Over

20 Original
Coloring Pages
for all ages describing
PhD level research
performed and directed
by female-identifying
scientists and
engineers!
 About the Coloring Book
Our Mission
Science is an important part of our daily life. Scientists and engineers from all walks of
life are needed to address the challenges the world faces today, from health and medicine
to energy and climate change. Performing research and publishing academic papers is an
important way for scientists to communicate their discoveries to the scientific
community to help advance technology and create new solutions to global problems.
But the accessibility of these papers is limited. Most are locked behind paywalls, and even open-access
publications can be written in technical language that isn’t accessible to the general public. As scientists, it is
important that we not only share our findings to the academic community, but to future generations and the
public at large.

What is ColorMePhD?
ColorMePhD is a coloring book that uses illustrations and descriptions written by scientists to communicate
their research to a general audience. Each coloring page features a scientist or team of scientists, and
explains their recent research project or papers in words a non-scientist or aspiring scientist can understand.
You don’t have to have a PhD to appreciate the importance of scientific research and celebrate the process of
asking questions, experimentation, and discovery. This coloring book is for anyone who wants to learn about
current exciting research in chemistry, biology, engineering, and other exciting fields! Whether you are a
teacher, parent, student, aspiring scientist, or adult who loves to color, this book is for you!

Why Don’t We Charge for ColorMePhD? Portrait of a Scientist (that’s you!)

By sharing this coloring book for free, we hope to spark interest
in science and engineering for all, regardless of gender, race, or
socioeconomic status- because just as the challenges of the world
affect us all, we will need bright minds from all backgrounds to
work together to build a brighter tomorrow. We are especially
appreciative of the teachers, parents, and educators who work
tirelessly to inspire the next generation of scientists, so we hope
that you can use this free resource at home and in classrooms.

Why Women in STEM?

STEM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.”
These are important fields, but unfortunately women, and
especially women of color, have been excluded and thus
underrepresented in these fields. In fact, the percentage of
women in science and engineering occupations with a bachelor’s
degree or above is only 25%, with Black and Hispanic women
making up only 2% each. [1] There are many institutional factors
and internalized biases that are responsible for these figures, and
there is much work to be done to make sure everyone is
represented and included in STEM fields at all levels. We hope This Coloring Book Belongs To:
that by featuring women in STEM, we can shine a spotlight on
some fantastic emerging researchers and show young women and Scientist__________
aspiring scientists that they belong in these positions as well.
Reference: [1] The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Promising practices for addressing the
underrepresentation of women in science, engineering, and medicine: Opening doors,” (2020) Consensus study report,
i
The National Academies Press.
 Table Of Contents
Title Research Scientist(s)/Engineer(s) Page
About the Coloring Book i-ii
Prof. Joanna Sztuba-Solinska, Ph.D.,
Structure and Function of Viral Long Non-Coding RNAs ‡ Dr. Gabriella Toomer, Ph.D, and 1-4
Sabrina Cline
Polymer Pasta Dr. Whitney Loo, Ph.D. 5-6
Designing an Electrochemical Cell ‡ Dr. Elizabeth Corson, Ph.D. 7-8
Shape Selective Catalysis: Zeolite Roller Coaster Ride Prof. Michele Sarazen, Ph.D. 9-10
Dr. Kerri Rodriguez, Ph.D., and
The Science of Service Dogs 11-12
Prof. Marguerite O’Haire, Ph.D.
A-Maze-ing Polymers Lorena Grundy, Ph.D. Candidate 13-14
Detangling DNA Prof. Katie Galloway, Ph.D. 15-16
Protein Toolbox Alexandra Holmes, Ph.D. Candidate 17-20
Dr. Megan LaFollette, Ph.D.
The Science of Rat Tickling 21-22
Prof. Brianna Gaskill, Ph.D.
Chelsea Edwards, Ph.D. Candidate, and
HydrogeLand: A Candy-Filled Hydrogel Adventure 23-24
Prof. Danielle Mai, Ph.D.
What Happens to Teenagers’ Brains When They Smoke? Angeline Dukes, Ph.D. Candidate 25-26
Express Your-Cell-F Prof. Fangyuan Ding, Ph.D. 27-28
Detecting Endocrine Receptors: ECDs, I See You! Prof. Ariel Furst, Ph.D. 29-30
The Gut Bacteria of Enzymes Kaylee Arnold, Ph.D. Candidate 31-32
Score! From Water to Hydrogen Julie Fornaciari, Ph.D. Candidate 33-34
Nature’s Own Bodyguard Factory: The Bone Marrow Lauren Eades, Ph.D. Candidate 35-36
The Science of Equitable Transportation Accessibility Prof. Tierra S. Bills, Ph.D. 37-38
Flowering STEM: Nurturing Belonging in Academia Dr. Chrissy Stachl, Ph.D. 39-41
‡ Spanish Translation available at www.colormephd.org

Message from the Creator and Illustrator:

Hi! My name is Dr. Julie Rorrer, and I am a postdoctoral research associate in the
department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. My research is centered on using
catalysis to convert plastic waste into useful products. Prior to this, I completed my
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley researching
the production of sustainable fuels and chemicals. After publishing my first scientific
paper, I was motivated by my love of art, science, and teaching to create a drawing of
my research to explain what I do to the non-scientific community. This inspired me to
start illustrating research from other students and post-docs in my department, and seek
out artistic scientists to draw their own work. Thus, ColorMePhD Volume 1 was born.
Motivated by the positive response to Volume 1, I decided to continue with a second volume, and solicited
self-nominations for featured scientists. When I starting looking through the nominations and connecting
with scientists interested in participating, I quickly realized that many of the brilliant emerging scientists
were women. So, I decided to make the theme of this volume “Women in STEM.” Not only are our fantastic
featured researchers performing ground-breaking research, but they are also strong role models inspiring the
next generation of scientists and engineers. I’d like to thank all of the scientists for their contributions to
writing the descriptions and designing the coloring pages, every person who has shared and supported
ColorMePhD, and all of the educators and mentors who are inspiring the next generation of scientists. This
has been a true pleasure, and I hope you enjoy coloring as much as we enjoyed creating this coloring book!
ii
Structure and Function of Viral Long Non-Coding RNAs

1
Structure and Function of Viral Long Non-Coding RNAs
1
What is RNA? Ribonucleic acid, also known as RNA, is a biomolecule made of building
blocks, called ribonucleotides. There are four types of nucleotides, we label them as A, U, G, C.
They pair with each other according to the following rule: A pairs with U, and G pairs with C.
The ribonucleotide pairing interactions result in RNA folding into different structures.

2 Different types of RNA: RNA responsible for bringing “genetic messages” from DNA,
located in the nucleus of a cell, to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm, is called “messenger RNA”
or “coding RNA.” There are also non-coding RNAs of different size and structure, that do not
code for any information, but instead they regulate function of proteins, other RNAs and even
DNA. They are the most versatile and powerful!

3
Structures are important! Non-coding RNAs can fold into various structures, including the
simplest ones, e.g., stems, hairpins, and more complicated, e.g., kissing hairpins, pseudoknots,
and cloverleafs. These structures facilitate RNA interactions with other molecules. Thus,
knowing how non-coding RNA folds is the key to the understanding of its function. The
Sztuba-Solinska laboratory studies the structure and function of long non-coding RNAs in
herpesviruses.

2
Structure and Function of Viral Long Non-Coding RNAs

3
Structure and Function of Viral Long Non-Coding RNAs
Herpesviruses as model system: We are all infected with at least one type of herpesvirus!

