Yaretzi Martinez came to UW–Madison for the Biological Interactions Summer Research Program organized by WISCIENCE, where she spent ten weeks doing research in the Wassarman Lab while participating in professional development activities, science communication projects, and even some bucket-list adventures. During our conversation, Yaretzi was joined by David Wassarman, her lab PI and co-director of the program.
So to start, could you just tell me a little bit about yourself, some of your background, where you go to school, what you’re studying?
Yaretzi: My name is Yaretzi Xiomara Rubio-Martinez. I grew up in Mexico. I did all my education there until high school. I am in a community college in San Diego called San Diego City College. I’m a rising sophomore, and I am doing a bio major, planning to transfer to a four year university in the next year to major in neurobiology.
And what led you to apply to this program?
Yaretzi: That’s a good question. I came here to know if research is something for me or not. And I was debating between keeping my bio major or an engineering major. But this experience helped me to decide that I want to go to grad school, and I really enjoy doing research. It’s something that will improve human society.
Have you done research in the past? Or is this kind of a new experience for you?
Yaretzi: This is my first formal experience in research in the lab, because I never had the opportunity to be in a lab because it was COVID during all my high school. So this was a good opportunity for me to experience how it is being in a lab.
And how’s it been for you?
Yaretzi: Pretty fun. I really enjoy waking up every morning and waiting for my results. I really enjoy it. I think nothing is how you expect it. But the important thing is that you have to learn how to solve the challenges that you face. And keep improving.
And David, how has the experience been for you? I know you’ve been working with the BI program for a while, right?
David: For a long time. Formally, I’ve been co-director since 2011, but I worked with the program almost since I started here in 2001. Janet Bradshaw [the director of WISCIENCE] had a small summer program, and I worked with her, and then over the years, it’s become more formal, my association with it. I’ve had a student almost every summer, and it’s just fabulous for me every year. Seeing students come in who haven’t really experienced research, really get to understand what research is all about and what it takes to be a researcher. Yaretzi is awesome. She is one of the best students I’ve ever had. She’s very modest. But the data she generated in just a short period of time is really significant for our research, and she caught on really quickly, learning how to work with flies, reading the literature, and understanding the background information to work on her project. It’s been really a lot of fun. The summer has flown by. I wish she could stay.
Has it flown by for you too, Yaretzi, or has it felt long?
Yaretzi: This was really fast for me. The first two weeks when I was getting used to it, it was kind of hard to learn everything. But after those two weeks, the time has gone fast, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think this program is a huge opportunity. Because it’s not just how to do experiments in your lab, it’s the whole process of being part of research, and how to deal with feedback, how to have support with your mentor, how to write a paper, or do a poster session, how to present. So I think this is a complete experience on how it is doing research. I see it as a good opportunity for students to take.
And what’s the project that you’ve been working on?
Yaretzi: I’m studying the effect of hydration in the fruit fly following TBI, traumatic brain injury. Basically, I’m feeding flies with water, because in previous research, Dr. Wassarman’s lab saw that the mortality increased in flies after TBI when they eat food rather than when they just drink water. So I’m feeding flies with water and food, and we successfully have results that [show that] their mortality decreases, it’s lower than the full results.
And what research do you do in your lab overall, David? How does Yaretzi’s project fit in with that?
David: The whole lab studies traumatic brain injury using fruit flies. We got into this because we suspected that outcomes from traumatic brain injury in humans would be determined by genotype. Different people happen to carry different genes, and they respond differently to an injury to the brain. In addition to genetics, we thought that the environment might also affect outcomes, such as diet, and that’s the aspect that Yaretzi is working on. After we injure flies, if we feed them different food, water versus a high sugar diet versus a high fat diet, they have different outcomes, even though they got the same injury to the brain.
So now we have made that discovery, but we don’t understand why it is. That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Now, what Yaretzi has figured out is that high sugar causes the flies to be dehydrated, and if you give them a source of water, you can prevent somewhat the effect of the food, of the sugar. That’s a really big advance, because now we can try to understand what the dehydration is doing. Another lab has shown that it leads to the production of a compound called uric acid, and that is toxic to flies. It’s also been shown in humans that uric acid builds up after a brain injury. So ultimately, we want to go from what we learned in flies all the way to humans. Everything so far that Yaretzi has done can be translated to humans. So she’s done really well, and what she’s working on is central to everything that we do in the lab. Everybody studies traumatic brain injury.
Wow, that’s pretty exciting. Is this a research direction that you think you might want to go in the future? Or do you have other areas you might be interested in pursuing?
Yaretzi: I don’t know if I see my future working with flies. But I know that I will keep on in neurobiology and genetics.
What’s one of the most interesting things that you’ve learned in this program so far?
Yaretzi: How to deal with [reading research] papers. That was the hardest thing for me because I didn’t understand those types of papers. So the first time that I read them, I understood nothing. But that’s what my mentor was here for, for supporting me. I kept reading and asking. I felt free to ask questions. So yeah, that was a hard thing for me, but I learned how to read them. This is something that will help me for the future, because I will keep reading papers. So I think at this age, as a rising sophomore, this will help me with my degree.
So you feel more confident?
Yaretzi: Yeah, more confident now. I feel that I know how to read a paper.
Is there anything that was surprising or unexpected for you this summer?
