First person – Umar Butt Free

Umar Butt

How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms?

SHARPIN is a protein that is involved in a variety of cellular processes. However, how this protein decides which process to commit itself to at any given time is not known. In this article, we tease out a single phosphorylation event of SHARPIN that acts as a molecular switch for SHARPIN to decide its involvement in cancer cell invasion and by extension metastasis.

Were there any specific challenges associated with this project? If so, how did you overcome them?

During this project, the most challenging and kind of a panicky situation I faced was what all of us face during a career in scientific research, a lack of funding to continue research. However, by continuously applying for grants and being persistent I successfully got grants allowing me to continue this study.

When doing the research, did you have a particular result or ‘eureka’ moment that has stuck with you?

This came when having a look at the zebrafish images while analyzing distant metastasis between wild-type and mutant cells. I had expected a decrease in metastasis in the mutant cell lines but when I had a look at the images the difference between the two was amazing with the mutants showing an almost complete inhibition of metastasis. That was a eureka moment for me.

Why did you choose Journal of Cell Science for your paper?

The reason for choosing Journal of Cell Science was twofold. Firstly, the scope of the study fits very well in line with the scope of the well reputed journal. Secondly, a preceding study, which shows a role of SHARPIN in lamellapodium formation via ARP2/3 complex was published in Journal of Cell Science.

Have you had any significant mentors who have helped you beyond supervision in the lab? How was their guidance special?

Continuous guidance and help beyond the supervisory role by Jukka Westermarck and Jeroen Pouwels has helped me a lot. They have helped me to keep a positive and optimistic attitude towards research, especially when things don't work.

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?

Having a curiosity of how things work. As it is rightly said by Martin Schwartz, a career in scientific research makes you feel stupid. This is necessary, as it shows you there is a sea of the unknown that is waiting to be explored by you. This feeling coupled with the curiosity of finding the inner workings of biology has led me to pursue a career in science.

Who are your role models in science? Why?

I believe you cannot have just one role model in science. With the advancement in research it is very hard to choose from a long list of very successful scientists. If I had to choose, I would say it is a tie between Jukka Westermarck and Johanna Ivaska. This is because both of them are quite successful in what they do and they still are able to keep a good balance between work life and leisure.

What's next for you?

I am currently at the end stage of writing my thesis which I will be defending soon. I am actively looking for a postdoc position which would focus on cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that wouldn't be on your CV

I really enjoy troubleshooting image analysis issues, which often ends up in me putting in extra hours. However, as I really enjoy the troubleshooting process I hardly notice the time go by when I am immersed in it.