From the Lab to the Limelight - Blog version of our #TraineeTuesday Twitter series
This #TraineeTuesday, welcome Sofia Tieze, a PhD student in the Chandra Lab! In a co-first author paper published in PLOS Biology, Sofia looked at how mutations in the enzyme PPT1 contribute to a “devastating form” of pediatric dementia called Batten Disease.
Sofia’s study uncovered numerous novel substrates of PPT1, paving the way for further dissection of the molecular mechanisms behind this neurodegenerative disorder.
Batten Disease constitutes a significant unmet medical need. My motivation in this field is buoyed by the opportunity to contribute to therapeutic interventions for kids with this disorder.
Sofia Tieze
Sofia was initially attracted to this project during her PhD rotation in the Chandra lab, where she met Erica Gorenberg, PhD, a recent graduate of the lab and co-first author of the paper. From this mentorship, Sofia grew excited about the possibility of impacting this small, rare-disease field. When Dr. Gorenberg graduated, Sofia became the sole inheritor of the project. Luckily, she had help from Dr. Chandra to “bolster Erica’s story” in new experimental directions.
This led to collaborations with Susumu Tomita, PhD, and Thomas Biederer, PhD, and a strengthened relationship with the Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Center under TuKiet Lam, PhD, BS.
The highlight of my experience doing research at Yale has been being a part of the incredibly supportive and collegial communities in my lab, my cohort, and the INP as a whole. I know that when I move on from Yale, I will have a global network of colleagues and friends throughout my career.
Sofia Tieze
Before Yale, Sofia attended Haverford College, where she majored in Biology and minored in Neuroscience, all while fencing on the women’s DIII NCAA sabre team. She conducted her thesis research in the lab of Robert Fairman, PhD, studying aggregative protein interactions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After graduation, she went on to join a yeast genetics and radiobiology lab at NASA Ames Research Center. Her project focused on the BioSentinel spacecraft, one of 10 CubeSats aiming to characterize the biological response to deep space radiation.
Hoping to reorient toward her interest in neurodegeneration, she then applied to doctoral programs in neuroscience. “I was drawn to Yale due to the many levels of mentorship available, the diverse and broad research opportunities available in the INP, and Carol [Russo, INP registrar, of course,” Sofia said.
With this new co-first author paper under her belt, Sofia’s ready to tackle more research on the composition of lipofuscin in Batten disease. Her long-term goal is to continue studying cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration as an independent investigator.