How are you?
I am well, thank you for asking. This is an exciting summer for me and my wife as we are expecting our first grandchild. We just hosted a baby shower for our daughter and her husband and enjoyed having all of our family in town together for the first time in several years.
Please introduce yourself. What should the world know about Ryan Weeks?
I am 62 years old, which makes me “slightly” older than the traditional postdoc. Neurodegenerative research is actually my second career. My first career began after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from NC State University in the mid-1980s and returning to the family farm in my hometown of Dunn, NC where I worked for the next thirty years as a part owner/operator. While in college, I met my future wife, an English major at Campbell University, and we were married in August of 1986. We raised three wonderful children in our dream house built in the middle of a 300-acre farm. In addition to work and responsibilities, my wife and I were extensively involved in our children’s extracurricular activities such as horse-riding lessons and shows, Boy Scouts, music, art, and dance lessons. My personal interests include music (I play the piano and several other instruments), exercise (I ran my first half-marathon for my 50th birthday; now I strength train multiple days a week), and reading. Nine years ago, my wife and I moved to Chapel Hill from the farm and are thoroughly enjoying the hardwoods and hills, the conveniences of the Triangle, and the ebb and flow of student life in college town.In simple terms, can you tell us about your research and the questions that inspire and motivate your work?
I applied to graduate programs with a desire to conduct biomedical research. While a graduate student in the lab of Dr. Tony Planchart at NC State, I was given the opportunity to work on a project studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I found this research particularly interesting because I had recently lost a friend to ALS, and prior to that, a long-time employee of our farm died from a different and rare neurodegenerative condition, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In collaboration with one of my graduate committee members, Dr. Micheal Bereman (who also had ALS), I worked on two projects utilizing zebrafish: one exploring the effects of the neurotoxin BMAA, and the other, using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in an attempt to develop a neurodegenerative model. This model was based upon research conducted by Dr. Todd Cohen (my current PI here at UNC) and focused on manipulating a protein called TDP-43, a regulatory protein found to be dysfunctional in most cases of ALS, as well as many instances of frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. As a new postdoc in Todd’s lab, he entrusted me to incorporate zebrafish research into his well-established lab, which has given us another means to study environmental insults linked to neurodegeneration. Additionally, I am involved with a couple of other projects, both centered on TDP-43, one using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in fish and the other exploring protein dysregulation rescue in a mouse model.
Your path to becoming a postdoctoral researcher is a fascinating one. After earning your undergraduate degree in animal science, you spent many years as a farmer and business owner before returning to graduate school. What inspired you to make that transition, and what drew you toward toxicology research?
My wife and children were part of my inspiration to go back to school. My wife gave our children wonderful gifts when they were young — the love of reading and a passion for learning; gifts that unlocked the world for them. As they finished their secondary education and began to look at colleges, I became envious of the opportunities that lay before them. I took immense pride in my previous undergraduate work and harbored a special fondness for the sciences, which carried over into my work with livestock in areas such as genetics, nutrition, and reproduction. At some point, I started to entertain the idea of returning to school myself and pursuing a graduate degree in biological sciences. I sat down with professors from my previous department at NC State and discussed my “crazy” idea. I enrolled in a genetics class as a non-degree student and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as the field of genetics had advanced markedly since my undergraduate classes in the ’80s. After this initial course, I took classes in molecular genetics, biological research, cell biology, and developmental biology… only one course per semester while still working on the farm full time. I was also given research opportunities built around my work schedule by Dr. Karen Guzman at Campbell University, and finally by Dr. Tony Planchart at NC State (my future graduate PI). A brief summer stint in Tony’s lab convinced me to take the decisive step and apply to graduate programs in both genetics and toxicology at NC State and Duke, as well as the UNC Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program. I received two graduate program offers, with NC State Toxicology offering the best package. On August 16, 2016 (our 30th wedding anniversary), I began my first day of graduate school. One fun fact: my time in graduate school overlapped with each of my children’s graduate studies.
