By Steven Jiang, PhD, Kim Lab

When people ask me what I studied during my PhD, I tell them that I studied platelets, which are the smallest cells in the human body. Despite their small size, they play a crucial role in blood clotting, and are therefore essential for life. Specifically, I studied the platelets’ structural network, also known as the cytoskeleton. My PhD work at the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) under the supervision of Prof. Hugh Kim focused on how normal platelet function is controlled by cytoskeleton-regulating proteins, specifically filamin A (FLNA) and gelsolin (Gsn). My work was an in-depth investigation into how these two proteins in regulate the role of platelets in the broader contexts of arthritis, asthma, autophagy, and chemokine signaling. My work showed how small molecular machinery within cells can have profound effects on cells and whole organisms.

One thing I have learned along the way is that the results are not always as one might expect. In one experiment, I used a technique called co-immunoprecipitation, which is used to detect protein-protein interactions, and found that FLNA did not interact with the proteins I originally expected. After a thorough literature review and consultation with my colleagues, I hypothesized that FLNA controls the activation of other proteins that I had initially overlooked. The follow-up experiments supported this hypothesis. This experience taught me to treat these scientific “surprises” as the most exciting part of my work, because they help me to gain a more accurate understanding of the biological system.

My favorite part of my PhD journey was stepping out of my comfort zone. An informal coffee chat led to an exciting collaboration with members of Prof. Chris Overall’s lab at the CBR, who were researching the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After learning about their research, I used my knowledge of platelet biology to contribute to the project. I discovered that a SARS-CoV-2 protein inhibits platelet activation, and this result was included in the Overall Lab’s publication in Cell Reports (Grin et al., 2024). Additionally, I became proficient in many research techniques to which I had limited exposure prior to my PhD studies. For example, I gained experience with a spectral flow cytometry system, which improved the efficiency and accuracy of my immunology workflow. I also learned to use bioinformatics to analyze large transcriptomic datasets to gain crucial insights into a cell line model. Moreover, with the help of my colleagues, I became proficient in confocal microscopy and was astonished by the beautiful submicron world that can be illuminated by the microscope.

Along the way, I attended and presented at local and international conferences in Vancouver, Montreal, Washington, DC; and San Diego, learning about research from laboratories around the world. My work contributed to seven manuscripts, and I was fortunate to have received multiple competitive scholarships. Additionally, as a senior lab member, I had the privilege of mentoring and training junior lab members and to support their career development.

I defended my dissertation in August 2026, and my degree will be conferred this coming November. However, the milestones of my PhD matter less to me than the inquisitive, scientific mindset that I developed during my studies. The ability to independently generate new ideas, plan experiments, develop novel assays, and communicate the results will serve me well over the long term.

I am forever grateful to Prof. Kim, the members of our lab, and the CBR community for their support over the past 5 years. I would be remiss not to thank my partner and my family for their unwavering support. My PhD experience has prepared me well for the next step of my career. Like the cytoskeleton, scientific discovery is about building on existing nodes and networking with others, including scientists and clinicians, to make magic happen.