Joel Marty
Joel Marty is an MGI doctoral student in the Kaminski Lab. These are his answers to the Micro Biography questions:
How and when did you become interested in the field(s) of microbiology, genetics, and/or immunology?
I fell into the world of immunology by accident. My first lab research experience was through a summer program offered through MSU’s pharmacology and toxicology program, Bridge to PhD in Neuroscience, in 2016. I was randomly placed in Dr. Kaminski’s lab working on a project transfecting a protein into a B cell line. I really liked learning about the immune system, and when I went back to Western Michigan in the fall, I decided to continue learning about immunology. I joined Dr. Karim Essani's lab working on a project centered around oncolytic viruses. Afterwards, I went to Tulane University for my masters in microbiology and immunology, which then brought me back to MSU to again work with Dr. Kaminski on my PhD.
Were there any particular people or events who were influential in your journey?
My first major inspiration was my mom. She’s currently the Toxicology Science director at Dow chemical. When I was growing up, having a mom who was a really successful scientist was a really cool experience and pushed me to find my own path in this realm. The people that have influenced me directly are most of the people I have done hands-on work with. During my first lab experience, I was working with Jinpeng Li and Ashwini Phadnis Moghenow. Both of them are graduates from the MSU pharm/tox program. Their lessons of lab basics have stuck with me until this day. Finally, the current grad students I’m working with, Sera Sermet and Brianna Finn, have been monumentally helpful in my PhD journey. They range from being a sounding board for my ideas, to checking some of my writing, to emotional support in the times my research has me down. I view my journey through science as a very collaborative one, and I try to take lessons and influences from everyone I interact with.
How did you come to be a part of this department?
When I was accepted to MSU and was picking departments, I was deciding between MGI and CMB. I knew I wanted to stay in an immunology role, but I really did like the microbiology I learned at Tulane and wasn’t sure I really wanted to let it go. A previous student from our lab, Brian Zhou, was in the MGI program at the time and spoke highly of it. I would walk over to the office with him while he was finalizing his defense, and I had some brief interactions with the former Academic Program Coordinator, Roseanne Bills, and the department chair Vic DiRita, which really helped me get a feel for how supportive this department is. After those moments, it was an easy decision to pick MGI.
What is your main role / research area right now and why is it important?
Our lab studies the effects of cannabinoids such as THC and CBD on chronic inflammation that’s associated with virally suppressed HIV infection. There are two cell types that enter the brain, which are CD8+ T cells and monocytes. When I started my project, I was focused on how cannabinoids affect the CD8+ T cell population. Since then, my project has grown to investigate cannabinoid effects on monocyte and CD8+ T cell interactions, as well as how this could affect neuroinflammation utilizing an in vivo triculture model including astrocytes, monocytes, and CD8+ T cells. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, working on this project feels like a meaningful way to give back—doing what I can, however small, to support others in my community who are HIV+. Furthermore, we are collaborating with Dr. Peter Gulik on campus who runs multiple HIV clinics throughout the state. This collaboration allows us to get primary samples from cannabis-using and non-using HIV patients. We share some our research interests and findings not only with Dr. Gulik, but also his patients through a newsletter, which helps me feel like my research has a direct impact not only in Lansing but around the state as well.
How do you see your role / research evolving?
As I’m reaching the end of my PhD, I think my project has grown to the limit of what I will feasibly be able to get done. However, one of the questions that I still ask is how the CD8+ T cells influence inflammatory cells in the brain such as microglia. Microglia have some similarity to monocytes, so now that my work has improved my understanding of how these cells interact, I would be interested to see if the CD8+ T cell population can promote inflammatory factors from the microglia as well as the monocytes. I think understanding this interaction would improve our understanding of how the HIV+ can experience persistent neuroinflammation even with undetectable viral titers.
What types of activities are you involved in outside of work / research?
In my free time, I really enjoy spending time with my family and friends—whether it's just hanging out or planning little get-togethers. I also love going on trips, especially for concerts and drag shows, which are always a blast and a fun way to explore new places. Lately, my friends and I have been working on a vegetable garden, which has been a really rewarding and relaxing project. I also like to stay active by running, and when I'm at home, I enjoy spending time with my two cats, Sophie and Penny—they definitely keep things interesting!
What is next for you?
My current agenda is to publish the 3 projects that I’ve been working on and defend my dissertation. After that, it’s on to job hunting and determing what my next steps should be to help build my career. Also, I have a growing interest in science communication, so I’d like to build up those skills and learn how to incorporate them into my career along with the skills that I’ve developed through my PhD training.
What do you see as your current career trajectory?
I am interested in pursuing something in industry, potentially on the product safety side but still with an immunology focus. Eventually, I’d like to try and find a way to incorporate more science communication into this work to try and improve how we talk about safety and regulations with consumers.