4 Worldwide ~95% of the human population carries Epstein-Barr herpesvirus that causes kissing
disease, and ~90% of people carry Herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores. These viruses
co-evolved with humans for millions of years due to their complex genetic make-up, which
includes the production of massive number of non-coding RNAs. These non-coding RNAs
manipulate human cells into making components that build more viruses and prevent immune
system from recognizing the invader. Thus, herpesviruses are excellent model system for
studying non-coding RNAs.
Small molecule therapeutics: Some small molecules can bind and interfere with the function

5
of non-coding RNAs by either disrupting their structure or by preventing their interactions with
other molecules. These small molecules act as RNA-specific drugs and can be used as an
efficacious way to combat viruses. Gabriela, Sabrina, and other members of Professor Sztuba-
Solinska’s lab are studying the influence of a small molecule that binds to specific non-coding
RNA, on herpesvirus life cycle with the aim of developing a potent antiviral therapeutic.

About the Scientists:

Dr. Gabriela Toomer is a Postdoctoral Scientist

interested in understanding how viruses open their way
to life. She joined Dr. Solinska’s lab at Auburn
University to identify structures and motifs in Kaposi's
sarcoma-associated herpesvirus polyadenylated
nuclear (PAN) RNA and define their interactions with
other effector molecules to facilitate infection. In her
free time, she loves dancing salsa.

​Ever since Sabrina Cline was little, one thing always

remained constant in her ever-changing life: her love
of science. At Auburn University, she is pursuing a
bachelor’s degree in Microbial, Molecular, and
Cellular Biology. After graduation, she hopes to attend
graduate school and pursue a career in Virology and
Immunology. Sabrina also plays the piccolo, and has a
life-long passion for classical music and cooking!

Professor Joanna Sztuba-Solinska received her Ph.D. in

Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,
IL followed by her post-doctoral training at National Institutes of
Health, NIH/NCI. She grew up in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Currently,
she is an Assistant Professor of Virology at Auburn University in
Auburn, Alabama. The overall goal of her research team is to find
“weak-spots” in viral long non-coding RNA interactome networks
that can be targeted with novel therapeutic strategies to combat
viral infections. In spare time, she enjoys cheering her daughter at
Jiu-Jitsu classes, as she herself holds Black Belt in Kajukenbo.

References: [1] Chavez-Calvillo, G., Martin, S., Hamm, C., Sztuba-Solinska, J., “The structure-to-function relationships
of Gammaherpesvirus-encoded long non-coding RNAs and their contributions to viral pathogenesis,” (2018) Noncoding
RNA, 4(4). doi: 10.3390/ncrna4040024., [2] Sztuba-Solinska J., Chavez-Calvillo G., Cline S., “Unveiling the druggable
4
RNA targets and small molecule therapeutics,” (2019) Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 27(10): 2149–2165.
 Polymer Pasta

5
 Polymer Pasta
Polymers are all around you! They make up every type of plastic and are also found in nature-
1 like rubber from trees and the shells of shrimps and crabs. Poly- means “many” and -mer
means “unit” so a polymer is many units of molecules strung together into a long chain. The
units, called monomers (or single unit), are chemically connected. The properties of a given
polymer depend on what kind of molecules they are made of. Some polymers are super strong
and brittle like plexiglass, while others are flexible and bendy like silly putty.

The length of the polymer also affects its properties. Most polymers don’t form straight lines-

2 instead they form large coils. In fact, when there are many different polymer chains together,
the coils mix together like a plate of spaghetti. It’s very difficult to sort out one noodle from
another! In fact, the longer the polymer chain, the stronger the polymer becomes because the
chains entangle with one another and they cannot be pulled apart.

3 The simplest type of polymer is called a homopolymer. Homo- means “same” so a

homopolymer is made up of only one type of repeat unit. The most common homopolymer is
polyethylene, which makes stretchy plastic wrap as well as sturdy plastic bottles.

4
Another type of polymer is called a block copolymer. A block copolymer is two
homopolymers bound together at a single point. The materials can combine the properties of
the two separate hompolymers. For example, polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide)
combines a strong polymer (polystyrene) with a rubbery flexible polymer (poly(ethylene
oxide)). Depending on the length and of the block copolymer and what it is made up of, it can
take on many different structures, such as “disordered” or “lamellar” phases. In a disordered
phase, the two homopolymers are mixed together like a plate of red and blue spaghetti. In a
lamellar phase, the two homopolymers segregate into layers like a plate of lasagna. In her
research, Whitney uses use X-rays to determine the structure of the block copolymers.

Dr. Whitney S. Loo is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the

University of Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical
Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020
and her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2015. Her
dissertation focused on synthesizing and characterizing block
copolymer electrolytes for applications in next-generation batteries.
When she’s not in the lab or at the beamline, Whitney enjoys yoga,
road cycling, and cuddling on the couch with her kitten, Potato.

References: [1] Loo, W.S., Jiang, X., Maslyn, J. A., Oh, H.J., Zhu, C., Downing, K.H., Balsara, N.P. “Reentrant phase
behavior and coexistence in asymemetric block copolymer electrolytes,” (2018) Soft Matter, 14, 2789-2796.
[2] Loo, W.S., Sethi, G.K., Teran, A.A., Galluzzo, M.D., Maslyn, J.A., Oh, H.J., Mongcopa, K.I., Balsara, N.P.
“Composition Dependence of the Flory-Huggins Interaction Parameters of Block Copolymer Electrolytes and the
6
Isotaksis Point,” (2019) Macromolecules, 52, 15, 5590-5601.
 Designing an
Electrochemical Cell

7
 Designing an Electrochemical Cell
1
Today we use fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to create electricity, power our cars,
and heat our homes. However, when we burn these fuels we release carbon dioxide (CO2) into
the atmosphere. We have released so much CO2 since the industrial revolution that we are now
causing the climate on our planet to change, which is bad news for people, animals, and plants.

2
Rather than release CO2 into the atmosphere, we want to capture it and turn it into a useful
product. This can be done using photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction, where electricity is used
with sunlight and a catalyst to convert CO2 molecules to other useful chemicals like fuels.

3
As an engineer, Elizabeth needed to design an electrochemical cell where this reaction can take
place. To do this, she thought about what she wanted to measure and what conditions she
needed to control; this helps define the design criteria. She wanted to measure the gaseous and
liquid products of the reaction, and she needed to control the temperature inside the cell. It is
important to control the temperature during a chemical reaction because changing the
temperature can change the speed of the reaction, which is known as reaction kinetics.

After defining the design criteria she created a 3D drawing of the electrochemical cell on the
4 computer using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. This 3D drawing was then turned
into a set of instructions for a milling machine to follow to make the cell from a special,
chemically-resistant plastic. The milling machine has a robotic arm that can hold different types
of drill bits and can move left and right, forward and backward, and up and down. Once the cell
was complete she used it to conduct the photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction experiments.

Dr. Elizabeth Corson is a TomKat Center Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Energy at Stanford
University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California,
Berkeley. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical
Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. As a Research Associate at Air
Liquide she studied CO2 capture from coal-fired power plants using polymeric hollow fiber
membranes. During her Ph.D. she studied photoelectrochemical reduction of CO2 under the
direction of Professor Bryan McCloskey. As a postdoctoral fellow she studies nitrate reduction for
resource recovery from wastewater with Professor Will Tarpeh. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys
singing, playing softball, and volunteering with Expanding Your Horizons. Follow her on Twitter
@ecorson.

Reference: Corson, E.R.; Creel, E.B.; Kim, Y.; Urban, J.J.; Kostecki, R.; McCloskey, B.D. "A temperature-controlled
photoelectrochemical cell for quantitative product analysis,” (2018) Review of Scientific Instruments, 89, 055112. 8
 Shape Selective Catalysis: Zeolite Roller Coaster Ride

9
Shape Selective Catalysis: Zeolite Roller Coaster Ride
What is a zeolite? A zeolite is a type of catalyst, a material that speeds up a chemical reaction,
1 or helps steer the reaction towards making the chemicals we want to make. Zeolites can be
created in a laboratory or found in nature. The word “zeolite’ is Greek for “boiling stone”
because when they were first discovered, it was found that water would come out of them when
they were heated. Zeolites have structures with repeating patterns that make tunnels and
channels, which are similar in size to molecules.
How do zeolites make a reaction happen? Zeolites have an “active site” within the tunnels
2 where the reaction happens. Before the molecules can react, they adsorb onto this active site.
You can think of this like a molecule sticking to the zeolite like it’s wearing a seatbelt. Michele
studied the reaction of 2 molecules of ethylene coming together to make 1 molecule of butene.

