NEB Podcast #79 -
Transcript
Interviewers: Lydia Morrison, Marketing Communications Manager & Podcast Host, New England Biolabs, Inc.
Interviewee: Nitya Johar, Skyline High School, Sammamish, WA; Marissa Morales, Ph.D. Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ally Huang, Ph.D., Lead Research Scientist, MiniPCR bio
Lydia Morrison:
Welcome to the Lessons From Lab & Life podcast, brought to you by New England Biolabs. I'm your host, Lydia Morrison, and I hope this episode offers you some new perspective.
Today I'm joined by winner of the 2025 Genes in Space Competition, Nitya Johar of Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington, as well as her mentor, Marissa Morales, a Harvard MIT PhD Candidate and Ally Huang, lead research scientist at miniPCR bio.
Nitya, thanks so much for joining me today.
Nitya Johar:
Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for having me.
Lydia Morrison:
I'm so excited to have all of you here today and I was hoping that you could share with our listeners where you learned about the Genes in Space program.
Nitya Johar:
Yeah, I learned about the Genes in Space program through one of my seniors when I was in the beginning of high school and she encouraged me to apply, and it really stood out to me because it was just such an interesting concept to be able to apply to a program that looks at space biology. It was unlike anything I had heard of before and it just seemed like a really exciting idea. So I decided to apply. And 2025 wasn't my first year applying. I actually applied the year before. And when my application progressed in 2025, I was very surprised to see it move up and I was very excited for this opportunity.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, such a unique opportunity. I'm curious, is science your favorite subject in school?
Nitya Johar:
Yeah, I have always really liked the natural sciences, whether that be biology, chemistry, or physics. It has just been a really interesting way to look at the world through an objective lens, but I think recently I've also gained an appreciation for a lot of my social sciences classes. I really like my history class and I've gotten to take a really interesting class on world religions this year, which I've really enjoyed and I like being able to bring my perspective on biology and the natural sciences into these fields.
Lydia Morrison:
That's a great perspective and I think it really demonstrates that curiosity, which is a key component to a good scientist, really bleeds into other fields and it's great to hear how much you enjoy learning. Could you tell our listeners about your experiment and the question that you're trying to answer?
Nitya Johar:
Yeah, I would love to. So my experiment looks at something called codon usage bias. And what codon usage bias is when the cell goes through the process of translation and the ribosome is reading the mRNA, it reads the mRNA three base pairs at a time and these base pairs are called codons. And when it's reading these codons, there are many, many possible combinations of codons, but only around 20 amino acids. So when we look at this, our ribosome is essentially not at its greatest capacity and not super effective. So it will prefer certain codons over others. And we have observed this process on earth and we have started to understand it really well and it's important for a lot of the technologies we build relating to biology, but we have never studied it on the International Space Station or in space at all. So it's really exciting to be able to see if this bias changes in space and what that might look like.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. What an interesting question to ask. And I know that you haven't been working alone in a vacuum to come up with these ideas and design these experiments. You've been working with your mentor, Marissa. Can you tell us what that experience has been like?
Nitya Johar:
It has been an absolutely amazing experience. I can't say enough good things about it. I remember when I first met Marissa, I was at first really excited, but then also a little nervous because I wasn't sure if I knew enough about the topic to be able to speak to someone on it, but it was really exciting and she was really able to help me through the process. I know a couple things about biology, but space biology was never something I saw myself in. So to have someone guide me through that process has been really amazing and to have someone who can help me understand what it is like to get an experiment on the international station was really helpful.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. What a cool experience. It's funny to hear you describe yourself as nervous and excited. In my house, we call that nervous-sighted and we think of it as a really positive feeling.
Can you tell us what you plan to pursue as a career? I know that you're in high school, so it's a little bit soon to ask about career plans, but this is an amazing first step towards a career in science or in space engineering. So I'm curious if there's a long-term plan, long-term goal that you've sort of set for yourself or if you're taking it one step at a time.
