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What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The intersection of IT and science in Michaela Willi’s work as a computational biologist
• Using CRISPR technology to understand the nuances of gene mutations
• Finding success by choosing a path based on purpose and interest rather than prestige and wealth

Many of the innovations happening at the rinaLAB are centered around the unlikely intersection of two fields of study, and guest Michaela Willi represents another interesting crossroads. Her official title is computational biologist, which is an impressive way of explaining that she works at the intersection of IT and Biology. Her research has centered around bioinformatics, next generation sequencing, CRISPR technology, and genomics. 

Willi says that she has had a natural interest and talent in the sciences ever since grade school. She realized early on that she was passionate about computers but was also interested in pursuing medical school because of her fascination with biology. While many people would just choose one field of study or the other, Willi did not want to compromise either of her passions, and chose to pursue both in the niche of computational biology.

In her years honing her craft, she has identified innovative ways that modern technology can aid genetic research. Part of her work has been to understand the process behind how genes are activated in a cell to make the cell become whatever component of the body it needs to be (tissue, blood, etc.). These “regulatory elements” which activate a gene are essential to understanding how to create specific types of cells, so Willi’s work to research and understand the regulatory elements and their behavior will translate into important aspects of medical research. 

Gene editing is another component of Willi’s work. There is a technique where scientists can use CRISPR technology to cut out specific parts of DNA and see how certain changes to the DNA will affect the genes. They have learned that changing one specific area of the genome will have a chain reaction elsewhere on the genome, and Willi was determined to get a more nuanced understanding of this reaction. Using CRISPR technology, Willi retrieved the entire genome sequencing on a mouse, and then did the same for their parent and sibling mice (as an idea, one gram of DNA is capable of storing the equivalent of 215 million gigabytes of information). 

Each generation naturally generates genetic mutations, so the sibling mice acted as a control group who was not treated with CRISPR. Comparing the CRISPR treated mice to the non-CRISPR treated mice, and then comparing both of these groups to their parent mice’s genome, showed that the CRISPR treated mice did not carry more mutations from their parents’ generation than the control group sibling mice. This led Willi and her team to understand that there are not significant internal mutations in the genome because of CRISPR treatment. This helps scientists understand gene regulation and CRISPR technology better, so that people can use the information for further studies in human diseases. 

In addition to these kinds of research breakthroughs, Willi enjoys that her work involves a lot of collaboration with other scientists. She describes how fulfilling it is to be in a field wher eshe can answer questions that she has personal interest in, but which also serve a greater purpose in research. She encourages anyone interested in science to choose a direction you’re passionate in rather than seeking prestige and wealth. Willi understands that work is a big part of life, and if you have to force yourself to work it will make your life much harder. If you can go to work because you like it, no matter what it is, it makes life more enjoyable, and this happiness will naturally translate to more success as well. Listen to the full episode for a fascinating discussion about genetic research and following your passions, and if you learned something new, be sure to check out other rinaLAB episodes! 

rinaLAB is a founding_media podcast created in partnership with OST Austria.

Host: Dan Dillard

Guest: Michaela Willi 

Transcript:

welcome back to the rinalab podcast the show that explores the science and the people behind the research and innovation network Austria also known as Reno this week we’re going to dig deep into the DNA and genomics with makayla Willie makayla is currently a PhD student within the National Institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases at the national institutes of health her research is centered around the fields of bioinformatics petitioner biology next generation sequencing crisper engine omics Kayla holds a graduate degree from the medical university of Innsbruck let’s find out more about what her and her colleagues or up to I am super intrigued about your field of study can you tell us a little bit about what you do first of all suppose you’re fixing expertise so I’m computational biologist all by on fermentation which is pretty much the same and I am kind of looking between IT and biology so we applying I. T. math this kind of Felix to biological questions to address biological data science so we are kind of biologists but on the computers not sought Minnesota and was ation and of the research is being done and then just using the that side of it to understand it better exactly you know what country into this I’m really curious as far as you know your path like when you initially you know what it will catch into soul back it’s cool I realize the mice Durang more into mathematics and physics and biology so no more this n atural sciences and the Austrian school system allows you to kind of pick your major in this direction Seoul I did not because languages like other people I’m went more in this direction so I could graduate with having a lot of physics with having a lot of math and biology basically right and from there I was interested in med school and still computational science so I found this kind of needs of bioinformatics where you can kind of combine both of them so that’s how I started my undergraduate I think it’s so fascinating that new truly tailored something that was in your heart so you like I’m good at this I’m also gonna language but I really like this and I kinda like medical school but I also like this and you were actually able to to create something or find something that was perfect for you