3
How does the shape of the zeolite change the reaction? If a molecule is too large, it won’t fit
into the tunnels and channels of the zeolite. If a molecule is too small, being within the tunnels
and channels of the zeolite and being outside of them will not feel any different. We can think of
the reaction like a rollercoaster ride with a tunnel, where the molecules will only react if they
are the right size to fit into the tunnel.

4
What is a transition state? During the reaction, the molecules will reach the transition state,
which is high in energy, and the molecules begin to interact with each other. You can think of
this like the top of the highest hill of the roller coaster, where the molecules are unstable and
high in energy. Because they are interacting, we can think of the molecules kissing at the top of
the rollercoaster. We use the symbol ‡ to show where the transition state is.

5 Testing the reaction! In the lab, Michele can run experiments with zeolites. They can be made
into a powder and placed inside a tube, or a reactor. The molecules she wants to react are in the
gas phase, so they can be flowed over the zeolites and heated up. The molecules that are made
come out of the other end of the tube and are then sent to a machine that tells her what she’s
made. In this coloring page you can see Michele showing her Ph.D. students, Hayat Adawi and
Rachel Yang, how to load the tube into the reactor.

Dr. Michele Sarazen is an assistant professor in

Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton
University. She grew up in Sharon, PA and received her
B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State
University in 2011. She then received her Ph.D. in
Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2016 with
Enrique Iglesia. Her Ph.D. research focused on a
molecular understanding of alkene and alkane chain
growth on zeolites and other solid acid catalysts. Her
work was recognized with the Heinz Heinemann Prize for
graduate research in catalysis and the National Science
Foundation GRFP. She then became a postdoctoral fellow
at Georgia Tech, working with Christopher Jones on
materials for CO2 capture. Her current group works on
various porous catalysts for sustainable chemical and fuel
production. The groups mascot is her rescue pup (Navier)
Stokes; he likes to make sure the students stay busy in lab.

Reference: Sarazen, M. L. and Iglesia, E. “Effects of Charge, Size, and Shape of Transition States, Bound
Intermediates, and Confining Voids in Reactions of Alkenes on Solid Acids,” ChemCatChem 10 (2018) 4028.
10
DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201800401.
 The Science of Service Dogs

11
 The Science of Service Dogs
1 Have you ever seen a dog in public wearing a vest? Service dogs wear vests in public to tell
other people that they are working. They are specially trained to help their owner with a
disability, like not being able to see well or being in a wheelchair. However, there are also
service dogs who can help people with mental disorders.

2 Sometimes, military veterans can develop a mental disorder called posttraumatic stress disorder,
or PTSD. PTSD service dogs are specially trained to help these veterans in their daily lives. For
example, the service dog may help the veteran feel more comfortable in public, alert them to
when they are feeling anxious or stressed, and sleep with them to prevent nightmares.

3 Veterans and their families report that PTSD service dogs are really helpful. These service dogs
are also becoming more and more popular in the US. However, we don’t have much research on
what kind of benefits they are providing for veterans and how they work. Our research tries to
quantify the therapeutic benefits that service dogs have for military veterans with PTSD.

4
To measure how PTSD service dogs work, we compared a group of military veterans with PTSD
who already had a service dog to a group of veterans who didn’t have a service dog yet, but were
on the waitlist to receive one. We asked them to fill out a survey of standardized surveys to
measure things like their PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and sleep. We also asked them to spit into a
tube to measure a stress hormone in their saliva called cortisol. Your body produces cortisol
when you are stressed, like when you are giving a presentation in front of other people.

5
We found that veterans with PTSD service dogs not only had different cortisol than veterans
without service dogs, but they also reported less PTSD symptoms, less anxiety and depression,
and better sleep. Our research not only helps other psychologists and mental health professionals
understand how service dogs are helping veterans’ PTSD, but our findings also help bring
awareness to PTSD service dogs so that nonprofit organizations can provide more service dogs
to help more veterans.

Dr. Kerri Rodriguez is a postdoctoral fellow at the

Human-Animal Bond in Colorado (HABIC) at Colorado
State University. She earned her Ph.D. at the Center for the
Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University. Before joining
Purdue, she earned her Master's at the University of St
Andrews in Scotland and her Bachelor's in Evolutionary
Anthropology and Biology at Duke University in North
Carolina. Her research focuses on how dogs influence our
mental health and wellbeing, especially among military
veterans with PTSD, children with autism spectrum
disorder, and individuals with physical disabilities.
Dr. Marguerite (Maggie) O’Haire (@OHAIRElab) is an Associate
Professor of Human-Animal Interaction in the Center for the Human-Animal
Bond at Purdue University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Vassar
College in New York and her Ph.D. in Psychology from The University of
Queensland in Australia. Her research program focuses on the unique and
pervasive ways that humans interact with animals. From research with
household pets to highly trained service animals, her findings have been
instrumental in evaluating the effects of human-animal interactions.

References: [1] Rodriguez, K.E., Bryce, C., Granger, D. & O’Haire, M.E., “The effect of a service dog on the salivary cortisol
awakening response in a military population with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” (2018) Psychoneuroendocrinology, 98:
202-210., [2] O’Haire, M.E. & Rodriguez, K.E., “Preliminary efficacy of service dogs as a complementary treatment for military
veterans with PTSD,” (2018) Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(2): 179-188. 12
 2
3
Start

4
Start

6
A-Maze-ing
Polymers
13
 A-Maze-ing Polymers
1 Molecule Chains! Polymers are molecules made up of linked chains of different groups of
atoms. Let’s call two different groups of atoms “A” and “B”, so a polymer could be a bunch of
“A” strung together like A-A-A-A or a bunch of “B” strung together like B-B-B-B-B. You can
think of this as beads on a string, where A are one color and B are a different color.

Separation! Beads of one type like each other more than they like beads of the other type, so if
2 we mix A-A-A-A-A and B-B-B-B-B they will separate into two parts. If we make one chain
where the A beads are attached to the B beads, like A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B-B, they can’t fully
separate anymore because they’re stuck together, so they separate into alternating “A” and “B”
stripes.

Batteries! In a battery, ions need to get from one side to another to charge up! We can use
3 polymers to help them get there. Let’s say the ions only like “A” beads, so they need to go
through “A” parts to get to the other side, while avoiding the “B” parts. Because the stripes go
in all sorts of directions, this is like a maze, and the ions can get stuck, making our batteries
charge slowly. Can you solve the maze by number 3?

4 Easier Paths! If we can make our stripes all line up, it is a lot easier for ions to get across, and
our batteries can charge faster! Is the maze by number 4 easier to solve?

5
Magnificent Magnets! Using a special magnet, we can get the stripes to align themselves.
Now our batteries can charge faster! NMR (short for nuclear magnetic resonance) is a machine
that uses magnets to learn about molecules. When we put the molecules in the magnet, they
send a message we can record that tells us how they interact with the magnet.

6
Hitting the Right Note! It turns out that in the “disordered state” or “randomly-oriented state”
the molecules only send one signal, but when they are aligned in stripes, they send three signal
notes. This lets the molecules tell us when they have become the stripey material that we want.

Lorena Grundy is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley. She was

born in Albany, New York and raised in Dublin, Ohio. She went to college at Princeton
University in Chemical Engineering, where she fell in love with polymers! Her research
focuses on using NMR to learn about polymer materials for batteries. She also enjoys
spending time outdoors camping, hiking, and backpacking, and has been Irish dancing
since she was six years old!

