44th DARWIN FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 2023 TWO INSPIRING TALKS ON ALUMNI DAY

The Friday of the Darwin Festival is always Alumni Day. In 2023 we welcomed MD/PhD Candidate Mr. Webb Camille (2017) to speak to us about his PhD research. He gave an engaging talk about an important contributory factor of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), entitled “What is the role of citrullination in ALS?”. Following his talk, he met with a group of Biology students over lunch and they learned all about his research, his MD program at UMASS Chan Medical School umassmed.edu, as well as his pathway to this point in his exciting career.

Students thoroughly enjoyed the lunch as can be seen in these quotes: “Webb Camille, an alumnus of the Salem State University Biology Department was an honored guest at this year’s Darwin Festival. His research “the Role of Citrullination in ALS” and altering the overall function of a chaperone protein was thoroughly interesting. Beyond that, having a speaker that was once in our position as a student gave hope that others like him can land in a successful career path after college. He is living proof that students at a small state school can do just as well post-college as those attending more well-known schools.”

Brenna Dillon – BioSociety eBoard Officer

After the lunch, our very own, Dr. Jason Brown, who had mentored Webb in lab while Webb was an undergraduate at Salem State, delivered an engaging talk. It focused on his research on ciliopathies using the model organism, the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas, infusing into his talk mention of a number of the students he had worked with in his lab. His talk was entitled: “Cilia, diseases, and organelle assembly - Leeuwenhoek’s ‘little legs’ in the spotlight”.

A few weeks after our 44th festival, I tracked down Jason and Webb and asked them about the day.

Webb Camille Alumni Day Morning Speaker

What did you find most enjoyable about your visit to the 44th Darwin Festival? The most enjoyable part of the Darwin festival was the environment when giving my talk. It brought back memories of going to Darwin festival talks during my undergraduate years. It was surreal to think 6 years ago, I was a senior sitting in one of those chairs in awe of scientific research. Now I am the speaker who gets to inspire the next generation of scientist and doctors.

What were most of our students asking questions about?

Most students were asking questions about my MD/PhD program and more broadly medical school admissions. Many students at SSU are hoping to continue their education after graduating and they wanted more insight on different roles in health care. Those students are interested in the medical field but were not sure where to start to determine how they want to contribute to health care.

What are some of the memories you have of working with Jason while you were an undergraduate here?

I remember being in the back room of the labs where we conducted our research. It was only big enough for two people and the autoclave. I remember seeing my algae mutants that grew one flagellum spinning in circles under the microscope. It was amazing to think we were pursuing new knowledge in that environment.

What advice do you have for our students who are thinking about going on the Med School and/or conducting research at the graduate level? Make sure you understand the process and have an end goal. For medical school, students should know what they are sacrificing when they embark on such a journey as well as the different types of physicians. For a PhD, students should get involved early in research, so they understand how research is conducted in academia. Students in either path should consider their end goal, it may change once you get going, but having a solid foundation of where you want to be in 10-15 years is critical.

I know you are extremely busy with your MD program and the PhD research side. What do you do to relax and unwind and how important is finding time to relax?

I always make sure my time is filled with quality events. I don’t use social media or watch tv/movies. When I have free time, I make plans with friends and family to catch up or be outdoors. Knowing how to utilize your down time is key. Hours can be wasted on your phone or watching Netflix. Make the most of your time because it is priceless.