so it sounds like yeah it is would you explain a little bit about your your research and and why it’s important so in my research area we up really basically focusing on the basic stuff so be tried to understand why genes are regulated how they are so considering one cell we have always does seem to set of genes in them but the sun is sometimes in the muscle or in the block system and the live up so different genes need to be active to make the cell to what it is at the end and we are trying to understand how this works and for that on the D. N. A. so on the whole chi chi no magic in a we have not only cheats but we have also so cord regulatory elements which allow to activate a teen so we are studying those elements to understand to which team do they activate twat lever to the activator gene is in very highly activated or moderately activated for instance and that’s hot what we are trying to address and trying to understand Bubba to then translate this in two more medical relevant research is this the the same thing is is it generating or just jeans studying and is there is there a difference so we are a studying genes but we use gene editing for a soldier gene editing is a technique where you can cut out specific parts of the DNA or more recently there’s another gene editing technique which is called base editing by you can switch the bass bell so you can change the C. twenty or you can change N. eight twenty for instance so there are two possibilities either you switch sing a basis all you really cut pots out using Chris because nine and would remain the use is Chris Backus nine to cut out such D. N. A. elements which regulate the gene to understand the consequences so if this is missing for instance what happens to the chains around and what happens if these teens are deregulated off further other teens deregulated what are the consequences of that because this is not on the stoop yet very well it’s such a complex thing to understand obviously a much more complex than I think people expected when they analyzed the DNA

the first time I watched of Ted talk on JI on gene working DNA and one of the things that one of the faster for you who it was brought out was the coating of a gene and it was volumes and volumes and volumes and volumes and volumes they brought on the stage and this is like this is the code in one change yeah when the NHS missed string what what so it really opened the eyes to the audience of how how complex this work is would you explain I know you had a paper on crisper normalcy is a techno is a technology I would call it technology technology would you explain to the audience what what that means so in general you can use Chris but to modify the Chino so you can cut out jeans you can cut out such regulatory elements for instance but what is not so much addressed yet is the safety soul if you want to target one specific area on the genome does something else happens anywhere else in the genome so I will for research focus in terms of that bubbles to use Chris but in my case because we have a lot of experience in doing that and then see using whole genome sequencing which basically gives you a picture of the complete DNA of the smiles to see if we change the D. N. A. somewhere else in the genome and not only that but we wanted to change so for that we did this sequencing technology on the parents of the mice then that pops which were treated with Chris Paul but also some siblings which were not treated with Chris but to see them as a controller because what is important here that we need the parents and the siblings is that each miles generation or each human generation just generates mutations

so if you have kids they will have a certain set of mutations it’s just how it works I mean it’s the adjust occurring kind of eros by nature but most of them usually known I mean they are known senseless ain’t right yeah just different side exact copy it’s yeah in two thousand but only a rail subset of them disease causing in general so this allowed us really to use this crispa treated mice to compare if dole’s carry more mutations then the parents or different mutations than the parents and especially more mutations than the siblings and what we found out this that they do not Kerry more mutations than the siblings Seoul from that we can conclude that Chris but does not calls on intendant mutations in the genome in the huge fashion yeah thanks for so the technology does not studying it doesn’t cause more more mutation yes the twenty choose because we could look at the total set of mutations in this Chris but treated mice and in this contraceptives and the set of mutations is in the same range and by that we can conclude that Chris but is not introducing new a new set of mutations which re run all the way off really fascinating what does is does the day in the life of what you do look like I’m slow a lot of collaboration collaboration with other scientists yeah so especially in our lab so I am the computational biologist and the other people in the lap so my colleagues may lead generate the data and I analyzed them so based on that we have a lot of collaboration amongst each other and so we have most models with such Chris permutations where we try to understand how the teens a regulator and I’m kind of analyzing the data to see what happens what are the consequences what is changing in the genome using different techniques yeah on it says collaborative effort you working with with with scientists and so forth we talked about in your life path it wasn’t a direct yeah I’m gonna do this some and I’m already here you have several kind of guidance can you talk about that a little bit