Reference: Grundy, L.S. Sethi, G.K., Galluzzo, M.D., Loo, W.S., Maslyn, J.A., Teran, A.A, Thelen, J.L.,
Timachova, K., Reimer, J.A., Madsen, L.A., Balsara, N.P. “Detection of the Order-to-Disorder Transition in Block
14
Copolymer Electrolytes Using Quadrupolar 7Li NMR Splitting,” (2019) ACS Macro Letters, 8,107-112.
 Detangling
DNA

15
 Detangling DNA
1 Cells = Body Legos: Cells are the building blocks of our bodies. When they get damaged or
diseased, the body normally repairs them, but some damage and disease can be too severe.

2 Engineered Cells: One way of replacing a large loss of cells is by engineering new ones. Cells
can also be engineered to fight diseases like cancer.

3 Reprogramming Cells: It’s hard to predict which cells will respond to reprogramming. It’s a
mystery why some cells reprogram and others do not, and this is a major limitation.

4 Single cell: Looking at individual cells allowed us to identify the rare cells that can reprogram.
Curiously, it was cells that both multiplied quickly and made RNA faster that could
successfully reprogram.

5
Privileged Cells: When we looked at the way the molecules inside the cells multiply, we found
that the fast production of both cells and RNA puts stress on the cell’s DNA. Without a way to
relieve this stress, cells would die or stop reprogramming.

6
Detangling the DNA: Special proteins called topoisomerases (derived from the word topology,
which means shape) reduce the stress caused by high rates of multiplication as well as
production of RNA. We can picture the topoisomerase like a hair dresser, detangling the DNA
to relieve stress. With large amounts of these detanglers, cells can quickly and completely
reprogram to new cell types.

7
What it Means: Now that we understand why some cells reprogram better than others, we can
more easily make engineered cells. It may also be possible to design the genome (the whole set
of DNA polymers) to fight changes that let cells reprogram to become cancer cells.

Dr. Katie Galloway studied Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley and obtained her Ph.D. from
Caltech. Through her work, she has engineered systems for dynamic behaviors across multiple
scales, from the molecular design of noncoding RNA devices to optimization of large
transcriptional networks. In the fall of 2019, Katie started her lab at MIT as an assistant professor
in the department of Chemical Engineering. Outside of lab she enjoys chasing around her four kids
and exploring the outdoors with her husband (and sometimes cooperative kids).

Reference: Babos, K. N., Galloway, K. E., Kisler, K., Zitting, M., Li, Y., Shi, Y., Quintino, B., Chow, R.H.,
Zlokovic, B., Ichida, J.K. “Mitigating Antagonism between Transcription and Proliferation Allows Near-
16
Deterministic Cellular Reprogramming,” (2019) Cell Stem Cell, 25, 486-500.
 Protein Toolbox

17
 Protein Toolbox
Cellular Tools: Proteins are the tools cells use to do all their jobs. For example, malaria and
1 bacteria use the protein that Alexandra studies to break down waste products from cellular
reactions and to pump charged particles across a membrane. If we could stop these cells from
using this protein, it would treat the diseases caused by these pathogens. Could we prevent a
mosquito bite from giving us malaria?

How They Work: In her research, Alexandra wants to understand what this protein, called a

2 “membrane-integral pyrophosphatase,” looks like and how it works. Knowing what the protein
looks like helps us to better understand how it does its job. We can think of this like tools in a
toolbox. For example, hammers and screwdrivers do the same thing (like inserting screws or
nails into furniture), but work differently (one you swing and the other you twist). We can
understand this from their shape because the hammer has a flat side that matches and hits the
nail head, and the screwdriver has a cross shape that matches the cross shape of the screw head.

3 Changing The Tools: Imagine we wanted screwdrivers to stop working: we could design
something with the right shape to prevent the screwdriver from matching the screw head,
without effecting the hammer. This is important when designing medicines against
microorganisms, because we want to stop malaria’s tools from working, but not our own tools,
so need to design medicines that are the right shape to affect them, but not us.

4 Taking a Look: To find out what a protein looks like, Alexandra uses a technique called “x-ray
crystallography,” where a large amount of protein is made into a crystal that is then hit with x-
rays to reveal the shape. The machine that is supplying the x-rays to the crystal is called a
synchrotron, and it works by accelerating electrons around a large circle roughly the size of an
entire football field.

5
Computing Solutions: Once she has the shape, Alexandra can put the protein into computer
simulations to see how it moves. She can then use computer software to try to design chemicals
that could one day be medicines against the protein. To the right of the computer screen, you
can see the supercomputer, which is the workhorse of these calculations. Finally, Alexandra
performs extra experiments in the lab to support the results of her computer simulations.

Alexandra Holmes (she/her) grew up and still lives in the United

Kingdom and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Leeds.
In school, she initially thought she wanted to be a vet or medical
doctor, but during her A Levels (last 2 years of school in the UK) she
realized she preferred learning about the underlying research and
science rather than the diseases themselves. She decided to go to
University to study pharmacology (how the body and medicines
interact), where she was inspired and fascinated by understanding
how things work on the smallest biologically relevant scale, and so
she started her Ph.D. in this area in October 2018. In addition to her
research, she is heavily involved in science communication and
public engagement. She has led stalls for university events, as well as
international science festivals. Her favorite science communication
experience to date was having a pen pal with a 6th Grader through the
Letters To Prescientists program. Chat to her on twitter: @aomholmes

Reference: Holmes A.O.M., Kalli, A.C., Goldman, A. “The Function of Membrane Integral
18
Pyrophosphatases from Whole Organism to Single Molecule,” (2019) Front. Mol. Biosci. 6(132).
 The Science of Rat Tickling

19
 The Science of Rat Tickling
1
Did you know that rats like being tickled? Yes, rats! Specifically, rats that are an essential part
of scientific research. These rats play a huge role in helping improve human health such as
developing treatments for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

2
Unfortunately, when rats first interact with humans, they’re afraid of them. After all, we are a
lot bigger than a little rat, so the rat might think we are predators. In many research studies,
these rats need to be restrained or get injections to study a new drug. This causes them stress
which changes their behavior, hormones, and even brain structure. And that’s not good for rat
welfare or scientific quality.
Luckily a solution to these problems can come in the form of rat tickling. What is rat tickling?
3 Well, when rats are young, they actually play in a very similar way to puppies. In the picture,
you can see rats playing on the top left. On the top right, one hand is used to mimic aspects of
rat rough-and-tumble play. That is rat tickling!

4
Does this really work? Research reviewing over 50 rat tickling experiments shows that it does.
Rats are happier, less afraid of people, and less stressed after tickling. They even make
ultrasonic vocalizations (meaning you cannot hear them without special equipment) during
tickling. These vocalizations are a gold-standard measure of positive emotions in rats. Some
scientists have even compared them to human laughter.
Unfortunately, research also shows that this great technique is rarely used. Often this is because
5 laboratory animal personnel think it takes too long. Fortunately, in their research, Megan and
Brianna found that just 45 seconds (15 seconds per day for 3 days) is effective in increasing
positive vocalizations and rat behaviors such as play. This is 1000% less time than what
scientists thought was needed before! The overall goal of this research is to promote positive
human-animal interactions in the laboratory by addressing common barriers and ultimately
improve laboratory animal welfare.

Dr. Megan LaFollette works with The North American 3Rs

Collaborative to advance science, innovation, and research
animal welfare. She has her Ph.D. in Animal Behavior & Well-
Being from Purdue University, where she also received a Master
of Science in Animal Welfare. Her primary interests lie at the
intersection of human-animal interaction and animal welfare,
especially in practical refinements for laboratory and
companion animals. These interests have led to her conducting
projects focused on rat tickling, compassion fatigue in
laboratory animal personnel, refinement for cats in confinement,
positive reinforcement in training horses, the welfare of service
dogs, and human behavior change for animal welfare.
Dr. Brianna Gaskill is an Associate Professor of Animal
Welfare at Purdue University. She earned her B.S. from Kansas
State University and her Ph.D. at Purdue University before
completing a post-doctoral role at Charles River Laboratories.
Her research interests focus on laboratory animal welfare and
how better welfare can translate into better science.

