Virginia Pedicord - Behind the Lab Coat

Where are you from and where did you complete your education?

I was born in Texas, and I did my undergraduate degree in Minnesota at Carleton College, before moving to New York. I lived there for nearly 20 years and completed my PhD at Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and my postdoc at the Rockefeller University before moving to the UK. I’m really enjoying Cambridge, and I love that my daughter gets to experience the both the cultural aspects of a diverse city, with different street performances and foods in market square, but also plenty of green space and natural beauty.

What does your lab do, and what aspect of your research are you most excited about right now?

My lab is broadly focused on the role of the microbiota in host physiology, with a particular interest in how the gut microbiome affects local and systemic immune responses. We have branched into examining effects on the gut-brain axis, cancer immunotherapy, and neurodegenerative disease, but I feel our core research areas are enteric infections and gut immune cell development. We also have some cool collaborations looking at intratumoral microbiota, TBI recovery, and even enteric neuron function.

In terms of what I am most excited about, I am excited about everything! It’s sometimes difficult to curate what my lab will work on because I find it all so fascinating.

Describe yourself in three words?

Energetic, stubborn, inquisitive.

Do you have a hidden talent?

I think my talents are all unhidden, so this is what I’ve got. What you see is what you get!

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Probably when people lack thought and consideration. This really spans all aspects of life, from science to how people drive and cycle in Cambridge.

What inspired you to pursue a career in science?

My mum teases that I got my first lab when I was five years old when my parents made me a lab bench out of cinderblocks behind the garage so that I would stop making potions in the house. So, I think I have probably been on the scientist track in some way or another since I was a young child, you know being super curious and wanting to know how things work. I see this in my daughter now, she is so excited about growing a bean plant in school and I see that’s how you can get hooked into science!

When I was in middle school there was a period where I thought I would go into aerospace engineering (because I grew up near the Johnson Space Centre). It was later in undergrad that I got more into microbiology and immunology.

Who was the most influential person that taught you as an undergraduate?

I think my undergraduate Professor, Debby Walser-Kuntz. She taught the microbiology and immunology courses and was great because she made it really clear to us that there is so much that we still don’t know in the fields of immunology and microbiology. I found it so refreshing compared to my other science courses where everything seemed a lot more figured out. It was great because it really showed me that there is a real opportunity to discover new things in immunology and I really liked that.

What advice would you give to aspiring scientists?

Oh wow, definitely to follow your passion and don’t be deterred by people who make you feel like you don’t fit a certain mould for what a scientist is or should be.

Quite early on in my PhD studies with Jim Allison (who later won the Nobel Prize and so I guess set quite a high bar to start with), I felt that I would never be as good a scientist as Jim, which made me question whether or not I had what it takes to be a PI and lead my own lab. It was only later in my training that I realised that there are actually many paths in science and numerous ways to contribute to research and to the pool of knowledge and to do it well.

What advice would you give to aspiring scientists?

My memory is terrible so I feel all the things I do remember are memorable!

But I think the most memorable moment is the time I decided that I actually wanted to pursue being a PI, because I did explore different options. There was a time that I thought I wanted to do purely teaching, and I did this as an adjunct Professor at City University of New York for two years, but I found that I actually really missed research and the ability to devote time to the questions I found interesting. To this day I do still really enjoy teaching, but I am happier with 10-20% teaching time so that I have more time for research.

Now what about your most embarrassing moment?

Honestly, I don’t get embarrassed very easily, probably because I embarrass myself on a regular basis so my threshold is quite high!

What’s the most interesting place you’ve visited?

That’s a hard one, I have been to so many places all of which I have found interesting in their own way. I love Japan, that’s definitely a place that I never get tired of going to. One thing I love is going to the grocery stores, train and bus stations in different countries, and to see how people have different approaches and experiences doing things that are so universal and common.

What is your favourite place in Cambridge?

I really enjoy walks along the Cam, both down to Grantchester and up to Fen Ditton. My daughter and I have done that a lot and in the late summer we like to pick blackberries along the path. It’s really lovely because depending on where you are, you can either get the hustle and bustle of the town centre or be surrounded by a field of cows.

If you could time travel, where and when would you go?

I think I would go into the future. It’s a little scary right now with the things we are experiencing politically and climate wise, and I want to be optimistic and say I would like to see how we solve these issues.

Finally, what is your favourite immune cell?

This is easy, obviously T cells (T is for terrific)! I love that there are so many different flavours and that they are so versatile, and trying to figure out what makes them decide what they are going to do, especially in the gut as they really don’t fit our current lineage paradigms.