afterwards, Beth conducted postdoctoral research at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has received various awards and honors during her career. These have included receipt of the Bothwell Prize and the Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award from UW-Madison. In addition, she has been named an American Cancer Society Research Scholar, a Romnes Faculty Fellow by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and a University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center Ride Scholar. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (3:10)
Outside of work, Beth enjoys spending time with her family. She, her husband, and their two children like to put together fun group costumes for Halloween each year (past themes have included characters from 101 Dalmatians, Hocus pocus, and Candy Land). Beth also brings this creativity into planning parties, and they recently decorated their house elaborately for a Harry Potter themed birthday party for one of their children.
The Scientific Side (4:52)
Beth’s lab studies a group of commonly used chemotherapy agents called microtubule poisons. Her research aims to improve treatment with these drugs by identifying a way to predict whether a particular patient will respond well to these drugs, and also develop a way to make resistant tumors more sensitive to these drugs. To achieve these goals, Beth and her team are working to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of these drugs.
A Dose of Motivation (6:38)
“Failure is a prerequisite for success.” Beth also stays motivated by thinking about science and her research projects as roller coasters. They require investment of time, resources, and planning up front. Once you’re on the roller coaster, there will likely be a series of long, steep climbs, but each of these will have an exciting rush on the downhill sections.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (10:27)
From her childhood through her early years in college, Beth didn’t really have a clear idea of what she wanted to do for a career or a particular interest in science. However, by the time she was five years old, she had already ruled out becoming a gymnast (didn’t start training early enough) and a doctor (couldn’t handle surgeries). Even after starting college, Beth didn’t know anything about careers in science. The first major she declared was anthropology, and there was a brief period where she thought she wanted to be an Egyptologist. Pouring over the archaeological records in dark corners of the university library felt like solving a thrilling mystery. When she learned about the difficulties of getting funding for this kind of research, Beth knew she needed to make a new plan. A friend suggested that she could do research in a lab, and Beth decided she would try it out. While studying abroad, Beth had a chance to do laboratory research, and she really enjoyed it. When she returned to Brown, she took an immunology class that she found really interesting, and she decided to pursue immunology in graduate school. As she learned more about the nuances and complexities of immunology, Beth realized that perhaps the field wasn’t what she was looking for. Fortunately, one of Beth’s teachers offered her a chance to rotate in his lab studying either neuroscience or mitosis (cell division). She opted for a mitosis project, and she quickly became hooked on research in this area.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (23:51)
A few years ago, Beth went through a difficult period where she couldn’t get editors to send her papers out for review, she struggled to get funding for some of her ideas, and she really started to get depressed about her lack of progress. Beth had overcome many challenges to get to where she was, and she thought it would get easier, but it didn’t. Thinking about the roller coaster metaphor assured her that there would eventually be a downhill section at the end of this climb. She also heard from her Department Chair that their grant was funded on the fourth submission. Realizing that other successful scientists still struggled with these same issues also helped lift her spirits. There will always be more challenges in science, and you just have to keep moving forward.
A Shining Success! (27:13)
Recently, Beth has had multiple exciting successes to celebrate. In the past month or so, she published a great paper, was selected for a mentoring award, and received an email from a respected colleague about how her work is transforming the field’s understanding of how the microtubule poison drugs work. These were all deeply rewarding successes. Celebrating the small wins in the lab is important for Beth as well. Lately, they had been struggling to label a particular protein. They tried multiple different antibodies and just couldn’t get it to work. However, one of her students recently pulled her from her office to the microscope to show off the beautifully stained protein. Seeing her trainees work through these challenges and get excited about solving problems in the lab is really gratifying for Beth as well.
Book Recommendations (29:34)
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
Most Treasured Travel (31:56)
For Beth’s first international conference, she had an opportunity to visit the town of Cortona in Italy. It was a beautiful place with amazing food, and the view from the top of the hill was fantastic. More recently, Beth attended a meeting in Portugal, and the coastal town of Cascais was also remarkable.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (33:26)
Each major piece of equipment in Beth’s lab has been given a fun name. The microscopes are named after She-Ra characters like Adora, and all of their freezers and refrigerators are named after characters from The Muppets. Beth’s lab also has a wonderful tradition of making mitosis-related art. Lab members have made an artistic series of black and white images with the stages of mitosis, a chromosome-shaped pillow with banding patterns, and a multipolar mitotic spindle sculpture made out of colored wire.
Advice For Us All (37:06)
Aim high because even if you miss it, you will wind up somewhere worth being. Also, remember that it’s all about what you want. Keep trying, and don’t give up.
Guest Bio
Beth’s research is mainly focused on understanding how chromosome missegregation during mitosis affects tumor initiation, progression, and response to therapy. Her expertise comes from a variety of fields such as molecular and cellular biology, imaging, and cancer biology. Most recently Beth’s work has focused on understanding the anti-cancer mechanism of microtubule-targeted therapy and leveraging this understanding to convert this treatment from standard chemotherapy into personalized, precision medicine. As part of this effort, her group is working to develop a biomarker to predict whether a specific patient is likely to benefit from this treatment. They are also working to develop methods to sensitize the large number of resistant tumors. Outside of lab, Beth enjoys amusement parks, gardening, traveling to places with warm weather, hosting themed parties with signature drinks, and orchestrating elaborate group costumes with family and friends.
Support for this episode of People Behind the Science was provided by New England Biolabs, Inc.