References: [1] LaFollette, M.R., O’Haire, M.E,. Cloutier, S, Blankenberger, W.B., Gaskill, B.N. “Rat tickling: A
systematic review of applications, outcomes, and moderators,” (2017) PLoS ONE, 12(4), e0175320. [2] LaFollette,
M.R., O’Haire, M.E., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B.N. “Practical rat tickling: Determining an efficient and effective
20
dosage of heterospecific play,” (2018) Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 208, 82-91.
 HydrogeLand
1 Have you ever wondered what makes food so stretchy? Things like gum, taffy, caramel,
or the mozzarella cheese on your pizza? It makes them more fun to eat! If we can fully
understand what makes them stretchy, we can engineer stretchiness into other materials
that currently can’t stretch. Imagine if your phone or TV could stretch!
Material properties often group together. Have you noticed that all the stretchy foods are
2 also soft, whereas brittle foods are often hard? Sometimes soft foods break when you try
to stretch them, like Jello. What makes a material soft, stretchy, and strong?

3
Typically, material properties are determined by the way their building blocks are
arranged at really small sizes. We use X-rays and polarized light to watch what happens
to soft, stretchy, and strong materials at these small sizes.

Scientists Chelsea and Danielle study

4 materials called hydrogels, which are soft
materials that absorb water. Hydrogels
(hydro = water) are made up of molecular
strands held together in a network. Some
examples of hydrogels are Jello, contact
lenses, and diapers!

They found that stretchy hydrogels need

5 “sticky” network points that can
rearrange. We can picture these “sticky”
network points like gum drops holding
together strands of licorice. The sticky
points rearrange to hold the strands
together when we pull on our hydrogels.

They also discovered that strong

6 hydrogels need long molecular strands. If
the strands are long, they tangle with each
other and pull on each other. These
“entanglements” strengthen the hydrogel.
If the strands are short, the hydrogels are
stretchy but not too strong.

If we want to design strong, stretchable,

7 soft materials, we need long strands held
together by sticky points. With this
knowledge, we can engineer new soft
materials, from stretchy electronics to
strong surgical stitches to artificial
muscles!

Let’s take a trip to the Sweet and Scientific World of

HydrogeLand to learn, color, and play!....
You Can Download a Free Printable Gameboard, Cards, and
Instructions at: www.colormephd.org/games/hydrogeland
21
 HydrogeLand
8
Many candies and sweets are hydrogels, such as gummy bears, Jello, licorice, and
gumdrops. In the imaginary world of HydrogeLand, we also use candy to picture how
hydrogels look and act at the molecular level!

9 We start with scientists Chelsea and Danielle, geared up with lab coats and safety glasses for
the journey through HydrogeLand.
Through your journey, you will weave your way through all sorts of candies with different

10 physical properties. Some are soft and stretchy (like taffy) and others are hard and brittle
(like lollipops and peanut brittle). These candies help us visualize the characteristics of our
hydrogels.
The licorice rope is connected by sticky gumdrops, which can rearrange to connect other
11 licorice strands. Just like the sticky groups in Danielle and Chelsea's hydrogel, this
rearrangement relaxes stress so the rope can extend without breaking. To make the rope
tough, the licorice strands are also weaved together, which is what entanglements look like
on a molecular level. A hydrogel with short strands is unentangled, and the rope breaks if
you pull it too fast!
You can take a trip on the X-Ray Vision Pass, the Rheometer Run, or the Polarized Light
12 Path to help learn what the materials look like up close! If you’re lucky, you’ll land on the
entanglement bridge. The entangled licorice and gumdrops help provide a strong bridge that
won’t break under your fall.
But watch out, because you might get stuck along the way! To make useful hydrogels, we
13 need to make sure that the properties are just right. If the linkers are too short, we might not
form the entanglements we need to get the right balance of stretchiness and strength. Don’t
get discouraged, research is all about trial and error!

Chelsea Edwards is a chemical engineering Ph.D. student and

NDSEG Fellow at the University of California at Santa Barbara,
where she transferred from Caltech to work with Matt Helgeson. She
studies formation of aqueous polyelectrolyte complexes, which might
have been precursors to the earliest life! She grew up in Champaign-
Urbana, Illinois, and got her S.B. in chemical engineering from MIT
in 2017. Outside lab, Chelsea plays violin and runs, and occasionally
skiis, hikes mountains, does pull-ups, or speaks in French.
Dr. Danielle Mai is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at
Stanford University. Danielle was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan,
and she studied chemical engineering at the University of Michigan (B.S.E.,
2011) and the University of Illinois (Ph.D., 2016) prior to her postdoctoral
research at MIT. Danielle engineers biopolymers, which are the building
materials of nature. Her research group combines biopolymer engineering
with advanced characterization experiments to understand the properties of
materials across many length scales. Overall, this work aims to develop
functional biomaterials and to enhance understanding in soft matter physics.
When she’s not in the lab, Danielle enjoys experimenting at home by
cooking with her sous vide immersion circulator or baking cupcakes!

Reference: Edwards, C.E.R., Mai, D.J., Tang, S., Olsen, B.D. “Molecular Anisotropy and Rearrangement as
22
Mechanisms of Toughness and Extensibility in Entangled Physical Gels,” (2020) Physical Review Materials 4, 015602.
25
What Happens to Teenagers’ Brains When They Smoke?

1 The human brain is made up of BILLIONS of cells called neurons. Neurons talking to each
other is how we're able to do EVERYTHING like raise our hands, remember our names, and
eat yummy food. Sometimes, things like drugs can change the way neurons communicate.
Drugs can make neurons talk too quickly or stop talking, which then changes the way we think
and act. This is really important during teenage years because the brain is growing so much
during this time. And using drugs can cause permanent changes in neuron communication.

2 The two drugs that Angeline focuses on are nicotine and THC. Nicotine is the stuff in cigarettes
that makes them addictive. THC is the thing in cannabis that makes people feel 'high.' When
people use nicotine a lot, they can have health problems and even die from it. The good news is
that fewer people are smoking cigarettes than they used to. The bad news is that A LOT more
teenagers are smoking e-cigarettes or vaping nicotine and THC. In fact, approximately one in
three high school seniors used cannabis in the past year. And using e-cigarettes is really
dangerous because they contain chemicals that cause cancer, and metal particles that can hurt
your lungs. Plus, teens who vape e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking cigarettes.

Scientists don't know yet exactly what changes in the brain when teens use these drugs. We also
3 don't know which changes last as you grow up. Does smoking nicotine and THC as a teenager
make you more likely to smoke as an adult? Does it make you more anxious or depressed?
Does it make you smarter or forget things? That's what Angeline is studying!

Since it takes humans a reallyyyy long time to grow up and we can't control a lot of things they
4 do, we use mice to study this instead. The mice get nicotine or THC during adolescence then
when they grow up, we test if they're anxious, depressed, can learn tasks, or take more/less
drugs. We do these tests in both boys and girls to see if they are the same or different. These
studies can help us better understand what changes occur in human teenagers' brains when they
smoke cigarettes and cannabis.

Angeline Dukes is the daughter of immigrants from

Trinidad and Haiti. She is a first-generation college graduate
from the Historically Black College/University (HBCU),
Fisk University, where she received her Bachelor's degree in
Biology. Angeline is currently a neuroscience Ph.D. student
at the University of California, Irvine. She studies the long-
term effects of adolescent nicotine and cannabis use. When
she's not in the lab, Angeline loves to do experiments with
kids and teach them all about the brain! She is the founder of
Black In Neuro - an organization that supports Black
neuroscientists and shows kids that they can be scientists
too! Angeline dreams of becoming a professor to teach
everyone how interesting the brain can be! You can follow
her on Twitter @FutureDrDukes.

