Go inside the lab of Yael David from SKI’s Chemical Biology Program.
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"Let me show you some of the awesome results that we've got."
In science, you have to be true to yourself and be true to your passion.
"If you look at the mAUs--"
You really can't fake it. Just go out there and do it.
My name is Yael David and I'm an assistant member at the Chemical Biology Program at Sloan Kettering Institute. Inside my lab, we develop and apply very powerful chemical tools that allow us to ask basic biochemical and biological questions about events that happen in cells.
"So, you can see all the nuclei really lighting up here." Specifically, what we work on is chromatin, which is where our DNA — our genetic material — is stored in cellular nuclei. And what we are trying to understand is how the regulation of its structure and function is mediated in normal cells and what happens in cancer cells where there's a shift in the status quo.
I think you live and die by your people. People are the most important resource in science because innovation and elegance is something that you can't buy. I see great power in interdisciplinary research. I think we're a very unique lab because we don't limit ourselves to one set of skills or approaches. I love collaborations and that's something that is very encouraged.
"The gene transcription. And I think--"
The kind of team I like to lead is a team of scientists, where we are all working together towards a bigger goal to try and address a disease such as cancer and to develop very innovative technologies that can serve the scientific community. "This is really working."
Many times, graduate students don't understand, but they are the real driving force of science in labs. So, if you have any idea you want to pursue, I'm game on. Anything you need, any support, that's what I'm here to do. You're just here to do great science.