Alba Rodriguez Meira

A bit about yourself

I grew up in a small town in northwest Spain (Panxón), and I was one of those annoying little children that would never stop asking why things were the way they are. My parents worked in a hospital (my mum is a doctor and my dad, a nurse assistant), so I've always been inspired by the desire to find better treatments for patients. I think this had a crucial influence on my decision to pursue a career in biomedical research.

Summarise the research in your DPhil

In my DPhil, I developed a technology for single-cell multi-omic analysis (TARGET-seq; Molecular Cell, 2019 and Star Protocols, 2020) and applied it to study the evolution of myeloproliferative neoplasms towards aggressive types of acute myeloid leukemia. This led to the discovery that chronic inflammation drives TP53-mediated leukemic transformation (Nature Genetics, 2023), with important translational implications for the prevention of cancer progression.

About your current job and the path you took to get there

I am currently a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. After finishing my DPhil, I wanted to continue my scientific training in cancer biology in cancer epigenetics. I wanted to do so in a cutting-edge research institute and well-renowned lab, so I chose to join the Bernstein Lab in Boston. In the next couple of years, I hope to start my own lab studying the molecular basis of early cancer development.

About what helped you and how you decided to get into this area

Many people at the WIMM helped me get to where I am today. My DPhil supervisor Professor Adam Mead was extremely supportive throughout my time at the WIMM, and helped me make the important decision about where to transition next in my career. My Thesis Committee members Professor Doug Higgs and Professor Tatjana Sauka-Splenger also guided me to find a postdoctoral lab that would be a good fit for me. Other WIMM PIs (Tom Milne, Beth Psaila) also helped me practise my postdoctoral interviews, which was crucial to get really good offers from labs in the USA.

But most importantly, the WIMM environment and training was crucial for me in deciding to pursue a research career and always strive for scientific excellence.

Anything extra you found you needed to know, learn along the way or wish you had done differently

I wish I had learnt early in my PhD that more experiments don't always mean more or better data, or better conclusions! I think a crucial part of the PhD training is learning to be thoughtful about experimental design and data analysis to make the most out of your results.