ABSTRACT
First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Patricia Essebier is first author on ‘ c-Src-induced vascular malformations require localised matrix degradation at focal adhesions’, published in JCS. Patricia conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Emma Gordon's lab at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. She is currently a PhD student in the lab of Anne Lagendijk at the same institute, where she uses 2D and 3D tissue culture to understand cell–matrix interactions through focal adhesions in vascular endothelial cells.
Patricia Essebier
How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms?
Blood vessels (veins, arteries and capillaries) circulate oxygen, nutrients and waste around every organ and tissue in our bodies. Each tiny vessel is surrounded by a scaffold called the extracellular matrix, which helps maintain a pipe-like structure and prevent blood from leaking out into our tissues. Blood vessels communicate with the matrix through signaling hubs called focal adhesions, which send messages from outside to inside the cell and vice versa. We found that when we mutated a protein called c-Src to increase its activity, this increased focal adhesion size and signalling, which disrupted the normal signals between the blood vessels and matrix. The blood vessels broke down the matrix that was holding them together, causing leaks and an irregular, non-functional vessel structure. This research helps us to understand how communication between cells and matrix is vital for keeping our blood vessels healthy.
When doing the research, did you have a particular result or ‘eureka’ moment that has stuck with you?
A eureka moment happened during the first bead sprouting assay that we looked at together when we saw huge, ballooning malformations formed by cells expressing constitutively active c-Src (c-Src-CA). Personally, one of the most exciting moments was imaging the effects of the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) inhibitor in the microvessels in our rescue experiments and having an explanation for the structure of these malformations.
What motivated you to pursue a career in science, and what have been the most interesting moments on the path that led you to where you are now?
Many people that I have met along my way inspired me to pursue this career. I feel lucky to work in an environment where people are often really passionate about their science but also about life in general – seeing that in other people has always inspired me.
Who are your role models in science? Why?
My older sister has always been my role model – when I was young she blew my mind by explaining what she learned during her science undergraduate degree, and continued to blow my mind every time she presented the work of her PhD research in bioinformatics. On top of her impressive work ethic, she is one of the best science communicators I know and she pushes me to understand the ‘why’ behind the data.
What's next for you?
Finishing my PhD! After that, I'll be on the hunt for a postdoctoral position where I can continue working in 3D tissue culture, as I'd love to work on vascularizing organoids in the future.
Patricia Essebier’s contact details: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, The University of Queensland, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
E-mail: [email protected]
