Computational biologist Samira Asgari.Credit: Lionel Pousaz
Joining a newly established laboratory as its first PhD student gave Samira Asgari a great foretaste of life as an independent researcher and insights into setting up a research programme from scratch.
Computational biologist Samira Asgari’s work focuses on communities and individuals who are often overlooked in studies on human genetics, especially Peruvian and Afro-Caribbean populations. Last year, she received a Nature Research Award for Inspiring and Innovating Science, which is awarded in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies.
What is your background in science?
I did my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tehran, where I studied biotechnology. After finishing there, I had offers to join two labs focused on genetics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) for my PhD — one led by a new professor, Jacques Fellay, and the other by a well-established professor, Didier Trono. Trono told me, “If you join my lab, it’ll be like cooking. If you join Fellay’s lab, it’ll be like writing a cookbook.” That helped me a lot: I don’t like cooking. In 2012, I joined Fellay’s lab as his first PhD student. It was a bit of a risk because he had started working at EPFL only a few months before I arrived. Instead of following established protocols in a big lab, we had to develop everything on our own: I had to write the cookbook.
My PhD research in computational biology focused on understanding why some children get sick from common respiratory viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus. My hypothesis was that these children have some genetic background that makes them particularly sensitive. I knew almost nothing about programming or data analysis when I started. To learn, I spent a lot of my first year reading Internet forums, such as Biostar and Stack Overflow, and I took a programming course at the university. I also asked colleagues who worked in more-experimental labs about DNA-extraction protocols and other genetics techniques.
That cooking analogy set the tone and direction for my whole career as a computational biologist. By seeking out resources and learning skills on my own during my PhD programme, I learnt how to be independent, how to lead a research programme and where to find help when I need it. I still do ‘cookbook writing’ science, and plan to continue. For instance, the analyses I conduct on genetics data can serve as ‘recipes’ for experimental biologists to expand on.
What is the focus of your current research programme?
In 2017, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study the human genomics of tuberculosis as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I spent the first two years studying a genetic variant associated with reduced height in a population of Peruvian individuals of Native American ancestry. More recently, I investigated the role of genetic ancestry on tuberculosis progression in the same population.
My current research and the work I plan to do moving forward centres populations that are often overlooked in human-genomics research. Almost 80% of human-genomics studies are done in European populations, but people of European ancestry make up less than 20% of the global population. Most infectious-disease studies are done in populations of European ancestry, but individuals with that background don’t always have the highest disease burden. If you really want to help a group of people and contribute to health equity, you should target groups of people with large disease burdens.
Why do you study human genetics?
My curiosity and drive to study human genetics stem from my desire to improve human health and make a positive impact. There are tangible awards and outcomes, like the Nature award or publishing an important paper, but I don’t think those moments drive a lot of scientists, because they’re scarce and they pass. When I look back, what matters to me is feeling that I’ve contributed something that has had a lasting effect.
One of the best memories in my career so far came from helping a family whose son had a genetic mutation that led to his death from an infectious disease. The family had another son, and they were worried he would have the same medical issue. When we identified the mutation that led to the death of their first son, the family was so relieved. It brought some closure and they could get their other son tested, who fortunately did not have that mutation. The family wrote a very nice letter thanking us for helping them. When I look back on my research, I want to remember those moments.
What are your plans for the Nature award?
I will continue working with Peruvian and Afro-Caribbean populations, and I plan to use the Nature award to study a specific viral infection called human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1, which is very prevalent in Africa. My hypothesis is that genetic ancestry affects the outcome of the infectious disease. I also think there are not enough public genetic data from Middle Eastern populations, which is a shame because, over the course of history, that region was a crossroads for many people. The Middle East is an interesting place to start looking at the genetics of some rare diseases.
Any advice for other early-career researchers?
Find good mentors. They don’t have to be formal mentors, but, rather, people with more experience who know you and want to help you. The cookbook advice really helped me, especially coming from an established researcher. Also, don’t be scared to do things differently or try something new. There is more than one path to success, whatever success means to you. And trust yourself. To me, if you’re in a position to choose whether to pursue a PhD, that’s an indication that you are a smart person and you have the resources within you.
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February 11, 2021 at 10:49PM
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How a scientist is addressing inequity in human-genomics research - Nature.com
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