Returning to graduate school after building a career in another field is a significant transition. What was that experience like – both personally and professionally – as you entered a new field and began your research career? Were there any surprises along the way as you transitioned into life as a scientist?
Personally, the experience was exciting… and scary. Exciting because I was finally embarking on what I had only imagined for years. Scary because of the loss of security afforded by my previous career. My decision affected not only me, but also my wife and the life we had established. In truth, it was our decision; she has always supported this move and encouraged me to take the opportunities given me. Professionally, the experience was extremely rewarding. Presenting at conferences, completing and defending my dissertation, and being accepted as part of a new professional community all brought a profound sense of accomplishment. But greater than these, the most rewarding part involved the people I have met and worked with. People from all over the world with fascinating stories of their own. And to your question about surprises — a comment my wife made early on was actually more of a revelation. Although I had worked with many wonderful people during my first career, she observed that I had finally “found my tribe” with the people I worked with as a graduate student.
Having experienced both life outside academia and a career in research, what perspectives from your previous experiences have shaped the way you approach science, problem-solving, or your work in the lab today?
As my previous PI Tony pointed out when he encouraged me to pursue graduate work, I bring a distinct set of life experiences to the table compared to most graduate students, and that has its own unique advantages in shaping the way I view situations and interact with others. For instance, as a former business owner and employer, I can better understand some of the roles a PI has to play because I have interviewed, managed, and compensated employees. I’ve had to make complex decisions based on revenue flow and expenditure, and evaluate how those decisions affect not only the job, but also those who do the work. And now sitting on the opposite side of the desk as an employee, I better understand the importance of a strong work ethic, dependability, and integrity. I also believe that being a parent and having past leadership roles such as being a Scoutmaster of our local Boy Scout troop help me mentor other trainees in the lab. Concerning problem solving, countless life lessons have taught me the importance of patience and persistence, how to explore various approaches to a problem, and how to step back and view the bigger picture.
How has your experience at UNC as a postdoc been so far, and what have you enjoyed most about being part of the research community here?
Often on the long walk to and from the parking deck, or to Friends Café to get an iced oat milk chai, I look around and take time to reflect on my current situation, to “be in the moment,” and I experience a sense of appreciation and gratitude for the opportunities I’ve be given. I’m here. I’m doing this. I have a super PI! The trainees I work with are the best. And I deeply value the spirit of collaboration here at UNC among labs and the different core facilities that fosters a pleasant and productive atmosphere.
We often ask this question, but as a lifelong North Carolinian, you have a unique perspective: are there any places, activities, traditions, or hidden gems you would recommend to someone who is new to the area?
First of all, get outside of the Chapel Hill bubble and drive out through the surrounding countryside and really see North Carolina. The outer banks with its historic light houses and the Blue Ridge Parkway with its spectacular vistas are two places that immediately come to mind. One tradition our family has is to travel to the mountains each year on the day after Thanksgiving to choose our Christmas tree. In the early years, the trip included our children, one of their friends, and our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lucky. Now it is often just me and my wife, but we still enjoy the tradition.
What’s currently on your read, watch, or listen list?
Books that I am currently reading or have recently read include The Fate of the Day by Rick Atkinson, Mark Twain by Ron Chernow, The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling by Thomas Hager, and The Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian. I currently enjoy watching British mystery series and reruns of Frazier. My music tastes are varied, but I most often gravitate to music from the ‘70s, classical music, and occasionally standards.
Looking ahead, where do you see yourself in five years?
Actually, I would like to continue to do the work that I do now (but obviously not as a postdoc). At this point in my life, the goal is not to become a PI and have my own lab. Rather, I would like to continue to conduct research centered on neurodegeneration– it is such a fascinating and important field. I appreciate the freedom that the academic setting provides to investigate various aspects of a particular problem, and I really enjoy the bench work. And there is still so much room for me to grow and mature as a scientist, and I believe the resources to do that are found right here at UNC.