Researcher Spotlight: Mina Seedhom, PhD
Type 1 Diabetes Research in the Brehm Lab
As a senior research scientist in the Brehm lab, Dr. Seedhom's role involves analyzing, designing and conducting experiments. He enjoys the collaborative environment in the lab and between other laboratories within the UMass Chan Diabetes Center of Excellence. “People freely share knowledge and work together effectively. The projects are discussion-led instead of simply generating data in a top-down manner, which I feel is more productive and interesting for the scientific endeavor."
He enjoys working with the pre-clinical “humanized” mouse models utilized in the Brehm lab to study interactions between human cells & tissues in vivo, and working with various companies to test their potential therapies. Scientists cured diabetes in mice using many modalities since the 1970’s, however, that rodent success has not often translated effectively to human type 1 diabetes. The Brehm laboratory conducts pre-clinical studies and experiments using their novel models.
Early Education and Academic Journey
Dr. Seedhom was born in Boston and spent his first five years living in Medford before his family moved to Fitchburg. He attended Clark University in Worcester as a history major but “fell in love with science” while taking a biology course during sophomore year and transitioned to a biology major with a minor in chemistry. He joined his first laboratory during his junior year and became interested in developmental biology and molecular genetics.
Pursuit of a Science Career
While in college he worked full-time as a telemarketer, dishwasher, and in a library, among other jobs, to support himself. After graduation he was hired to work in the laboratory of Eva Szomolanyi-Tsuda MD, at UMass Chan Medical School, where they investigated the basic immune mechanisms involved in controlling a virus that can cause tumors in mice, polyoma virus, with human strains related to polyoma leading to serious complications during immunosuppression in people.
He enrolled in graduate-level classes at the medical school to prepare for further education, and that, along with a good GRE score, paved the way for his acceptance into the graduate program.
Mina specialized in Immunology and Virology and worked on several projects exploring various complexities in virus-host interactions. He became the student representative at Immunology Virology Program faculty meetings, was awarded a training grant to subsidize his research & travel, and started a journal club in the department for first- and second-year students. He enjoyed attending research talks to learn about various topics. He initiated a student-led program to invite guest speakers that provided an opportunity to expand his knowledge and network.
Mina earned his PhD in the laboratory of Raymond Welsh, PhD. The focus of the Welsh lab was analyzing basic mechanisms of viral immunology and immunopathology. That is where he first met Dr. Brehm, who was working as a postdoctoral fellow. Mina’s thesis topic was Immunity and Pathogenesis of Pox Viruses, and he became the 500th student to receive a PhD from UMass Chan’s Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Postdoctoral Studies and Joining the Brehm Lab
Mina’s postdoctoral studies were at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland in the laboratory of Jonathan Yewdell, MD, PhD, as an Intramural Research Training Award Fellow. He spent six years working in the Yewdell lab, then continued as a contracted collaborating scientist for an additional three years on work that was a continuation of his post-doctoral research. While at the NIH he received travel awards from the American Association of Immunology, twice won the Fellow Award for Research Excellence (FARE), and was subsequently asked to judge FARE award submissions.
He moved back to Massachusetts after his contract expired to be closer to family and reconnected socially with Dr. Brehm. Their scientific discussions led to a job opportunity as the Brehm lab was looking for a senior research scientist. “Mike's approach to science, his demeanor, and attitude create a positive and engaging environment for collaboration.”
About Mina
Favorites
Band: Tool
Restaurant: 111 Chop House in Worcester
Podcasts: Effectively Wild (baseball), Freakonomics (economics), Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (humor), 538 (politics), Science topics, and various audiobooks
TV Show: It’s Always Funny in Philadelphia, The Simpsons, Arrested Development
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