March 2023: Hannah Glover

Role in Lab: Postdoc

Name of Lab: Doege Lab

What is your academic background?

 I completed my Bachelor Degree at the University of Sydney, Australia in 2013. I then started my PhD at the  University of Sydney in stem cell pluripotency and neuronal lineage restriction, which I graduated from in 2019.

What is your current research? What do you like most about it and how do you feel it contributes to the bigger picture?

I joined Claudia’s Lab in early 2020, where we focus on understanding the pathogenesis of obesity. My research focuses on using single cell RNAseq and Multiome data to understand the cellular populations in the hypothalamus and then map disease genes to these cell populations. This gives me a prioritized list of genes to study in our stem cell models of the hypothalamus. Using a two-step CRISPRi screen in induced pluripotent stem cell derived cell populations, we can functionally annotate genes and indicate their role in obesity pathogenesis. Personally, I like to work at the intersection of wet lab and computational biology because I am able to form strong data driven hypotheses and see their execution. I am very excited about our new computational tool – Glowworm – which should be a valuable tool for computational biologists across many disciplines.

What inspired you to choose the stem cell field?

I was initially drawn to stem cell biology because of my interest in developmental biology, but I stayed involved after I realized how creative you can be in creating any cell population with a few growth factors or a transcriptomic signature.

How did you get interested in science?

I am the first scientist in my family, but I always had a natural curiosity. As a child I was very frustrated when my parents couldn’t explain where snot comes from, but I made my parents take me to the library (pre-internet!) to find out.

What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career so far?

Don’t be scared to jump onto projects that you are intimidated by – it is the best way to learn.

 As a senior lab member, what advice do you have for a new lab member?

Be nice to everyone and learn how to code.

How would you describe your overall experience as part of CSCI community so far?

CSCI is very welcoming and a great place to explore scientific questions. I joined just prior to COVID, but with all of the seminars and events I still managed to feel like part of the community.

What are your scientific interests?

I think I am motivated most by solving problems, especially those outside my comfort zone.

What are some of your personal interests?

Swimming, martial arts and ceramics classes.