IIP at the Pasteur Institute Julia Casazza ’19

Summer 2017 Paris, France

Background on Shigella • Shigella flexneri, found in contaminated water and food, can

cause life-threatening dysentery in small children and immunocompromised individuals.

• Shigellosis affects over 165 million people a year, 1 million of whom die (WHO).

• Immunity is serotype-specific, and thus vaccine development has been highly unsuccessful so far.

My responsibilities

• Group DIHP (dynamique des interactions hôte-pathogène) investigates host-pathogen interactions during Salmonella and Shigella infection

• I worked with Post-doc Sonja Kühn to investigate how Shigella infection affects actin dynamics.

• During this experience, I worked on: cell culture, cell transfections, site-directed mutagenesis, fluorescent microscopy, bacterial transformations, maxipreps, and data analysis.

Most rewarding aspects of my work experience • Analyzing microscopy data to determine the factors involved in

Shigella infection was very rewarding. Through this data analysis, my mentor and I were able to investigate processes that aren’t well understood.

• Since Pasteur is a world-renowned research institute, many scientists travel to speak there, either as conference participants or guests. I got to sit in on a few of these talks!

• My colleagues were incredibly friendly and welcoming.

A genomics exhibit at the Pasteur Métro stop.

A neighborhood in Chevreuse. This photo was taken on a weekend trip with the lab.

The abbayé des Vaux de Cernay, which I also visited as part of a weekend excursion with colleagues.

My work’s effect on the lab

• Since Sonja hasn’t yet published her newest findings, I cannot describe my contributions in detail.

• Over the course of eight weeks, I contributed to the development of a new construct for transfection. My mentor and I were also able to successfully test new transfection combinations.

• I also helped Sonja analyze data from past experiments.

My work’s effect on my academic plans

• This experience validated my choice to concentrate in molecular biology and my interest in pursuing a career in biomedical research.

• I left Pasteur with a new appreciation for the foresight and conscientiousness necessary to succeed in science.

Personal growth

• I lived in a student dorm on the Ile Saint-Louis, allowing me to speak French outside of work.

• Each weekend, I spent time learning about the history, art, and architecture present in Paris.

• Participating in IIP helped me realize that I would like to live abroad for a few years in the future.

The courtyard in my building.

Street art in the Butte-aux-Cailles neighborhood of Paris.

The Bois de Vincennes, home to the Paris Jazz Festival.

The closest I’ll ever get to the Mona Lisa.

The Code of Hammurabi at the Musée du Louvre.

An interesting building in the 13th arrondissement, near the Bibliothèque Nationale.

An almond croissant – my favorite French pastry.

Merci Beaucoup!

• Jost Enninga and Sonja Kühn, for giving me the opportunity to spend eight weeks studying an interesting topic in cell biology.

• The entire group DIHP, for welcoming me into the lab. • Luisa Duarte-Silva, Marisa Benson, and OIP as a whole, for

funding my internship. • My parents, for encouraging my interest in biology.

I’d like to thank the following people: