by Jack Osmond
Whether in her home state of Michigan, during her high school years in Virginia, or in the city of Boston, Kate Herrema has always had an aptitude for science and math.
But it wasn’t until she took a psychology class in high school that she discovered her interest in neuroscience.
“I remember we had a unit on ‘how do our neural systems play a role in our psychology?’ And that sparked my interest initially.”
Despite her penchant for psychology, Herrema was initially set on becoming an engineer. While some programs require you to choose between your interests, in her sophomore year at Virginia Tech, she realized she wouldn’t need to: the school had launched a Biomedical Engineering degree. “I realized that there was a way I could be both an engineer and a neuroscientist.”
She began working in a lab her sophomore year studying interstitial fluid flow – movement within the brain’s waste clearing systems – in Alzheimer’s and Glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain cancer. This experience would later influence her decision to pursue her PhD. “I had early exposure as an undergrad to neuroscience research and working with cells and cell models,” she says, “which propelled me into grad school.”
Flash-forward to today, Herrema is in her fourth-year of her PhD at Boston University as a member of the Photonics and Neurophotonics Centers. Her years of cross-disciplinary research have culminated into her work with organoids, spanning across two labs and three co-advisors: Professor Anna Devor (BME), Assistant Professor Timothy O’Shea (MSE, BME), and Research Assistant Professor Martin Thunemann (BME). This work is also done in close collaboration with Assistant Professor Ella Zeldich (MED) and her lab at the BU Medical Campus.
Organoids are three-dimensional, human cellular models of organs, derived from stem cells. Herrema works specifically with in vivo cortical organoids, implanted into rodents. “This allows them to become vascularized,” she explains, “and gives them a more physiologically relevant environment to mature, in a more physiologically relevant way.”
Studying cortical organoids within a living organism enables Herrema and her advisors to model neurodevelopment. “We can use [this technology] to study healthy human neurodevelopment, and also different neurodevelopmental diseases. It could be epilepsy, autism, or Down syndrome. All these conditions have developmental implications. So, we’re using this as a platform to allow us to study the brain.”
In order to create these models, Herrema uses tools from both the Devor Lab and the O’Shea Lab. The Devor Lab’s cutting-edge microscopy technology allows her to image the organoid’s human neurons and monitor its development. In the O’Shea Lab, she is developing a biomaterial platform to deliver drugs to the organoid while it is implanted in a rodent brain, allowing researchers to control how it grows and matures.
Herrema’s innovative research has won her multiple awards, including the Neurophotonics Center’s Collaborative Award for Neurophotonics Devel-Opment (CAN DO). The award aims “to stimulate interaction between technology and biology experts” – perfect for Herrema’s own research. She says that this award, along with the Neurophotonics Center’s financial and technical support, have been indispensable for completing her research.
“I’ve never had to worry about where the funding was coming from, especially at a time like now when funding is up in the air. It’s been really great to have that support and to be able to represent the Neurophotonic Center, because I think this work is really important, and it’s nice to be recognized for it as well.”
Herrema is also an NIH Quantitative Biology and Physiology (QBP) Fellow. This program seeks to bolster NPC students’ quantitative skills, enabling them to engage critically with data and programming.
“I’ve taken a lot of programming classes as a result of being in this program,” Herrema explains, saying that it was instrumental in supporting her research. “Those are definitely critical skills, to be able to do that type of programming and look at data in a certain way.”
Herrema’s skills extend beyond research. An active leader at the Neurophotonics Center, she serves as a chair of the committee to plan the QBP Trainee Annual Symposium. Additionally, this year she founded the NPC Training Program’s Professional Development Group, which provides opportunities for graduate students to network with neuroscience-focused industry professionals.
“It’s probably one of the biggest things that students are trying to figure out in their PhD: what is the next step? The more you can hear from people who are doing things in their career that are new and exciting, it helps students to make those decisions and learn about new opportunities that maybe they didn’t know existed previously.”
Herrema says the secret to balancing two labs, three advisors, two leadership positions, and multiple awards is in her extracurricular hobbies. In her words, “it’s just good to get involved and have other things going on outside of your research. That way, you’re not just a one-track mind.”
One way she unwinds is by playing the flute in the BU Concert Band. “It’s definitely a light-hearted way to kind of end the day,” she says, “even when research is difficult.”
In addition to her music, Herrema has taken up running. “I was never a runner before grad school, but I’ve done two half marathons now. Never thought I would get into that, but here we are!”
Now in her fourth year, the question of what to do after completing her PhD is looming. But Herrema has a plan.
“I’m definitely leaning more towards industry. I’ve met a lot of folks that work in the industry now, and it’s a cool environment. I also like being part of academia, and it’s been really great, but I think I’m ready for something different. Industry is a bit more fast-paced, and I’m also just curious. I’ve never worked in the industry, so I’m interested in exploring a new route to apply research and science.”