Through the lens and experience of a recently graduated Ph.D. student – Dr. Aaztli Coria shares her views in an interview with Dr. Silvia Ramos, BCBP Diversity Liaison.
What can you share about your origin? Where were you born and raised?
I was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised near Austin, Texas. I am a first-generation Mexican-American.
What brought you to UNC, particularly to study Biochemistry in Alain Laederach’s lab?
Laederach lab
I chose to pursue my graduate career at UNC because it was the school that most pleasantly surprised me during the graduate interview process. I was initially recruited by UNC’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) to apply to the Biological & Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP) at UNC-Chapel Hill and on my interview date, UNC IMSD was supportive of me and other students and made us feel welcome. Additionally, I joined the Biochemistry department because of the faculty and the catalog of classes offered through the department and the opportunities for student leadership.
As an undergraduate, I studied the RNA binding preferences of different spliceosomal proteins in a biochemistry lab and after this initial research experience I wanted to develop my skills in RNA biology and begin to learn bioinformatics, so Dr. Alain Laederach’s lab was the perfect lab for me.
What do you like and appreciate at UNC and what do you think still needs to be improved?
I appreciate the support and care UNC has for its students – many systems have been established with well-meaning intentions behind them. Many services and support are available to UNC graduate students but because of the enormity of the graduate school, it is difficult for graduate students to know what is available to them. I made use of the Writing Center’s dissertation writing boot camp, but I had no idea that the UNC Writing Center was open for me to use until I was writing my dissertation! There need to be explicit avenues for direct dialogue (not just an e-mail listserv) to facilitate communication amongst students in all disciplines to ensure that students know what programs can help them as they pursue their graduate degrees. For many of us who matriculated to UNC through BBSP, we lose connections with our “outside lab” contacts by the second year, which leads to feelings of isolation and general cluelessness to what’s going on in the larger UNC community. Fostering these relationships beyond the first year of graduate school would help students feel more involved and at home on campus.
Do you think the new wellness programs aiming to better support potential feelings of isolation and general cluelessness had assisted you or is aiming to fill up this gap properly? Do you have suggestions based on your experience?
It’s reassuring to see the BCBP department take the wellness of their students seriously but putting the onus of the department’s well-being on a single individual, the well-being liaison, is not enough. Additionally, some students without a relationship with the well-being liaison may have a difficult time reaching out for help. A potential solution to these issues would be the implementation of a task force of graduate students to assist in carrying out the mission of the department to prioritize the health of its students. This mental health task force would reach out directly to graduate students in the department which would incentivize students to participate in events recommended by the well-being liaison.
During my time as BCBP student representative, our most successful social events would be the ones when I ensured to invite the department’s graduate students directly. Directly reaching out to another student goes a long way to help this person feel included in the department. To recruit students to make up this task force it is imperative to recruit students who aren’t the usual suspects – meaning students who might want to step up in a leadership position but have never felt empowered to do so. Especially underrepresented minority (URM) students who may have been led to believe that they are not capable of being in a leadership position, but who have a valuable perspective and are more than capable of leading.
Would you have suggestions on how this communication about the many programs can/should be improved to better serve the community of grad students?
All students who matriculate to UNC through BBSP are enrolled in a first-year group class that provides required training but also has an introduction to UNC’s core facilities. This group presents an opportunity for new students to be introduced to a variety of the programs offered at UNC such as the Writing Center or even seminars offered through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Additionally, campus-wide programs and groups can be highlighted at the beginning of each semester during BCBP town halls held for graduate students.
Who are your role models? past and current
My lifelong role models are my parents. They have shown me that through hard work and perseverance a better life is possible. I profoundly respect their journey and the sacrifices they have made in search of opportunities and possibilities in this country. My scientific role models are the women who I worked with as an undergraduate. From them, I learned basic bench and RNA research. I am so grateful that my undergraduate mentors took me on as a student and their support is what lead me to where I am now.
How would you summarize your research using scientific language and in ways that the public can also understand it?
I am interested in the intersection of basic RNA biology (RNA structure, stability, and expression) and human health.
My graduate work focuses on the RNA virus, rotavirus. This virus is responsible for causing stomach flu in infants and is deadly in developing nations lacking the proper infrastructure to store the vaccine. The rotavirus genome is made up of 11 double-stranded RNA segments, but once it is in host cells these double-stranded RNA segments become single-stranded. The viral RNAs exist in the host cell in varying concentrations along with a heterogenous pool of host RNAs but, remarkably, each virus particle consists of a perfect set of 11 rotavirus RNAs. This raises the question: how does rotavirus package a complete set of 11 RNAs in new viral particles? A current model for rotavirus packaging postulates that packaging is facilitated by RNA:RNA interactions amongst the 11 viral RNAs mediated by the RNA chaperone, NSP2.
My graduate work focused on modeling the secondary structure of the single-stranded rotavirus transcriptome and studying the impacts of NSP2 on the rotavirus transcriptome. This work brings us closer to understanding the enigma of rotavirus packaging.
How do you feel having accomplished your thesis in such a turbulent year like the past two years during the pandemic?
I feel extremely grateful to have been able to finish my thesis during the pandemic. The data that wound up going into the main body of my dissertation and my defense was all collected during the pandemic. I am extremely lucky that I was provided a supportive environment to finish my time here at UNC, especially as I transitioned to my new post-grad school position.
Aaztli Coria PhD
Where do you see your future scientific career going?
My success is largely a result of people taking a chance on me and giving me opportunities that would’ve been otherwise impossible. I hope to provide similar mentorship and inspiration to trainees of a similar background as me and advocate for talent that otherwise might go unnoticed. In my career, I’m going to continue to pursue opportunities to learn and grow as a scientist.
I appreciate the support and care UNC has for its students – many systems have been established with well-meaning intentions behind them. Many services and support are available to UNC graduate students but because of the enormity of the graduate school, it is difficult for graduate students to know what is available to them. I made use of the Writing Center’s dissertation writing boot camp, but I had no idea that the UNC Writing Center was open for me to use until I was writing my dissertation! There need to be explicit avenues for direct dialogue (not just an e-mail listserv) to facilitate communication amongst students in all disciplines to ensure that students know what programs can help them as they pursue their graduate degrees. For many of us who matriculated to UNC through BBSP, we lose connections with our “outside lab” contacts by the second year, which leads to feelings of isolation and general cluelessness to what’s going on in the larger UNC community. Fostering these relationships beyond the first year of graduate school would help students feel more involved and at home on campus.
I am interested in the intersection of basic RNA biology (RNA structure, stability, and expression) and human health.