Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD

Researcher, Writer, Musician. I explore liver oncology and gut-brain interactions. Postdoc @TimGreten Lab @NCI. Tweets my own.

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

So...I gave a TedX talk this spring. Curious about our gut-brain connection? Interested in research @FinlayLab @brian_macvicar labs? Or do you just enjoy art and science? --Thanks for the opportunity to share my story @TEDxUBC
https://t.co/INkn5Fnv40

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

Thrilled to be a collaborator in work led by @BenmebarekMr. Check out @TimGreten Laboratory’s latest publication @ImmunityCP to examine how VEGF + immune checkpoint blockade improved cholangiocarcinoma outcomes via B cells! https://t.co/Yf05iPcli1

[Reda Benmebarek @BenmebarekMr]

Excited to share our study on the treatment effect and underlying mechanism using a triple therapy of VEGF+PDL1+CTLA4 blockade in CCA, published today in @ImmunityCP👨‍🔬🥳

Article: https://t.co/Zm8g1NyLk2

A brief summary of the exciting science from @TimGreten lab below: (1/6)

[Kelton Minor @keltonminor]

There are days in life that shake you.

I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at @Columbia & academic career... 1/🧵

[Paul Bieniasz @PaulBieniasz]

New Lab photo

[Dr. Annie Andrews @AnnieAndrewsMD]

People who spend their careers writing NIH grants are the literal opposite of grifters.

It is a soul-sucking, brutal process.

The scientists don’t get rich when they get funded. Their salary doesn’t change.

They do it for science. For patients.

You know, to make 🇺🇸healthy.

[Michael 英泉 Eisen @mbeisen]

I got my first R01 at 34 because they handed that shit out like candy back in the day.

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

Victor Ambros was denied tenure at Harvard.
But he was not a usual PI.

The Harvard Crimson describes:

1⃣ He took an especially hands-on role in mentorship:

“Duan recalled the experience of arriving in the U.S. for his Ph.D. as a non-native English speaker. Ambros spent time personally mentoring Duan in how to write and give presentations in English, which Duan said proved “very helpful.”

Duan said Ambros also taught him how to believe in himself as a scientist.

“Victor is just an intensely curious person, and that curiosity is infectious. You can’t help but be really curious around him because he’s always asking interesting questions and being provoking.” - H. Scott Silverman.

2⃣ He did not step away from lab work to focus on the administrative work and funding, unlike many other professors.

“Victor is NOT a very typical PI because he has his own bench,” Duan said. “He wants to stay closer to the science. He would work side by side with all the other people who were actively doing the same.”

📍Why tenure was denied?

David Baltimore’s opinion (Caltech president, 1975 Nobel laureate):

“The denial of tenure was consistent with Harvard’s hiring junior faculty and then not giving them tenure. The fate of junior faculty at the University was to teach and conduct research — but ultimately be replaced by new junior faculty before they could rise through the ranks. It just underlines the foolishness of that approach to building a great department.”

After Harvard, Victor Ambros moved to Dartmouth and then the University of Massachusetts.

📍 My view:

Tenure track is rarely about with Nobel-level work.

At most universities, tenure requires metrics to be fulfilled. This also includes recommendation letters from peers that should be excellent.

As a result, most professors are VERY careful during tenure track (outside the US too). They avoid risky research and focus on metrics (more papers, more funding, more students, etc). Too much at stake.

The problem is -
Every university wants to have a Nobel laureate but uses a metrics-based system to filter people out.

Instead of encouraging their young faculty members to pursue risky & groundbreaking research, most departments urge them to focus on other things.

❗️ Basically:
Tenure = something feasible, doable, countable
Nobel Prize = once thought infeasible but achieved

I think this gap is what many young scientists are so upset about.

Metrics are great for business, but in science it should be used with great care.

#science #AcademicChatter #chemtwitter

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

Rosalind Lee and Victor Ambros were co-recipients of the prestigious Cleveland Prize. Dr. Ambrose runs a UMass lab, his wife is a senior scientist for his lab. Awards are given to senior authors. Women face challenges: academic training -> independent lab pipeline @NobelPrize

[The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize]

Congratulations to our 2024 medicine laureate Victor Ambros ✨

This morning he celebrated the news of his prize with his colleague and wife Rosalind Lee, who was also the first author on the 1993 'Cell' paper cited by the Nobel Committee.

#NobelPrize

[Michael Smith Labs @ubcmsl]

The Michael Smith Laboratories building first opened 20 years ago today, providing a home for Canada’s first interdisciplinary biotechnology unit as envisioned by Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Smith.

Learn more about our unit and building history: https://t.co/kRmtlBdaYL

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

@swoodww @PLOSBiology Awesome 👏

[Elisa Granato @Prokaryota]

every academic fellowship application

[The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize]

#OnThisDay in 1903, Marie Skłodowska Curie defended her doctoral thesis on radioactive substances at Université de la Sorbonne in Paris – becoming the first woman in France to receive a doctoral degree in physics.

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

@ShadinGhabra_MD @RTMedEngineer @BenmebarekMr Congratulations Shadin!!

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

@TimGreten Congratulations @TimGreten!

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

Way to go @BenmebarekMr!

[Reda Benmebarek @BenmebarekMr]

Very grateful to have been awarded the @curecc Fellowship 2024, which will undoubtedly bolster our research efforts aiming to improve treatment outcomes for CCA patients!
This is made possible by the great support and fantastic mentoring at @NCIResearchCtr with @TimGreten

[President Biden Archived @POTUS46Archive]

Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.

But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share.

It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.

[Oded Rechavi @OdedRechavi]

Cell, Nature, Science, PNAS

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

@CoCo_PhD @KeystoneSymp Thank you 😊!

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

For my birthday celebrating with a @KeystoneSymp talk and poster #KSCancerMicro2024! #microbiome #cancer (obligatory poster setup pic)

[Dr. Kylynda C. Bauer, PhD @KCBSkope]

@ScienceAndStage @KeystoneSymp Thank you!