ECR Spotlight – Yanira Jiménez-Padilla Free

Yanira Jiménez-Padilla

How did you become interested in biology?

It just happened! When I was a little girl, my family moved from a city in Mexico to a small town. I was always full of curiosity and looking for answers to my many questions – my poor mom can attest to that. In this small town, I got the opportunity to raise chickens, pigs and cows, have a pet goat, and multiple cats and dogs. I also followed ants to their colonies and tried to help with their loads (they didn't appreciate it). I discovered that tarantulas are not dead (if you pull them out of the water tank early enough) and they built their webs behind the house (where I had made a spider cemetery). I got to make a tadpole puddle farm in my mom's garden and play with many other critters that others ignored. I was fascinated by all life and its different forms. Growing up, I loved reading about science; I spent much time at my local library or doing my homework outdoors, keeping company with ‘la Señora iguana’ that lived in my backyard. In school, I was really good at biology and chemistry, but being from a small town, I had no knowledge of careers in these fields. I thought that when I grew up, I would be either a doctor, nurse, dentist or vet, and in fact, I did study medicine for a brief time. I moved to Canada with my husband and young child in one of those twists life sends you. I wanted to return to med school but was missing requirements (including the language), so I enrolled in Biology at the University of Windsor, Ontario. By the third year of undergrad, I knew I did not want to study medicine anymore and felt lost because I still didn't understand I could pursue a career in biology. Fortunately, one of my professors advised me to do an honours thesis and explore the possibility of a career in science. I followed his advice, and it changed my life. I fell in love with research and found the place where I belong (the biology research community).

Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus.

I joined Dr Fackrell's lab at the University of Windsor for an honours thesis in my last year of undergrad. I studied the functionality of avian antibodies labelled with colloidal gold as tools for tracking the infectious status of birds by testing their eggs. While I did not continue studying birds or their antibodies, I learned quite a lot about research (e.g. troubleshooting, experimental design, organization and record keeping, etc.), but most importantly, I realized I wanted to continue doing it. I was not sure what I wanted to study; the advice Dr Fackrell gave me was to read and see what other researchers were doing but not to force it. He said that when I found my field, something would ‘click’. I felt a bit frustrated and defeated after a long time of reading and nothing ‘clicking’, but kept going. One day, out of boredom, I clicked on my browser's images, and an insect I did not recognize appeared. Filled with curiosity, I followed that insect to the Sinclair lab's website, where I learned how truly amazing insects are and the different ways they deal with cold. I found my ‘click’ and emailed Brent Sinclair right away! After a long phone call and a visit, I was very excited to join the lab. I did a Master's degree where I showed that gut yeasts affected the physiology of Drosophila melanogaster in a similar way that bacteria do, but were not receiving a lot of attention. I still had a lot of questions and was fortunate to return to the lab as a PhD student and continue exploring the role gut yeasts play in host physiology. I am about to graduate, and I still have a lot of questions.

How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?

Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as fruit or vinegar flies, feed and lay their eggs on rotten fruit. Multiple microorganisms infect the fruit and ferment it, creating the right environment for the larvae to grow. Some of these microbes can live in the digestive tract of the flies, providing benefits to their host. Research has shown that beneficial gut microbes affect the development, metabolism, immunity, reproduction and even the behavior of the animals they inhabit. Most research has focused on bacteria, but there are other microbes, such as yeasts, that are also part of this gut microbial community. This study shows that yeasts affect fly development time, an important trait that can potentially affect a whole population. Yeasts are usually described as food items, and in the lab, we use commercial baker's yeast in the fly diet. However, flies interact with live yeasts in nature, and here we show that this interaction is more complex than the flies just getting a nutritious meal. We show that live yeasts accelerate the development of the larvae, not only by providing nutrients but also by affecting their behavior, causing them to eat more and grow faster. This study demonstrates the importance of yeasts in the gut and implies that research that focuses only on bacteria or treats yeasts as just food might be missing an important part of their interaction with the host.

What do you enjoy most about research, and why?

The feeling of being a kid again. You get to ask question after question, but if no one knows the answer, now you get to come up with a way to answer it. You don't always figure it out, and many times, you end up with more questions, but the opportunity to create and test, and go back to the board is exhilarating. I also love talking about research with my peers, seeing things from different points of view, and coming up with new ways to test ideas. I love being part of creating the sort of things that were in all those science books I read as a kid. I feel extremely fortunate to be on this side of knowledge writing now!

What is the hardest challenge you have faced in the course of your research and how did you overcome it?

My path to research in biology was a bit convoluted, and as a mature student with a family, being back in school has not always been easy. The biggest challenge for me during my research was trying to find a balance between being a good mom and partner and being a good student – all of which left me feeling guilty in one or both areas of my life. I worked too hard and hardly took any time for myself. I burned out, and my health became compromised. I am still learning, but now I know that reaching out to my colleagues and family and accepting their help is incredibly important. I have learned to prioritize and pick and choose the questions that I follow instead of trying to answer them all. I am learning to take care of myself, and I recognize that a healthier, happier me is a better researcher than otherwise.

Do you have a top tip for others just starting out at your career stage?

Fall in love with what you are doing, even the parts that you don't initially like. Find the things you like in everything you do and focus on those. For me, falling in love with flies and yeasts was easy, but I did not always like transferring flies or writing. So, I listen to music and enjoy the rhythm of tapping fly vials against a bench; it's really quite relaxing when you put your mind to it. Enjoying writing took a bit longer, but once I focused on the opportunity it gave me to tell others about all the work I had done and was proud of, it became easier and very gratifying.