Nitya Johar:
I am kind of taking it one step at a time. I know I want to pursue some kind of career in science and I hope to move forward in that, but I don't know exactly what that's going to look like in the future. As of right now, I plan for some kind of MD or medical degree, but I don't know what that would look like or what field that would be in. I think this program has really opened my eyes into the opportunities that lie and how vast this field is and how many different things you can go into. So I think it has more so opened my eyes to what else is out there and what I haven't seen yet.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. There's lots of opportunities I think and lots of ways to apply science or different career paths and different niche roles in science or in science communication or the application of engineering in science and AI in science. So really excited to see where the future takes you.
From my perspective today, you've been so well-spoken and you seem to have such a good handle on the complexities of your project and your experiment. And thank you so much for being here today to share it with us.
Nitya Johar:
Yeah. Again, thank you so much for having me. This is such a great opportunity and I'm really excited to be here.
Lydia Morrison:
Marissa, how did you learn about the opportunity to be a Genes in Space mentor?
Marissa Morales:
Yeah. So Genes in Space has had a long history of working with Harvard or MIT graduate students. And so the program actually solicits applications from graduate students to become mentors. And me, when I came into my graduate program, I was always fascinated with space biology and wondering how I could develop technology and make contributions for space biology and space medicine. And so when I heard about this program, someone actually sent me an email, forwarded me from Genes in Space, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to participate and be a mentor.
Lydia Morrison:
What a well-informed friend to forward you that email. That's pretty cool to have friends who are looking out for you. And what a cool application of your interest in science with your PhD degree.
How long have you been working with Genes in Space?
Marissa Morales:
I think it's been four years now. I'm starting four years. My first year I was only helping out with selecting which proposals were the finalist and then now it's three years of being a mentor officially.
Lydia Morrison:
And is this your first year working with one of the winners?
Marissa Morales:
Yes.
Lydia Morrison:
Oh, how exciting. What's that experience been like?
Marissa Morales:
Yeah, for me, it's been a dream come true, honestly, given that it's something that I'm interested in for my own career as well. It's been an amazing thing to sort of see how the process works firsthand and to be able to help Nitya and work with so many other people to sort of make this big proposal, this big dream possible. And so yeah, it's an incredible opportunity for me as a researcher myself, but also just in helping Nitya along the way as well.
Lydia Morrison:
Are there any lessons that you've learned from working with Nitya?
Marissa Morales:
Definitely. I think what struck me about Nitya's proposal was that she really asked the fundamental questions of how life in space may be different, how this fundamental process of protein translation could be different in space versus on earth. And the question that she asked I think struck me just in its simplicity compared to some of the other proposals, but also in the way that she elegantly put together this proposal. It was not just a fascinating proposal, but it was an elegantly designed proposal. And so to see that from her was really inspiring to me.
Also, she's an incredible communicator. So the way that she makes analogies and really brings her audience along with her idea and her enthusiasm for this project has been really inspiring.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, absolutely. I definitely noted that she was a really great storyteller during her presentation today. I'm curious, I overheard you at lunch saying that you have about a year and a half or two years left in your PhD program. What are you hoping to do after you finish your PhD?
Marissa Morales:
Yeah. So what I am hoping to do is sort of shift my focus, my research focus to be more centered on the space medicine bioastronautic side of things. My PhD thus far has focused on developing technologies for analyzing cell therapies, but now I want to sort of apply these development strategies to more extreme environments both on earth and in space flight. And so having a greater expertise in that area is what I'm hoping to pursue.
Lydia Morrison:
Well, it sounds like a really cool application of the research that you've been doing and I wish you all the best in the future and good luck with your thesis defense.
Marissa Morales:
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, you're welcome.
Ally, thanks for joining us on the podcast today.
Ally Huang:
Thanks for having me.
Lydia Morrison:
So I was hoping you could share with our listeners. We've definitely done a couple of podcasts with the Genes in Space group before, but I think it's always good to remind everybody what is the mission of the Genes in Space program and how long has it been running?