so I think it’s the in my under graduate started with two fields it’s like this medical informatics where you study the whole information systems in hospitals in Seoul that but the doctors put in all the information right you have fuel wreck called of each patient and things like that but I also sought studied the science part of informatics so from there I decided I’m more interested in the science so for my must us I got in this direction at the time I was also looking for the Austrian charge would cancel gonna say and the I a bos conferences and I suddenly saw the sequencing technology is coming up because it was kind of that time but they got really popular and affordable so I was like but I kind of got interested in that because I thought it’s very fascinating what you can do with patients person but what they read days and but you can conclude out of that and how you can combine it and all those things so then I’d try to find other lab for my masters thesis in ins pro crack can already kind of try a little bit how the book that is you know and then I started to do my PhD because I thought this is really fascinating and I like him I like hosts science books so how kind of this book environment this yeah and during my PhD I had done the chance to join the ana H. so the national institutes of health and yeah I think it was a really really good decision and that’s all I still enjoy it is a wonderful path what I love about your path is that you are just trying things and as use awesome that interested you you just follow your passion you follow your heart where your heart was seeking you yeah and at this thing that’s that’s incredibly fast and how you Scully created your career out of just things that you that you loved what do you what are the goals of your research what are you trying to for you personally what are you trying to spy in the world

personally I would say I try to answer questions I’m interested in but they but they also kind of serve a purpose for society form for research I’m in our case I think the current goal is really to understand this gene regulation a little bit better and that people can use this information then for further studies in human diseases also read our studies unloading human diseases or disease related models we really tried to understand it on a basic level but the knowledge can be translated to the next level and this is the kind of what all the research groups to I mean it’s research group has kind of the focus on then you transferred to whatever you are doing and things whether it makes sense or not that’s awesome I a love the way the we as humans evolved entrance for education so we’ll do our piece of it and then push that education for now someone else picks of the baton and they take you to the next level which is releasing but but the work that you’re doing even though you call it basic the most listeners are going wild basic but the over you know what I heard and what you said as well though is I have questions and I’d like to answer those questions but I know that my questions are really impacts society yeah and so I just think that’s a really amazing way to enjoy your work in your passion because you get to get up everyday and even you the curiosity is what drives you the rest of those questions and as you said in our conversation earlier than than five more arise and you keep chasing that but then in taking on the state and knowledge and and and ensuring that with others I think that’s really amazing so one of the things that I wanted to talk about is those people in the audience that are kind of trying to figure out what they want to do in life what would your advice be to them I’m so my advice so what worked pretty well for me is the I chose the direction I’m good in not necessarily maybe that direction

but you can make most of the money all that people kind of thing keeps you a good in Seoul I always try to follow what I like what I’m passionate full because for me I think in general life book is a big part of your life and I think life is hot if you need to force yourself to work so I think if you can go to work because you like it no matter what it is I think it makes life more enjoyable and made maybe also you most successful because you actually like would you do and then you are maybe more into it no I agree a hundred percent in love the interview so in the work that we do insurance stories of all aspects entrepreneurs an artist and an now scientists of its hyper important or what I’ve seen is the people that are the happiest are those that March to the beat on drums they follow what’s in their heart and that’s part of what our shows in our networks on about is trying to show people that at io sure there’s gonna be people that are gonna tell you what to do but that’s usually not what causes me the most happiness is kind of finding on your own what makes you happy and and figuring out how to best produce that work on a daily basis to be happy so that’s just amazing advice I think well thank you very much for being on our show and we we learned a significant amount and and for our audience out there I I hope that that was as interesting to them as it was to me and and good luck on your continued research thank you so much thank you wow just wow is all I can say about the work that you were doing and with the in the science is capable of right now thank you makayla for sharing your knowledge of this the renewal at podcast team includes me damn Dillard producer Mariah gossip and all you engineer Jake Wallace special thanks to robin Tim vice and the amazing team at research and innovation at work Austria the real a podcast is available on Spotify iTunes and all other major podcast but maybe sure this episode with the science room in your life this week we would appreciate it thanks for listening and we’ll be seeing you next week