Patrick Kerstein ’07 inspires love of research in his students

hen Patrick Kerstein ’07 was a student at Ripon College, he valued his time in labs at Farr Hall.

“The science-based courses at Ripon almost always include a lab section,” he says. “While at Ripon, I thought this was the norm at all schools, however, I have learned that lab sections are rare at most schools outside of their introductory course.”

Fifteen years later, Kerstein continues to value giving students an opportunity to work inside the lab. Today, he’s an assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University, a member of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, and runs his own lab where, naturally, he mentors others.

“As assistant professor, I have expanded on (several) research projects and have begun training both undergraduate and graduate students in my own lab,” he says.

In fact, it may be this aspect of his work that he values the most. Kerstein’s research is highly technical, yet firmly rooted in what he learned at Ripon College.

“I worked one summer at Ripon College as a research assistant for Dr. (Bob) Wallace collecting and sorting rotifers. This opportunity provided me insight into what it’s like to work in a research lab and inspired me to find a position in a research lab after graduation,” he says, adding that “my education at Ripon provided me with a strong foundation not only in the sciences, but in public speaking and writing. These skills have set me up well for a career I didn’t know I would be interested in when I left college and allowed me to forge a path into a new area of biology. I think it’s always important to keep an open mind as you progress through your career and not shy away from learning about alternative pathways you may take.”

After graduating with a major in biology as well as a minor in chemistry, he sought out lab opportunities, ultimately working as a lab technician in a neuroscience laboratory at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

“During these two years, I discovered both my passion for research and an interest in neuroscience,” Kerstein says, noting that he then joined UW-Madison’s neuroscience program to earn his doctorate. “As a Ph.D. student, I studied the development of the nervous system,” he says.

This is where Kerstein began his specialization in neuroscience, which continues to be his field of research. “My dissertation focused on the molecules and genes important for nerve growth and guidance in the brain and spinal cord,” he says.

Following his doctorate, he joined the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where he continued this work before joining Purdue in 2021 as an assistant professor. “The focus of my research (at the Vollum Institute) was to identify the genes that instruct specific nerve cells, or neurons, to form the correct connections,” Kerstein says.

Kerstein and his students at Purdue’s new Kerstein Lab are taking further steps in this research. They’re working to identify specific genes involved in the development of each of the 100 different types of nerve cells in the retina, which could lay the groundwork to be able to “re-engineer or regenerate the retina after injury or disease.”

It’s the kind of research that could help lead to important advancements to restore sight for some individuals. “We (also) are trying to determine the molecular reasons why the optic nerve is susceptible to diseases, such as glaucoma and optic neuropathies. The longterm goal will be to identify druggable targets to slow or reverse the disease,” Kerstein says. It’s a long road toward progress in a field such as this, and he is focusing on short-term progress for now. “My immediate goal is to get my lab up and running. I am also currently applying for several research grants with the hopes that I will have a steadier flow of research funding in the future,” Kerstein says. “In the long term, I see myself taking on additional leadership roles within university research centers and in graduate education. However, my passion is planning and analyzing lab experiments with trainees, and I wouldn’t want any additional roles to take away from that.

“While I like to think my research is really important, the truth is that the greatest impact I will have on my field is the mentoring of students who work in my lab. … My approach to mentorship is deeply rooted in the small class sizes and individual attention I received from the faculty in classes and research labs at Ripon College.”

IAN STEPLETON ’98 ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR OF JOURNALISM