Ally Huang:
Yeah. So I would say the mission of Genes in Space is to inspire the next generation of science innovators and scientists. We really want to get students excited about biotechnology and biology by giving them this fun thought experiment and considering biological challenges in space and how they can use their knowledge of biology to address these issues.
The Genes in Space Competition is designed for any student to be able to enter. It's free to enter. It's just a written application. You don't have to do any hands-on labs. You don't need to have any biotech equipment. So we've really tried to make the experiment and the competition really accessible to any student.
The Genes in Space Competition, it's been running since 2015 when we ran the very first PCR experiment on International Space Station and since then we've had 13 different winning teams send their experiment, or in Nitya's case, we'll send their experiment to the International Space Station where actual data has been collected and their data actually has helped advance biological milestones in space, which is just so amazing for these young scientists.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. I mean, inspiring I think is a really great word. What's cooler than thinking of a science experiment and sending it to space and getting astronauts to perform it while you watch or while you can sort of watch a recording of it afterwards, I think it's such an amazing opportunity.
What do you think the best thing about the program is? What's your favorite thing about it?
Ally Huang:
Personally, I love seeing the students in the program grow scientifically from these budding young scientists with all these creative ideas that they propose to becoming seasoned scientists who have published their data as first authors. They can talk about their experiments in such an eloquent way that you can definitely believe that they're an expert in what they're talking about. It's really one thing to see them present their proposals during the finals. It's another to see their face light up when the rocket is launching and their experiment's on board and they have that realization that their idea is actually on that rocket. It's actually going to be carried out in space.
And in general, whether they win or not, it's not just about the winning student. It's a great competition that sparks creativity, sparks interest in the sciences among our next generation. And I personally wish I had this competition to enter when I was in high school.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, yeah, me too. I think it's such a great opportunity too to recognize the ingenuity and innovation of young minds and sort of like even without the intricacies of the detailed knowledge of the molecular biology pathways that are involved, you can conceptualize these complex ideas in really simple ways to help define and answer some of those questions about what biology is like in space, what life will be like in space. So such an amazing program. New England BioLabs has been really honored to be a part of it from the start and to be partners with miniPCR and support the program.
Ally Huang:
We thank you for your support.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, honestly, I think it brings a smile to a lot of people's faces here too.
So if others want to learn more about the Genes in Space program and how they can participate or students that they know can participate, where should they get that information?
Ally Huang:
Yeah. All that information can be found on our website at genesinspace.org. There you can read about past winners, past experiments. You can see all the contest details like the requirements and the timelines, and for teachers, you can find free classroom resources to implement Genes in Space as a unit or a topic in your curriculum. And by the time you're hearing about this, our current context cycle would have been closed, but definitely check back next January when it opens up again for your students to apply and definitely apply.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah, absolutely. And be sure to check out the website too for updates on what's happening with Nitya's experiment and whether or not it has been launched into space.
Ally Huang:
Yeah, for sure. We have a great blog that tracks all of our experiments, all of our winners, what they're doing now, when their data gets published. So yeah, we really try to see the whole science experiment through from start to finish.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. You mentioned earlier sort of the publication cycle. It's so amazing for high school students or perhaps at the time of publication college students be first authors on a scientific publication. So sort of like a cherry on top of the amazing experience, right as these winners get to come out a published author perhaps before even entering graduate school.
Ally Huang:
Yeah, for sure. And it's a great learning opportunity as well. Being part of a scientist is being able to communicate your ideas with the rest of the community. So learning about the paper publication process, writing their manuscripts, revising it, dealing with reviewers, all that also has been great experiences for our students.
Lydia Morrison:
Yeah. Yeah. A real preview of what's to come in graduate school.
Thank you all so much for being here today and for sharing the Genes in Space story and to Nitya for sharing your amazing experiment. We can't wait to see what happens.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Lessons from Lab & Life podcast. We invite you to check out the transcript on neb.com for helpful links from today's discussion, and we hope you'll join us next episode when I'm joined by John Burns, who's a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. John works at the interface of bioinformatics and molecular biology, studying symbiotic interactions and exploring marine lineages. We hope you'll join us.
