8. helmikuuta 2012

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Passion, Networking, and a Little Bit of Luck

4.9.2009 | Emily Kellogg | Luettu 4808 kertaa - 2 kommenttia

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Piia Valonen explains how her research in tissue engineering in Finland led her to a year long position in the Langer Lab at MIT.
Story by Emily Kellogg

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“I never thought that I was going to get a PhD,” admits Piia Valonen, a recent postdoc researcher at the Langer Lab, the research lab at MIT, run by Millenium Prize winner, Dr. Robert Langer, “I never dreamt of going to MIT.”
 
The Langer Lab is one of the largest academic labs in the United States, and the latest project from Dr. Robert Langer, who is known for his work in the field of tissue engineering and biomedicine. The goal of the Langer lab is to “significantly improve the quality of human life”, and Dr. Langer views the project as an extension of his already prolific career in research and innovation. Valonen experienced the project first-hand when she found herself on a plane to North America in November of 2007.
 
But when Valonen was just beginning her studies, she had no idea that she would end up working with one of the innovators in the field of tissue engineering. She pursued the field, because biotechnology was a hot-topic in 1995, when she began her studies. However, as she pursued the topic, Valonen discovered a passion that would ultimately take her to research the possibility of mechanically functional cartilage grafts based on human stem cells and poly-caprolactone scaffolds.
 
“My project…was about cartilage tissue engineering,” she says of her research experience just before MIT, “We were trying to develop new material for cartilage repair, I had cultivated human mesenchymal stem cells, and I had imaged animals with MRI.”
And when Valonen’s research coordinator suggested that she apply to work at the Langer Lab in Boston, Valonen decided that it was worth taking the chance to get her first opportunity to work abroad.
 
“The project motivates me,” she says simply, “it’s important that what I’m working on is interesting.”
 
Lessons Learned
 
Valonen has, however, found that there is more to discovering research opportunities than simply following interesting projects.
“I’ve learned that making contacts is really important, especially in North America,” she advises, “It takes courage, but you can train yourself.”
 
Valonen continues to elaborate, explaining that when you’re a young researcher applying for grants, if you don’t have the support of someone more established, it can be really hard to get the necessary funding.
 
“Knowing people in the top your field can definitely have an impact on the beginning of your career,” she explains.
 
Valonen shares that, in her opinion, the actual practical experience you get researching is only part of the equation for a successful career. In fact, she never would have made it to the Langer Lab, if her supervisor hadn’t introduced it as a possibility.
 
“I heard of an opening, and so I applied,” she says.
Once she got there, Valonen’s inclination about the importance of networking was only confirmed. Working with an international cross-section of young engineers, she was introduced to a different kind of research than she was used to.
 
“The supervisor there worked much more closely with us than I was used to,” she comments, “But, it was a really great atmosphere, very relaxed. I’ve learned that it’s really important to be able to work with people.“ “But the lab was accepting,” she adds, “There were a lot of parties, and it was easy to make friends. Even though I think that Americans have a different idea of what a friend is, than what Finnish people would say…”
 
The Langer Lab: An International Hub
 
Valonen worked in a smaller unit within the Langer Lab from November of 2007, until Christmas of 2008. Her unit consisted of four other people, a researcher from China, two from the U.S., and someone from Sweden.
 
“Even though it’s a large lab, it still feels small,” she comments, of her experience, “We all shared what we were working on, and used the same equipment.”
 
A supervisor handled the international group of researchers, and guided their projects closely. Valonen recalls that every Friday the group would meet and talk about their progress over pizza and salad.
 
“That definitely makes you more productive,” laughs Valonen, “You know that you have to report on your results, so you need to have something to say.”
 
Valonen was successful in her research, completing a project on the possibility of creating mechanically functional cartilage, engineering functional, cartilage-like structures. She presented this research in the annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society in Las Vegas, in February of 2009, to a receptive audience.
 
She is currently working in the Molecular brain research group, a research group based in the University of Kuopio. Valonen is now a senior researcher, working with a project focused on the use of stem cells in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, followed with NMR. She is also setting up a method for cultivating and differentiating human stem cells in the clean room settings. But one day, Valonen explains, she hopes to start her own research group, and pursue and lead a team developing her personal research interests.
 
Robert Langer on the Langer Lab
 
“We are working in a lot of areas,” Dr. Langer explains, “Delivery of Nucleic acids, such as siRNA and DNA, are two such areas. We are also doing a lot of work in nanotechnology…creating new nanoparticles to deliver drugs to specific cells, and new highly sensitive nano-diagnostics. We are also doing a lot of work in tissue engineering.”

“I love running a laboratory,” he continues, “I feel I am making a contribution not only through the research, but by training the future leaders in these fields. There are challenges of course, because you run into obstacles when you do research. It is important to encourage young scientists in the Lab and to trouble shoot. But I feel that people grow from these challenges and become better scientists because of them.”  

 

From the left: researcher Piia Valonen, Dr. Robert Langer, Dr. Akihiko Kusanagi (PhD), and Piia´s tutor Dr. Lisa Freed 


A Day in the Life of the Langer Lab

 
Recent Post-Doc Researcher, Piia Valonen, Explains Day to Day Life in Professor Langer’s Lab at MIT
 
“I never thought that I was going to get my PhD,” explains Piia Valonen, “I never dreamt of going to MIT.”
 
Valonen may not have expected to end up in the largest research lab in North America, but once she got there, she found it surprisingly open and accepting.
 
“It was a really great atmosphere, very relaxed,” she explains, “I would get to the lab early in the morning and start my research. Even though it was a large lab, it still felt small. We all shared what we were working on, and we all used the same equipment.”
 
Valonen worked in a smaller unit within the Langer Lab from November of 2007 to Christmas of 2008. Her unit consisted of four other people, researchers from China, the U.S. and Sweden. Their supervisor guided their projects closely, and Valonen recalls that every Friday the group would meet and talk about their progress over pizza and salad.
 
“That definitely makes you more productive,” laughs Valonen, “You know that you have to report on your results, so you need to have something to say.”
 
Valonen recalls doing her most intense work in the mornings, and taking breaks in the afternoon to clear her head by swimming. She would head home around 7 or 8 pm.
 
“You don’t really have an outside life, while you’re working in the lab, especially period this short,” she laughs, “But my supervisor was really great, hoping us to have some other life too besides work, and it was a really international environment.”
 
Ultimately, Valonen was successful in her research, but the true lesson she learned is the importance of meeting people, and making contacts.
 
“It takes courage, but you can train yourself,” she comments, “But the Langer lab was accepting, there were a lot of parties, and it was easy to make friends.” 

 

Kommentit

Tuntematon | 26-01-2011

Congrats Piia - going to MIT is a dream that only the most intelligent of people in the world can accomplish. You are beautiful, clever and most evidently hardworking. Keep up the great work. Yours Truly, Janine from gazebo canopy

Jack | 26-07-2010

Hi, I'm having trouble reading your site in Flock (the font size it way too small). I've tried raising the font size from the settings option but that barely helped. Do you have any advice on what I can do? (By the way, I'm using Windows XP) - ways to lose weight fast and free

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