WHAT’S INSIDE
A day in the life of a genetic counselor pg 2 Valuable advice from esteemed UCSD alumni pg 3 Saltman Quarterly
Volume 2 | Winter 2015
Winner of the SQ High School Essay Contest pg 4
In this issue of the Insider, we follow up with UCSD biology alumni to see where their paths have taken them.
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or the large percentage of UC San Diego students interested in pursuing health-related careers, deciding among the seemingly innumerable paths can be a daunting task. One of the best ways to get a sense of direction is by looking to alumni who have been in similar positions. In this edition of the Insider, Saltman Quarterly had a chance to chat with UCSD graduate Sharanya Munshi. Munshi is currently working as a clinical genetic counselor at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Genetics and provided some insight into the daily life of a health professional. Continued on the next page...
Julia Ramirez | SQ Staff Illustrator
SQ INSIDER
SQ INSIDER
DAY IN THE LIFE:
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s a clinical genetic counselor, Sharanya Munshi works with patients at risk for genetic conditions as well as those with babies or other family members at risk. While her specialization lies in cancer genetics, she often sees patients requiring a variety of specialities: prenatal, cardiovascular, pediatric, and more. “At Kaiser, we see a little bit of everything; our schedules look a little different depending on the day,” Munshi says. For the most part, however, Munshi starts her day having booked four appointments (the average number of patients seen by full-time genetic counselors at Kaiser Permanente) and begins with a complete chart review of each patient. Depending on the needs of the patient, Munshi will assess family history, analyze ultrasound abnormalities, send for various blood tests, and discuss results or further testing options. “With prenatal, I often get pregnant patients who want to talk to me about testing options such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, or noninvasive prenatal testing that looks at cell-free DNA to see if the baby has a higher risk for Down’s syndrome, among other possibilities,” Munshi says. “These are often in-person appointments.” Upon completing an appointment
with a patient, she then prepares for the next patient, working on departmentspecific projects as time permits. “[Our genetic counseling] is very non-directive. We don’t tell patients what to do; we help them figure out what they want to do,” Munshi says.
extremely rewarding since she spends a significant amount of time with individual patients hoping to make a difference in their lives. “It’s a really awesome career, but not a whole lot of people know about genetic counseling, and we need more genetic counselors in this world! I think there’s a lot of resources at UCSD when you’re pre-med, but I We don’t tell patients what think that there needs to be better to do; we help them figure [awareness] about alternative careers out what they want to do. to medicine, because once I got SHARANYA MUNSHI into my profession, I learned about all these different careers ... where Munshi graduated from UC San you can still work in the medical field Diego with a Bachelor of Science in alongside professionals [in] as a clinical Biochemistry and Cell Biology and a setting, which I had never heard of as an minor in Religion. Her fascination with undergrad,” Munshi says. genetic counseling began after hearing a professor mention the career in passing. Mekala Neelakantan | SQ Staff Writer For similar stories, visit sqonline.ucsd.edu She then went on to receive her Masters in Genetic Counseling at the University of Cincinnati and began her career as the only genetic counselor at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center upon board certification. “I knew I wanted to do something in the science world, but I just had no idea Editor-in-Chief: Firooz Kabir what, and I didn’t think med school was Executive Editor: Florence Lambert-Fliszar for me ... I also didn’t want to do lab Head Production Editor: Yaamini work. I had always loved genetics since Venkataraman high school, and it seemed like a good UTS Production Editor: Sejal Patel career,” Munshi says. Production Team: Justine Liang, Zoe According to Munshi, her job McCracken, Anna Nidhiry, Samantha Wong as a clinical genetic counselor can SQ Features Editor: Maximo Prescott be emotionally taxing but remains UTS Features Editor: Edgar Villaruel Staff Writers: Anna Alvarado, Mekala Neelakantan
Staff Illustrator: Julia Ramirez Head Advisers: Associate Dean for Education Gabriele Wienhausen, Ph.D.
Manager, do/bio Center Hermila Torres
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THE CROSSROADS OF BIOLOGY
GENETICS COUNSELOR
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Differentiating between futures in industry and academia Saltman Quarterly spoke with UC San Diego alumni to gain insight from both industry and academic perspectives. Although both paths involve scientific research, the funding sources are different. Academics are funded by grants and fellowships provided by various organizations, while industry researchers are funded by their companies. Both publish peer-reviewed papers and contribute to scientific knowledge as a whole. Here is what our alumni had to say about what lies ahead.
Scott McDonnell: Senior Scientist at Pfizer
Q Tell me about your current work. work at the Tumor Cell-Biology A “IDepartment on the Biology side
of oncology drug development. We’re developing small molecule inhibitors against specific cancer-driving mutations.” undergraduate moment Q What ultimately led you current career? I think in a very big way, A “Well, UCSD is situated in the heart of
what we call ‘biotech beach,’ so being so close to all of these industries was very helpful. I was able to get a student lab assistant position here at Pfizer starting junior year at UCSD. Working at a lab set me up for a lot of things; it set me up for getting back into graduate school, and it also set me up for being able to return
here and getting a job at Pfizer.”
continuing to work there for a full year after graduating. But that event pushed me into going into graduate school, which set me to come back to an even better position than when I left.”
projects are very exciting. I have seen, even in the short tenure that I’ve been here, projects that I have worked on become drugs on the market. So the stuff that I am working on is helping people, and I think that’s very rewarding.”
advice do you have for Q What students looking for careers after
Q What is your favorite part? just the fact that there are a A “Ilotthink of smart people here and that the
are the struggles of working in Q What such a large pharmaceutical industry? struggles, I think, is that Pfizer, A “The being such a huge industry, comes
with its difficulties in levels of bureaucracy. Back in 2007, I did get laid off from Pfizer after working as a student for two years and
graduation?
best thing is to get out there A “The and find internships, jobs, or
shadowing in areas that you think you want to do. There is no substitute for actually trying it out, and if you can find opportunities in that field. I think your college coursework is vitally important, but it needs to be supplemented with real job experience, and it’s going to be extremely attractive in resumes.”
