From Corporation to Campus: Cultivating Opportunities in Research

Welcome to the Invite Health newsletter. This is a newsletter for those figuring out what to do with a life sciences / health sciences degree. We share stories of students pursuing careers in healthcare, and the experiential learning opportunities they've had. From biomedical engineering to dentistry to medical anthropology, my goal with this newsletter is to introduce you to the various pathways that students can pursue in healthcare (and beyond)!

Whether you’re reading this on a commute, during your study break, or from the comfort of your own home, I hope you enjoy reading today’s newsletter.

- Sachi

This week, I invited Brian, 4th year BSc student at University of British Colombia (UBC), to share his experience working as a co-op student at STEMCELL technologies, the largest biotech company in Canada! We also dive into how Brian secured this competitive position, and his aspirations as a scientist! Today’s highlights include:

• Insights into cell culture and antibody staining - more specifically how Brian grew and stained stem cells and neurons

• Brian’s current thesis research in a neuroscience lab, seeking to understand the mechanisms of Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Brian’s best tips for securing research positions in academic labs & co-ops

From Corporation to Campus: Cultivating Opportunities in Research - Interview with Brian Deng

First off, tell us about your journey so far. Where do you study, what inspired you to pursue this, and what’s next? What else do you like to do outside of studying?

Hey there! My name is Brian (he/him) and I’m a fourth-year BSc student at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I am majoring in Microbiology & Immunology, and I am working on my undergraduate thesis in the Ciernia Lab at UBC. I am a naturally curious person, I like learning about new concepts and working on things with my hands. During my previous co-op at STEMCELL Technologies, I learned how to grow cells in a flask (“culturing” cells), including stem cells and neurons over several weeks to months! I thought the brain was really interesting, which led to me applying to a neuroscience lab, and working on a project related to neurological disorders. I will be applying to grad school later this year for a Ph.D., and one day I hope to run my own lab or become a professor. Outside of school, I enjoy backpacking beautiful British Columbia and snuggling with my cat Romee.

Tell us about your experience as a Co-op Student at the STEMCELL Technologies!

For the first 8 months of 2023, I worked as an on-site co-op student at STEMCELL Technologies, Canada’s largest biotechnology company. STEMCELL is one of the largest co-op student employers in Vancouver, there were over 50 other co-ops who were hired at the same time as me. STEMCELL’s mission statement is “Scientists Helping Scientists”, and that was very much the vibe at the company. Everyone worked collaboratively and the culture was fantastic to work and learn in. 

As a member of the Testing & Integration Team, I was in charge of testing primary antibody products in research workflows and validating high-quality products for future sale at the company. Antibodies are naturally produced by our immune system in response to foreign substances, such as a virus or a vaccine. They can recognize very specific regions called antigens, and bind to them. We can take advantage of this specific binding mechanism by engineering antibodies to target different antigens of various cell types. By attaching a glowing fluorochrome to the antibody, we can quantify the amount of specific binding through machines like microscopes and flow cytometers. Antibodies are really useful tools in research, they can confirm that a protein with a specific antigen is present in a cell, or even the specific location of a protein in a cell. Unfortunately, they are hard to make and don’t always work. Hence, my job was to test them extensively and make sure that STEMCELL only sells high-quality ones, to support meaningful and accurate research of the labs that end up buying them. 

I had two main projects, one involving immune cells and the other neurons, in which I tested antibodies for flow cytometry and microscopy applications. I was in charge of maintaining my own cell cultures and performing all my experiments. This included culturing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neural progenitor cells into mature neurons for over a month! The iPSCs were once blood cells, but through reprogramming, they were “induced” back into stem cells, which have the potential to become any cell type. I was blown away when I first learned about this. 

I think the most important skill I learned was how to think like a scientist. This included designing and troubleshooting protocols from scratch, reaching out to subject-matter experts for guidance, and presenting analysis and conclusions of collected data. I received top-notch training in key technical and soft skills during my co-op term and I would definitely recommend working for STEMCELL if you have the chance. Plus, they pay above minimum wage by a bit.

How did you come across this opportunity? What did the application process entail?

I found my position at STEMCELL Technologies through the UBC Science Co-op program. The program requirements vary by major, but usually, they consist of 3-4 work terms of 4 months each. Although this optional program extends your BSc by a year, you get hands-on experience in a real workplace, so often it’s just as if you were working full-time after graduating. The co-op program partners with employers and provides unique listings only available to students in the program, and I applied through the co-op application portal to the job posting listed there by STEMCELL. I applied to over two dozen jobs with my cover letter, transcript, and CV, and received 2 interviews, so the listings are competitive. The whole process moved quickly, all my applications, interviews, and job offers happened within 3 weeks at the start of September 2022. 

If your university has a Co-op program, I highly encourage you to apply. Being in the Co-op program provided many opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise find, as well as mentorship and workshops on career development topics like how to write a good resume.