26
Reference: Angeline’s work isn’t published yet, but when it is, we’ll link the article to our website!
 Express Your-Cell-F

27
 Express Your-Cell-F
1 Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: Cells are key players in keeping our bodies
working. The way cells behave depends on the activities of countless processes with
biomolecules. These processes involve enzymes, which are substances made by living
organisms to bring about specific biomolecular reactions. The way most enzymes work
depends on the amount of enzymes around, or the concentration, so it is important to regulate
the expression level of the enzymes, or how much the enzymes produce. Over-expression or
under-expression will cause severe damage and disease.

2
Getting it Just Right: You can think of over- and under-expression of enzymes like hot and
cold taps of water on a bathtub. If the water is too hot, you’ll burn, and if the water is too cold,
you might freeze. By changing the flow of hot and cold water, you can make sure that the
temperature in the bathtub is just right. Similarly, the expression of enzymes must be just right.

3
Taking a look: But how can cells regulate the expression of these enzymes precisely? Using
single cell time-lapse movies, scientist Ding was able to investigate the dynamics and functions
of these fundamental enzymatic processes in real time.

4
And… Action! Enzymes regulate themselves to achieve a stable concentration by directing
unproductive RNA from their own gene, which we call “negative autoregulatory feedback.”
Imagine the enzyme is the director and star of their own movie. By adjusting the set,
controlling the taps, and telling everyone where to go and what to do, they can regulate the
whole scene.

Soaking it Up: This feedback also reduces cell-cell heterogeneity (meaning the cells end up
5 more alike), speeds up the response rate, and makes the cells more resistant to change.
Furthermore, this directing feedback can help adapt the amount of enzymes to different
conditions, like different amounts of substrates, which could be target RNA from other genes.
This is kind of like a sponge for the enzymes in the cell, soaking up the right amount of
enzymes so the conditions in the bathtub (cell) are just right.

6 Meeting the Cell’s Needs: Using this self-direction method, enzyme activity can be kept at the
level we want, which can help cells in our body do the jobs they need to do to keep us healthy.

Dr. Fangyuan Ding is currently an Assistant Professor in the

Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of
California, Irvine. Previously, she was Postdoctoral
Researcher in the Division of Biology and Biological
Engineering at Caltech, working with Dr. Michael Elowitz.
She received her Ph.D. degree in Biophysics from École
Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, working with Dr. David
Bensimon and Dr. Vincent Croquette, and she obtained her
B.S. degree in Physics from Nanjing University in China. As
a member of the Caltech Postdoc Association Board, Ding
has worked to encourage female students in science through
organizing STEM outreach events and inviting successful
female professors to alumni reunions and forums.

28
Reference: Ding’s work isn’t published yet, but when it is, we’ll link the article to our website!
EDCs, I See You!

29
 Detecting Endocrine Disruptors: EDCs, I See You!

1
Hormones are chemical messengers in the body. They help direct the cells in our body by
attaching to hormone receptors. If the work of the hormones is interrupted, this can lead to a
variety of diseases and disfunctions in the body. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are
molecules that act like hormones in our bodies, binding to our hormone receptors and causing
diseases including cancer and diabetes.

2
These harmful molecules are increasingly found in food and water sources, originating from
plastics, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. In the top bubble of the coloring page, you can see
how EDCs present in a baby bottle can act as imposters, keeping the natural hormone from
attaching to the receptor, triggering an unwanted hormonal pathway, and resulting in an
unhealthy cell.

3 Estrogen is an important hormone in the body that could be disrupted by EDCs. Ariel and her
team came up with a new detection strategy for EDCs that can tell us if any harmful molecule
might attach itself, or “bind” to a human estrogen receptor.

4
To do this, they used an "electrochemical sandwich assay,” which uses a tiny device about the
width of a dime. For this test, they put a natural human hormone receptor on the surface of the
bacteria, E. coli. Then they placed a molecule that mimics the antibody on the electrode of the
sandwich assay, which is shown on the right side of the coloring page. As you can see on the
whiteboard, the bacteria will only attach to the electrode in the presence of an EDC. This gives
off a signal that can be recorded by the computer. This way, they can tell if there are molecules
around that act similarly to estrogen, activating a hormonal pathway when it should not be
activated.

With these tests, it is possible to detect sub-ppb levels of EDCs. Ppb, or parts per billion, is the
5 equivalent of a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Importantly, because
we do not need to know the identity of a molecule in order to measure its activity, we can
measure the activity of mystery compounds.

6
Ariel and her fellow scientists tested the estrogenic molecule that leeched from a BPA-free
plastic baby bottle. Now, they are expanding these tests to detect compounds that target other
hormone receptors. With these inexpensive tests, we may be able to tell more easily if there are
harmful EDS in our products and environment, which will help protect us against the harmful
effects they might have on our health.

Dr. Ariel L. Furst is an assistant professor in the Chemical

Engineering Department at MIT. She received a B.S. degree in
Chemistry from the University of Chicago working with Prof. Stephen
B. H. Kent on the chemical synthesis of proteins. She then completed
her Ph.D. in the lab of Prof. Jacqueline K. Barton at the California
Institute of Technology developing new cancer diagnostic strategies
based on DNA charge transport. She was then an A. O. Beckman
Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Prof. Matthew Francis at the
University of California, Berkeley. She is passionate about STEM
outreach and increasing participation of underrepresented groups in
engineering. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading novels, and
experimenting in the kitchen. Engage with her on Twitter: @afurst1

Reference: Furst, A.L., Hoepker, A.C., and Francis, M.B. “Quantifying Hormone Disruptors with an
30
Engineered Bacterial Biosensor,” (2017) ACS Central Science, 3, 110−116.
31
 The Gut Bacteria of Insects

1
Gut microbiome: The gut microbiome is the collection of bacteria and other microbes that live
in the guts of all animals. These are mostly good microbes that contribute to many essential
processes in the body, such as digestion, nutrient uptake, and protection from pathogens. All
humans and animals initially acquire these microbes at birth and will continue to pick up new
ones from social interactions, the environment, contact with animals and other organisms, and
their diet.

2 The importance of diversity: Gut microbial diversity is important for health. Diversity is the
number of individual microbes and the number of different types of microbial species. In
humans and other animals, a gut with a high diversity of microbes is typically associated with
better health. A high diversity of gut microbes can typically fight off viruses, bad bacteria, and
other pathogens better than a gut with a lower diversity of microbes.

Diseases and insects: Just like in humans, insects also have gut bacteria. Many types of insects,
3 like mosquitoes and ticks, can carry harmful pathogens in their guts and spread them to humans
or other animals. Uninfected insects can become infected by feeding from an infected host, like
a mammal. The gut microbes of the insects directly interact with these pathogens. When a
pathogen enters the gut of an insect, if there is a higher diversity of microbes these pathogens
may not survive. If the pathogen can’t survive and reproduce within the gut of the insect, there
is a lower chance that the pathogen will be spread to humans or other animals.

Chagas disease: Chagas disease, also known as American Trypanosomiasis, is found

4 throughout the Americas, but is most commonly found in rural areas of Latin America. Chagas
disease is caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, and kissing bugs, or triatominae,
transmit the T. cruzi parasite. Unlike mosquitoes that spread pathogens via their saliva, kissing
bugs spread Chagas disease via their poop. An infected kissing bug will feed on a mammal and
then poop infected feces that can get into the bite wound of the mammal, causing the mammal
to contract Chagas disease. This infection cycle will continue when an uninfected kissing bug
feeds on an infected mammal and acquires this Chagas parasite.

