Cell Biologist Interview
Small is Beautiful: Why this Cell Biologist loves his work!
Professor Robert Parton’s idea of a good time is staring down an electron microscope. Here, in his own words, he explains why the subject of his research is small but perfectly formed!
Q: Tell us about your day job?
A: “I’m a cell biologist – we try to understand how all the molecules and structures of a cell work together to do a particular job. Deciphering cell biology is absolutely fundamental in understanding why cells malfunction in disease and for developing therapeutic strategies.”
Q: What’s so great about it?
A: “I always thought cell biology was the most beautiful part of science – understanding how life works at the most basic level. Looking at cells by electron microscopy, I was immediately hooked – it’s a great way to find out how they work and luckily I seem to be okay at it. Also, the field has been developing in exciting ways over my whole career.
Q: Why do you get a buzz from it?
A: “There is such a thrill in discovering something completely new, like a protein that has never been characterised before, finding out where it is in the cell, what it does, and how it contributes to human diseases. I still find this incredibly exciting and fantastic fun. The day-to-day job of cell biology can be like a piece of detective work, fitting together all the experimental evidence from our work and from other laboratories – weighing up whether it all fits the hypothesis and then testing your ideas. We often have to develop completely new ways of doing things just to find some of this evidence, although some days it is more Inspector Clouseau than Hercule Poirot!”
Q: What’s the best bit about what you do?
A: “I just love using an electron microscope – the magnification it provides reveals cells full of beautiful structures and patterns and all of some importance to the science we are all studying. Most electron microscopists have a bit of artist in them and there is certainly great pleasure in generating aesthetically pleasing images.”
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: “I’m very proud of our contribution, over many years, to understanding the inner workings of a cell, which is really the basic unit of life. Together with hundreds of lab members and collaborators in Australia and overseas, I’ve published 170 papers that together form a substantial and useful contribution to my field of cell biology and to biological knowledge as a whole. More specifically, we have recently made a very significant discovery that may yield new drug delivery vehicles. In particular, my work has helped us understand how lipids and proteins in cells work together to organise the surface surrounding the cell into functional units. This kind of organisation is crucial for any cell to respond to its environment in the right way at the right time. If it goes wrong the cell may become cancerous or you might get a problem with the formation of an organ during embryo development. If I had to name specific findings of this work, discovering a protein that causes certain forms of muscular dystrophy and unravelling the molecular plan for how specific cellular organelles are formed would be the major ones.”
Q: Anything else …?
A: “On a personal note, I’m proud of the fact that I still get my hands dirty actually doing the science – I look at cells down the electron microscope every week. It is very easy to stop any contact with real science as you get busier but making the time to do this gives me great satisfaction.”
Q: Any perks of the job?
A: “We actually have a lot of fun while indulging our passion and of course saving the world! And you can wear shorts and a t-shirt to work every day, even when you’re the boss!”
Q: What’s your next goal?
A: “There are numerous goals in my ay-to-day and year-to-year research that will contribute to our understanding of how a cell works and what goes wrong in disease. One of our most exciting prospects at the moment is to translate recent basic findings into a new way to deliver drugs to specific cells and tissues for clinical use. This new strategy aims to target drugs specifically to the sites where they are required and thus avoid some of the devastating side effects associated with chemotherapeutic treatments for cancer. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do before we know whether the system will work as we hope. The ultimate aim is a cheap delivery vehicle, in which a drug is encapsulated or protected until it reaches the cancerous target cells, without affecting healthy patient cells.”
Q: What have you learned about yourself while doing this research?
A: “That I can survive and function reasonably well on very little sleep! And that any day can bring a surprise.”
Q: How does Australia rank in this research?
A: “Australia has always had a strong international presence in cell biology. Research concentrations such as our cluster of groups here at the University of Queensland and elsewhere in Australia have built significantly on this reputation in the past decade. Australian scientists in general are held in high regard overseas – especially our young postdoctoral researchers – and are valued for their laboratory experience, research values and positive outlook. My own research would not be possible without the world class electron microscopy facilities at the University of Queensland.”
Q: How do you chill, out of the lab?
A: “I like playing sport and trail running in the hills around Brisbane. When I travel I take the opportunity to run in fun places such as the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, Arizona desert, Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco and Tongariro, NZ. I love being able to cycle to work and try to do something physically active every day. On weekends I am often found down in the creek that runs through our backyard, planting and clearing for community regeneration projects. People say I look like House, (Hugh Laurie) although they also say I am less forgiving.”
Q: Who pays for your work?
A: “The NHMRC has funded almost all my research in Australia including my own salary. Nobody can predict where particular research avenues will lead in terms of potential applications – this was certainly true for our own research and there are many other examples. As long as the very best scientists are given the opportunities and support they require and are made aware of the need to apply their research, the outcomes will follow. Fundamental research must be funded. This is absolutely essential.”
Q: Can you sum up your career in two sentences?
A: “We do it because we love it!”
Q: And …?
A: “If you know how a cell works, you might be able to fix it when it breaks.”
This article was originally published in Australian Health and Medical Research – Working to Build a Healthy Australia.