Did this experience lead you to pursue any other related opportunities?

I had lots of fun growing my neurons and learning about stem cell engineering and neuronal differentiation. The brain is so complex and there is still much that we don’t know about it. Even though I’m a microbiology and immunology major, I got really interested in neuroscience, especially neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, and wanted to continue working in this field, so I applied to the Ciernia Lab at UBC. Dr. Annie Ciernia’s lab focuses on understanding epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression for brain development, and her lab does a lot of work with microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain. I heard a talk given by one of Dr. Ciernia’s post-docs and knew that I wanted to work on her project. I emailed Dr. Ciernia my transcript and CV and interviewed with her shortly after.

The project that I’m working on involves investigating how a gene mutation linked to autism spectrum disorder impacts how neurons grow. Autism is a highly complex and heritable disorder with no clear cure, and I am passionate about learning how the human brain is impacted by these conditions. I am using the flow cytometry skills I learned at STEMCELL to develop a protocol that evaluates synaptic protein signalling. I don’t think I would have landed my position at the Ciernia Lab had I not learned how to culture neurons and do flow cytometry and microscopy. I’m really glad that I did, I will be staying with the Ciernia Lab for another year and will work on some really cool things over the next few months. One day, I hope to apply the stem cell knowledge I learned and grow stem cell-derived brain organoids as a model for neurological disease research.

Where can students go if they want to learn more about these experiences?

Check out if your school has a co-op program, and talk to your co-op coordinator. If you are interested in working at STEMCELL, you can view their public job postings for non-Co-op related jobs, although these are usually full-time and for non-undergrads. You can also search for “STEMCELL recruiters” on LinkedIn and connect with them to ask questions. Be sure to check out networking events on campus that are hosted by various clubs, since biotechnology companies often booth there. 

If you are interested in an academic lab, I think the best way is to cold-email profs and tell them that you are looking for a position. Reach out to them 4-8 months before your intended start date. Keep the email short and include a blurb on why you’re passionate about their area of research, as well as your CV. Don’t be discouraged if they leave you hanging, follow up a few times, and email as many people as you can. With summer coming soon, now is a great time to reach out to principal investigators (PIs) and apply for summer funding, such as the (Canadian) $6000 NSERC USRA award. Be sure to check out other summer research programs like Amgen Scholars and EPFL ERIP, or even this LinkedIn thread of summer research positions that Sachi wrote. 

As always, free to message me on LinkedIn if you are interested in learning more about anything I mentioned.

Is there anything else that you would like to add for Invite Health readers?

My number one advice to students looking for opportunities is to network. Attend events, seminars, and talks on campus. Look up lab websites of cool PIs where you can often find contact info of people working there. Learn from people who have lived experience. Reach out to grad students in labs you’re interested in via email and people on LinkedIn with experiences you want to try out. They can offer tips and advice that you really can’t find anywhere else, and can potentially refer you to additional opportunities. I learned about the Ciernia Lab from a few people who had previously worked there as undergraduates. They all gave glowing reviews about the lab's collaborative culture, quality of research, and mentorship. After working in the Ciernia Lab for over 4 months now, I could not agree with them more!

In the Community 👩🏻‍💻

• Follow Invite Health’s new Instagram page! @readinvitehealth

• Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations at the University of Toronto Summer Research and Training Program

• MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions Summer Student Program

• Stem Cell Network Student Summerships

• National Institute on Ageing + RTOERO Summer Scholars

• Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research Summer Research

• McMaster Health Forum Summer Students

• Business Development Specialist at ImaginAble Solutions

• Internships at Ontario Brain Institute

• Director Communications at UNICEF Canada

• Vector Scholarship in AI Information Webinar for Prospective Students

• Toronto AI in Biotech Engage & Connect - Bits in Bio x Nucleate x Valence Labs

• Software Engineering Internship - iOS at identifeye HEALTH Inc.

• 67 Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) programs around the world

• Specialist, Program Evaluation - SPAC at Canadian Red Cross

About Invite Health 💌

Invite Health newsletters highlight students pursuing careers in healthcare, and the experiential learning opportunities they've had.

Invite Health is an invitation to build a network, learn a new skill, or find your next opportunity. Here’s how you can get the most out of Invite Health:

1. Connect with the interviewees: At the end of every newsletter, the interviewees leave their contact information for you to contact them. In your message, mention that you learned about their journey through Invite Health, and that you’re curious to learn more!

2. Share the word: Share Invite Health with your friends and networks. Start a conversation about something you learned- an opportunity, a piece of advice, or a recommendation that an interviewee made. Also, take a screenshot from the newsletter, post it on your socials, and tag us!

3. Bet on yourself: Apply to the opportunities that are shared in the newsletters. You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain. And circling back to point #1 - always reach out to the interviewees if you want advice!

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