5 Why is gut microbiome research important: Kaylee is a disease ecologist, which means that
she studies how changes to the environment can influence the spread of diseases. She is most
interested in exploring if human-caused environmental disturbances, like deforestation, impact
the gut diversity of insects and ultimately the spread of diseases between humans and animals.
For her Ph.D. research, Kaylee studies whether deforestation affects the gut microbial diversity
within kissing bugs and if this has an impact on the transmission of Chagas disease from kissing
bugs to humans.

Kaylee Arnold is a Ph.D. student in the Odum School of Ecology at

the University of Georgia. Prior to starting her Ph.D., she earned her
M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University and her
B.S. in Biology at the University of Redlands. Kaylee is a disease
ecologist who studies the impacts of human and environmental
disturbances on disease transmission between humans and animals. In
addition to research, Kaylee is also very passionate about science
education, community outreach, and making environmental science
more accessible and equitable. When she’s not working, you can
typically find Kaylee at a dance studio, either taking a class or teaching!

Reference: Arnold, K., Kieran, T., Varian, C., Saldana, A., Calzada, J., Samudio, F., Glenn, T., and Gottdenker, N,
32
“The gut microbial diversity of Chagas disease vector varies across region and infection status,” In preparation.
 Score! From Water to Hydrogen

33
 Score! From Water to Hydrogen
1
Hydrogen (H2) is an important chemical that is used for making transportation fuels and various
products, likes plastics and fertilizers. Hydrogen is usually made by burning natural gas, also
called methane. This process releases a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air, which
contributes to global warming. Another way to make hydrogen is by using an electrolyzer. An
electrolyzer uses very clean liquid water (H2O) and electricity to split H2O to H2 and oxygen
(O2). This does not make any harmful CO2.
Remember the electrochemical sandwich from Oyin and Philomena’s research in ColorMePhD
2 Volume 1?[2] For Julie’s research, she made an electrochemical sandwich to make H2 and O2.
The sandwich has two electrodes (where the reactions happen) and a membrane that transports
protons (H+). Another way to think of this is like a football field, where the electrodes are the
end zones on each side, and the membrane is in the middle of the field.

3
At one electrode (the anode), water is split into three parts: O2 , H+ and electrons (e-). The
electrons move through the electrode and then through a wire to the other side. On the football
field, this is like the electron running from the end zone and along a fence all around the outside
of the field. At the same time, H+ has to work its way through the membrane to the other
electrode (the cathode), so on our field, H+ is running through the middle. Once the electron is
all the way to the other side, it recombines with H+ to make H2!

4 For this to work, the H+ needs to make it all the way across the field at the same time as the
electron. Whenever they succeed, the reaction takes place, and we get a “score” in the form of
H2. We want it to be easy to score, which means we want it to be easy for the electrons and H+
to get across the cell. We see how hard it is as the voltage of the cell, and a low voltage means it
is easy and efficient to move H+ and the electrons across the cell.
For Julie’s water vapor electrolyzer, she needs the water to make O2 and H+, but there aren’t as
5 many water molecules in water vapor as there are in liquid water… and sometimes H+ likes to
steal water and move it to the other side! This makes it much harder than we want, because we
cannot complete as many reactions with less water. To solve this, Julie either increases how
much water vapor is on the anode (so that it’s okay if some gets stolen) or she keeps more water
inside the membrane to make it easier for H+ to get across. One way to do this to make sure we
have plenty of water, like a runner continuously making sure there is enough water for the
players!
Julie works with experiments and computer simulations. The experiments provide the “score”
6 and voltage, and let us see what can be achieved for materials available today. The computer
takes all the properties and can follow a single water molecule through the cell! Using both the
experiments and computer simulations can provide important information on how to improve
systems and advance research!

Julie Fornaciari is a Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering at the

University of California at Berkeley. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois
and went to college at the University of Pittsburgh as a first generation
college student. Her research with Prof. Alex Bell and Dr. Adam
Weber focuses on making these electrochemical sandwiches more
efficient and testing different gases (not just water!) to make different
products. Outside of lab she loves traveling, hiking, rock climbing,
reading, volunteering by teaching science through Bay Area Scientists
in Schools (BASIS), and developing labs for virtual teaching.

References: [1] Fornaciari, J.C., Gerhardt, M.R., Zhou, J., Regmi, Y.N., Danilovic, N., Bell, A.T., Weber, A.Z.
“The Role of Water in Vapor-fed Proton-Exchange-Membrane Electrolysis,” (2020) J. Electrochem. Soc. 167
34
104508, [2] O. Romiluyi, P. Weng, “Electrochemical Sandwich,” (2018) ColorMePhD (1)29-30.
 Nature’s Own Bodyguard Factory:
The Bone Marrow

35
 Nature’s Own Bodyguard Factory: The Bone Marrow
The bodyguard factory: Bone marrow is a spongy tissue found in the middle of your bones. It

1 is the place where all new blood cells are made and can even make up to 500 billion blood cells
per day. In order for the bone marrow to work properly it needs a good supply of blood to be
healthy.
The bone marrow makes red blood cells that carry oxygen, platelets that help your blood clot,
and most importantly white blood cells that help to fight infections. When white blood cells are
made in the bone marrow, they move around your body through the blood stream in pipes
called blood vessels. These patrolling white blood cells act like bodyguards, checking the blood
for suspicious signs of infection or disease.

2
Blocked pipes: In peripheral vascular disease, the blood vessels are furry and sometimes
become blocked. This causes less blood supply to important parts of the body like the legs.
When this happens, people can get painful legs, sores on their feet (called ulcers), and
sometimes even need surgery. We do not fully understand how peripheral vascular disease does
this.
Changing the guard: As the blood vessels carry blood down the leg, they also supply blood to
3 the inner layer of the bone, the bone marrow. Unlike the skin, we can’t see the bone marrow –
so if there are problems with the bone marrow in peripheral vascular disease, we might not
know about them.
If peripheral vascular disease does cause changes to the bone marrow, then how does this affect
how the bone marrow makes blood cells? These changes in the bone marrow in people with
peripheral vascular disease could be harmful to the body and change the behavior of the white
blood cell bodyguards. The white blood cell bodyguards could change to being either more or
less alert to infections. In her research, Lauren wants to understand how peripheral vascular
disease changes the bone marrow in the large bones of the legs.
Call the plumber: By looking at the bone marrow and the blood cells, we can understand how
4 to help people with peripheral vascular disease. Lauren uses a technique called “confocal
microscopy,” where a large microscope is used to look in detail at the shape and function of the
bone marrow from people with peripheral vascular disease. The machine uses high powered
lasers to light up the bone marrow and produce an image that Lauren can analyze and compare
with healthy bone marrow from people without peripheral vascular disease.
Lauren and other members of the Cubbon laboratory are researching new medicines to repair
the bone marrow and blocked blood vessels in the legs. These medicines will help people with
peripheral vascular disease keep their bodies and feet healthier for longer.

Lauren Eades is a Ph.D. student at the University of Leeds interested in

understanding how peripheral vascular disease changes blood vessels. She
was born and currently lives in the United Kingdom. She has always been
fascinated by biology and how the human body works. She decided to go
to university to obtain her Undergraduate Biomedical Science degree
(understanding how the human body functions and what goes wrong in
disease), and was inspired to start her Ph.D. in cardiovascular disease in
2018. In addition to her research, Lauren has a particular interest in
science communication, public engagement and making science fun and
accessible for everyone! She has led women in STEM events and has been
involved in the international Pint of Science festival. When she’s not in the
lab, she enjoys traveling, running, yoga, gardening and volunteering.

36
Reference: Lauren’s manuscript is still under way, stay tuned for the final publication!
 The Science of Equitable Transportation Accessibility

37
 The Science of Equitable Transportation Accessibility
1
Did you know that bus and other transit systems are the lifeline of the entire transportation
network? They help to reduce traffic jams because they offer alternatives to driving
everywhere. Most importantly, transit serves the travel needs of all people who are unable to
drive, for example, underage travelers, the elderly, disabled travelers and those who don’t own a
car.