Yaretzi: Yes. I didn’t expect to have such close support from my mentor that I would feel free to ask questions and feel so comfortable. That’s something that I didn’t expect because I was not confident when I came here, because I didn’t have knowledge about bio. So this was a difficulty for me.
And David, what’s something that’s interesting or surprising for you about working with this program? I know you’ve been doing it for a while, but are there still things that surprise you or that you’ve learned?
David: I guess every year, I’m just surprised at how much the students progress in such a short period of time. The learning curve is really steep. This summer was particularly strong. I felt that the students really dug into their science and really took the things that we gave them, the activities that we gave them to do, and took them really seriously. They put a lot of work into the posters and have really been thinking about their science. I hear them talking about their science, and they’re just so excited to discover new things. So yeah, that’s always a nice part of it.
I am so glad that the program is doing what we hoped it would do and what Amber [Smith, the Program Director] and I have worked towards, which is giving students a true view of what graduate school is like. I think that’s really important, because I don’t think anybody realizes what it takes to work in the lab every day. It’s hard. Most experiments do not work, and you have to do things over and over again. It’s hard to get motivated to come into lab every day and work on your science. But I think the successes are so great that it’s sort of like a drug that you want more. You get some success, and you go, yeah, I got that feeling, and I want that again. You’re willing to go through the hard times to get to that again. So students have to experience that and say, yeah, that’s what I want to do. That those discoveries are so worth all this work. Or they say no, that’s just not my personality. You know, I think it’s great, but I need to be doing something different. So I think we’re allowing students to truly see what it takes to be a scientist and figure out for themselves whether that works for them.
So it’s successful either way, whatever people decide.
David: Exactly. Yep, those are all successes for us. We’re giving students an opportunity to get into a lab where they have never had that opportunity before, because they’re at a school with very little research there, or they just haven’t been able to take advantage of what is there. So, you know, to come to a place like this with so many labs, and so many different things going on, I think that’s often a real shock for students, how much science and how many questions there are out there that haven’t been answered. Students read textbooks, and that’s what they think, you know, they think everything has been figured out. You know, that all the big discoveries have been made, and I’m just learning them. But there’s so much more to do.
What has your experience day to day in the lab been like?
Yaretzi: Every morning, I wake up excited about my results from the previous day. But I was concerned with my [fly] stocks, because at the beginning, I was not used to it. So I got bored at some points. But I tried to deal with that and make a balance, and think at some point, those stocks will help me to have my results, and the results will help me to make a graph, and in the end, that graph will help with something.
So you learn to deal with the failures and the successes. Take it all in stride.
Yaretzi: And the wait. The time. Yeah, the time it takes you is an important thing in research. And I didn’t know it. But that’s part of it. That’s how research is. I can deal with it. Step by step.
How do you think your experience here will impact what you do in the future?
Yaretzi: Definitely grad school. I decided to go to grad school to do research. I’m not sure what specifically. But I have time to figure it out. With this decision, I can start building my pathway. After transferring to a four-year university, I can start working in the lab to improve my scientific skills. So yeah, I think I can start building my own pathway for grad school.
Is there anything you would want to tell other students about this program if they’re considering applying?
Yaretzi: Definitely to apply! And I think it is better if they know where their interest is, their areas of research, because that way they can more easily experience research in the area that they want, and that’s better for them. To have the experience they want. And to see how the future looks in grad school.
And how about you, do you have advice either for students or maybe for faculty who are considering getting involved in having a student in their lab?
David: I agree with Yaretzi, I think it is helpful for the students to have some idea of what they’re interested in, because a big part of success in science is just passion for it, interest in what you’re doing. So you sort of have to start with that. But I have seen in the past that students have come in, and we haven’t been able to match them with a faculty member that did something that they were interested in or thought they were interested in. But then they found out through the summer that their interests change. Maybe they start working with plants, and they had never worked with plants before. By the end of the summer, their eyes are wide open, and they realize that their interest in cancer research might not be the only thing that could interest them. So now we’ve opened up this field of plants.
In terms of faculty, you know, I think that it would be great if all faculty had an interest in doing this. It’s been really nice to have young, energetic people in the lab. It’s great to pass on what we have learned, and teach other people. And that’s really good for the people in the lab, also, to gain that experience of being mentors. All of us have been in that position at some point—we all started off in a lab. So this is sort of payback for many people, and they want to do a good job because somebody in the past has served as their mentor, and helped them along.
In terms of giving faculty advice, I’d really think about projects that are appropriate for 10 weeks in the summer, and give students an opportunity to really get their hands and brains working. That’s not always an easy thing to do. Not every research program is amenable to a 10 week project where students can get data by the end. But at least having students experience what it’s like on a daily basis to be in the lab and doing experiments.
Have you been able to go and experience Madison at all while you’ve been here?
Yaretzi: Yes!
What have you done?
David: What hasn’t she done?!
Yaretzi: I went skydiving.
What?! Oh, my God.
Yaretzi: Yeah, that was insane. But that was so fun. I really enjoyed it. And we went with other students. I knew I wanted to do that at some point of my life. That was on my bucket list, actually. But I didn’t know at 18 years old!
Wow. Big summer, then!
Yaretzi: I think we have a strong cohort. All the students. I love how we share many things and how we want to enjoy time together. We did kayaking, we organized game nights every Friday. So that’s fun. And the summer was not just being an experience in the lab. I also made some friends here. And I know that these friends will help me in my future. We support each other.