Mai Khuong: Ph.D Student in UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences
Q Tell me about your current work. currently studying chromatin A “I’m dynamics within cells. I’m focusing
particularly in the basic building blocks of chromatin, which is the nucleosome, and characterizing its formation and assembly.”
find a small detail to change, and suddenly, everything starts working. Every grad student is working towards that moment.” do you recommend to your Q What undergraduates who want to start research but are unsure of what to do or where to find willing P.I.s (principal investigators)?
are the struggles and setbacks Q What as a researcher? cliché, but the best thing to A Itdosounds “It’s difficult when things in the lab is network. I was part of a student A don’t work out. A lot of research is organization at UCSD called MASA (Multitroubleshooting. A small change, like a small difference in pH, for example, can make a huge impact, and getting a bad result could be disheartening. Graduate students actually have this thing we call a ‘third-year slump’ where students find that none of their experiments were working for the first two and a half years of research. Then, they
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Asian Student Association), and from there, I met a lot of people from different backgrounds, not necessarily just biology students. The president back then was a mechanical engineer, and the president before him became a lab manager at a UCSD biology lab. I asked the president to connect me with that lab manager, and
eventually, I landed a job at her lab. advice do you have for students Q What who are considering graduate school? great to have letters of A “It’s recommendation from a lab P.I.
who can comment on your research ability. Lab experience is definitely important, especially since you are applying to work as a lab researcher at a graduate level. As for your personal statements, you have to write about the path leading up to your decision and why you find a particular research fascinating. You have to explain why you are a good fit to a particular school and why you want to pursue a specific field.” Anna Alvarado | SQ Staff Writer For similar stories, visit sqonline.ucsd.edu
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SQ High School Essay Contest Winner | Biology and Green Justice Ana Little-Sana e3 Civic High School Last quarter, the SQ Community Outreach Team successfully completed its first project: a high school essay contest. Interested high school students submitted a 500-750 word essay about how they wish to incorporate biology into their future. Each essay was evaluated based on creativity, content, and presentation. Through the contest, SQ hopes to encourage and celebrate science communication in the younger generation. The winner, Anna Little-Sana, is a 10th grader at e3 Civic High School, a school which aims to engage, educate, and empower their students.
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greater understanding of biology can have vast implications for a variety of different fields. My future plans include advocacy work, utilizing the judicial system to fight injustice. More specifically, I am interested in interdisciplinary law; using the understanding of living things to overcome issues of racism, classism, and poverty. I aspire to work in Environmental Justice, the fair treatment of all people with regard to environmental laws and policies (EPA, 2014). Utilizing comprehensive knowledge of biology, lawyers, activists, politicians, and community members can work together to create a greener, cleaner, and healthier world. According to the Green Action Coalition, environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color. This is a well documented issue in San Diego, especially in the historic neighborhood of Barrio Logan. This waterfront community is 77% Hispanic with a median income of $16,000. 44% of Barrio Logan residents are at or below the poverty level. The health issues in Barrio Logan are thought to be the result of toxic air emissions from nearby ship building facilities and military infrastructure (Environmental Health Coalition, 2011). The emission of toxic air is attributed to the development of Leukemia, as well as respiratory illnesses, such as asthma (EPA, 2009). In fact, Barrio Logan has the highest rates of asthma-related hospitalizations in the state and three times higher than the rest of the county (KPBS, 2014). As the Environmental Justice movement progresses, more pressure is being put on local and national entities to effectively legislate against environmental racism. Using a thorough knowledge of biology, one can create policies and educate the public. In June of 2014, San
Diego residents voted on Proposition B and C, which would have ensured that all companies operating in Barrio Logan possess the required permits, as well as preventing shipyard expansion in residential areas (KPBS, 2014). Unfortunately, these props did not pass. This was partly due to the monetary investature and lobbying by the shipping industries and their political allies (KPBS, 2014) . More importantly, it could be attributed to the lack of public awareness of the biological implications of these industries. This ignorance could be addressed by utilizing the scientific and health communities in voter education about the impact of shipyards on public health. This might also motivate community members to take legal action. For example, in 1978, residents sued the Ward Transformers Company for dumping 31,000 gallons of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in a nearby landfill (Duke, 2009). This set the precedent for concerned citizens ability to take action pertaining to a local cause. This is similar to Barrio Logan, where many suspect companies are illegally dumping sewage and chemicals into the community (Environmental Health Coalition, 2011). Through the use of biological knowledge and outreach tactics, neighborhood residents will be more motivated to take action such as Warren County. In conclusion, knowledge in biology in the areas of human health and environmental science, can be used to better understand the issues of environmental racism. With this understanding, lawyers, politicians, and community members can work together to create a healthier San Diego.
get involved with saltman quarterly Visit SQ Online More stories from the Alumni Edition are online! Learn about John Gutheil, CEO of SciQuus and Ayan Kusari, a medical student at Columbia University. sqonline.ucsd.edu
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