2
Microtransit is a new form of transit that can be defined as “digitally-enabled paratransit.” This
service is operated on demand, meaning that you don’t need to go to a transit stop or station and
the shuttle does not always run on fixed routes. Microtransit is exciting because it can be a more
flexible and reliable option than traditional fixed route transit, although this typically costs
more than taking the bus or train. So, this leaves many transportation planners and officials
concerned with whether microtransit will serve the needs of vulnerable travelers, like disabled,
elderly, and low-income travelers.
We conducted what is referred to as an equity analysis of a future microtransit service in Detroit
3 Michigan and studied how benefits of a microtransit service are likely to be distributed among
vulnerable travelers relative to more affluent travelers. We did this using a regional scale travel
demand model, which is a probability model of travel modes and destinations. We used the
model to estimate transit accessibility due to a (hypothetical) microtransit service available to
all travelers in Metro Detroit.

4
We found that there is likely to be two groups of beneficiaries; suburban residents who
experience the smallest gains in accessibility and urban residents who experience the highest
gains. Given that vulnerable travelers in the region are most likely to live in urban core area,
this seems like a very positive result. Accessibility gains were higher for lower income
communities (17% increase compared with 13% for high income) and transit-dependent
households (21% compared with 15% for car-owning households). Overall, we found that
microtransit services are likely to help reduce the gap in accessibility between vulnerable and
more affluent travelers in Metro Detroit.
In this coloring page, we can see Professor Tierra Bills building the model for this analysis. In
5 reality, this model is built on the computer, but we can think of the process like building up a
model with building blocks: Tierra collects survey information on the different types of travel
that community members with different needs use, then she puts together all the factors
(blocks) that go into choosing a mode of transportation, like cost, commute time, distance, and
location. With the information from this model in hand, city planners and decision makers can
pick the most equitable public transportation options that help every traveler get to where they
need to go!

Dr. Tierra Bills is an Assistant Professor in the Civil and

Environmental Engineering Department at Wayne State University.
Much of her current research focuses on investigating the social
impacts of transportation projects. Her general areas of interest
include Transportation equity analysis, emerging data sources for
travel demand modeling, and transit design and reliability. She holds
a B.S in Civil Engineering Technology from Florida A&M University
(‘08), and M.S (’09) and Ph.D. (’13) degrees in Transportation
Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

References: [1] Bills, T.; Twumasi-boakye, R.; Broaddus, A; Fishelson, J., “Towards Transit Equity in Detroit: An
Assessment of Microtransit and its Impact on Employment Accessibility,” (2020) Journal of Transport Geography,
(Under Review). [2] Bills, T., “Towards Regional Transportation Equity: A San Francisco Bay Area Case Study: A San
38
Francisco Bay Area Case Study,” (2020) Transportation Research Part A, (Accepted) .
 Flowering STEM: Nurturing Belonging in Academia
Introduction:
1 Imagine you could have a garden, and that there was nothing you couldn’t grow in this garden.
What would you grow? I would love to have flowers of all colors and shapes—roses, tulips,
sunflowers, irises, and maybe even thistles. I would also try to grow some fruits—strawberries
and tomatoes—and maybe even some herbs, like basil and mint. It would be great to have trees,
and also some mushrooms to make the soil fertile and help my garden thrive!
Imagine now, that you don’t have enough soil to pot all these different kinds of flowers and
plants. Or that you do have enough soil, but maybe your garden is in a spot where it doesn’t get
enough sunlight to be able to help these plants grow out of the soil. Or, maybe you just couldn’t
find seeds for all the types of plants you want to grow in your garden! You would have to make
a new plan for your garden!

2 Background:
What is sense of belonging? It’s a feeling, which comes from knowing that you are accepted,
valued, and included in a community. It is very closely related with feeling connected to your
peers, friends, and even family. Importantly, not feeling a sense of belonging also leads to a
decrease in diversity in science.
All scientists, just like flowers and other plants in a garden, are incredibly diverse. And, the
conditions they each need to become successful might be very different. In the same way that
all plants need varying amounts of shade, water, sunlight, and nutrients in order to grow and
thrive, all scientists need tailored support, mentoring, and resources in order to reach their full
potential!

3 Methods:
Unfortunately, the factors that help scientists feel like they belong are not understood very well.
Using a survey made entirely of cartoons, we are able to better understand sense of belonging
among chemists at UC Berkeley. The scientists who took this survey were asked to relate with
each cartoon. The really cool part is that we analyzed the survey data using a technique called
item response theory, which can rank the cartoon numerically, based on which scenarios were
the easiest or most difficult for scientists to relate with.

39
 Flowering STEM: Nurturing Belonging in Academia
Results:
4 Sense of belonging among the chemists at Berkeley is
shaped by them feeling that they can talk to and socialize
with their peers, especially peers that do the same kind of
science as them. Unfortunately, it seems really difficult for
scientists to talk to peers that do different types of science.
Scientists also tend to feel like they are imposters in their
community—like they are not smart enough to be accepted
in their community. And, some scientists who don’t look
like the majority of their peers especially feel like they do
not belong.

5 Implications:
Thinking back to our garden—in order to grow the most colorful, healthy, thriving garden,
we need more than just seeds, sunlight and water. We need to make sure that the garden’s root
system forms a network with all the flowers, trees, mushrooms, and edible plants in the
garden, so that every plant benefits from all the others and can help them grow. We need to
make sure to position each plant where it will have the perfect amount of sunlight, shade,
water, and nutrients so it can grow optimally. And, we even need to make sure that bees,
birds, or even insects are around to help pollinate the plants and keep ensuring that they can
grow.
In the same way, all scientists are as different as flowers are. Some need more sunlight than
others, and some need less water than others. Some benefit more than others from sharing the
same root system as other types of flowers and mushrooms, and some only thrive when they
can socialize with bees, insects, and bacteria in the soil. There is no “one size fits all”
condition for any given plant, just like there is no one way to mentor and train a young
scientist. We need to make sure we can adapt and be welcoming to all scientists, in order for
them to feel like the belong in their community and reach their full potential as a researcher!

Dr. Chrissy Stachl (she/ella) is the Director of Education, Outreach,

and Diversity at the National Science Foundation Center for
Genetically Encoded Materials. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry
from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020, and dual B.S.
degrees in Chemistry and Neuroscience from the University of
Washington in 2014. When she started her Ph.D., she investigated the
structure of water droplets. Her desire to make the field of chemistry
more inclusive led her to switch into the field of education. Her
dissertation research focused on developing methods to understand
issues that negatively affect diversity, inclusivity, and belonging
within graduate communities, and designing interventions to combat
these disparities. Outside of her work, she is a photographer and
loves hiking, camping, listening to music, and doing all of the above
with her pup, Rosie. Engage with her on twitter: @ChrissyStachl

Reference: Stachl, C.N., Baranger, A.M. “Sense of belonging within the graduate community of a research-
focused STEM department: Quantitative assessment using a visual narrative and item response theory,” (2020)
PLoS ONE 15(5): e0233431. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233431 40
41
 Check out ColorMePhD.org for More Free Coloring Books!

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ColorMePhD Volume 1 ColorMePhD Volumen 1 (Español)

A Coloring Book of PhD-Level Research in Un libro para colorear de investigación en
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley química e ingeniería química en UC Berkeley

History-Making Scientists Fun-at-Home

Celebrating Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Scientists, and Science-Inspired Botanical Themed Coloring
Scientists Whose Contributions Have Often Been Overlooked Pages to Relax and Unwind at Home
 A free educational coloring book for all ages to communicate current and
exciting PhD-level research performed and directed by female-identifying
scientists and engineers at varying stages in their research careers, and to
inspire the next generation of scientists from all walks of life!
Each page describes current a research publication or project in chemistry,
chemical engineering, bioengineering, and other STEM disciplines by PhD
candidates, postdoctoral scholars, professors, and undergraduate researchers.
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