Member Spotlight
Q&A with Michelle Matzko, PhD Candidate, Penn State University, from Danville, PA.
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"I am so enthusiastic about the ability to apply bench techniques to solve clinical problems in a clinical research setting." | |
Meet Michelle. |
Q: How long have you been a GSA member and how does the society assist with your professional development?
A: I’ve been a member since 2007. I like the annual conference best. It’s a chance to absorb up-to-date biogerontology research, share results from our lab, and visit with international friends and colleagues.
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: Several aspects came together at once. I attended a course in Sweden entitled ‘Mammalian Models in Biogerontology’ where several GSA members/superstars presented. There I met my now-advisor (GSA past-president Dr. Roger McCarter). Our interests overlapped in physiology: he studying physiological changes during caloric restriction and I being particularly interested in the endocrine system. He encouraged me to apply my interest in metabolic hormones to his ongoing CR studies. At the same time (circa 2006), an article came out in the New York Times entitled “Geriatrics Lags in the Age of High-Tech Medicine”, which contrary to its negatively-spun title, noted how geriatricians report higher job satisfaction than any other specialty. My mother, a certified clinical nurse specialist in gerontology, confirmed this. This series of events led me to my current niche: studying the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, in several models of CR, which I, indeed, find very satisfying.
Q: What is your most memorable research experience?
A: My most memorable research experience stems from an incident during a major data collection with collaborators from out of state. Our laboratory building caught fire and we had to be evacuated. My role in the evacuation led to the nickname “Fire Marshal”.
Q: Why is it important for biologists to attend the GSA Annual Scientific Meeting?
A: As a BS section member (and student chair), there is really no substitute for attending the conference. The ability to hear research giants present their work and directly interact with them throughout the conference is far more exciting and informative than reading their work through the filter of publication. Plus, I’ve been inspired to take my work in new directions following feedback on my presentations.
Q: Do you have any tips for emerging gerontologists?
A: Well, I suppose I am one. So perhaps others have tips for me?!
Q: Tell us a little about your most recent activities/accomplishments?
A: Last year I received a one-year fellowship from Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA (one of Obama’s model health care systems) to design and implement my own project in gastric bypass patients. This project allowed me the opportunity to translate my animal CR work to a human ‘CR’ model. I am so enthusiastic about the ability to apply bench techniques to solve clinical problems in a clinical research setting. I hope to continue in that direction in a post-doc or other clinical research position come fall.
Q: Have you had an important mentor in your career? If so, how did it make a difference?
A: My graduate advisor, Dr. Roger McCarter, certainly had the biggest hand in the direction of my career. He always allowed me to pursue my research interests and encouraged me to follow opportunities that would help my career. If you know him, then you also know how generous, talented, and supportive he is: a recipe for an excellent mentor. Thanks, Roger!
