| Interview by Weronika Cygan-Adamczyk and Agata Daszkowska-Golec, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. |
In June and July, the University of Silesia welcomed Prof. Christopher Rensing, a prominent scientist of international renown specialising in environmental and medical microbiology.
Born in the United States, he was educated in Germany and later worked at various institutions around the world. He currently heads a group of microbiologists at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China.
For many years, the researcher has also been a member of the editorial boards of prestigious scientific journals, including BioMetals and Total Environment Microbiology, where he is the editor-in-chief. Prof. Rensing combines his extensive scientific activity (over 350 scientific publications that have gained wide international recognition) with endeavours promoting inclusiveness and equality in science and education.
We decided to talk to the expert about his scientific achievements and whether the international academic community is indeed a friendly environment for people with disabilities.
As a respected microbiologist, you are known in the scientific community for your research on the interactions between microorganisms and metals – a field of great importance for environmental science and bioremediation. Could you point to one discovery or achievement that stands out as particularly significant or of which you are most proud?
That’s a difficult question, because it’s always a collective effort involving many people. One thing that comes to mind is the discovery of ArsM, an arsenite methyltransferase, in bacteria. It is a key enzyme in arsenic metabolism that catalyses the methylation of inorganic arsenic. This process, on one hand, has a detoxifying effect, thus helping in the bioremediation of arsenic. The importance of arsenic and its metabolites is wide-ranging. Arsenic and its methylated derivatives can act as bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents. They are an important biological weapon in the battle between microorganisms for niche share. Furthermore, arsenic has many other uses.
Arsenic was one of the most abundant metals on Earth, so microorganisms, as well as other organisms including humans, had to learn to cope with this metal, just as they did with toluene, a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon possessing toxic properties. Through evolution, microorganisms have learned to use various substances, including arsenic, to their advantage. Our knowledge of arsenic and its compounds, its toxicity, but also its importance for organisms is already significant. Arsenic can be inhaled in the form of various dusts or gases. For example, arsines are highly poisonous gases that have been used as weapons. On the other hand, we know that some bacteria can use arsenate instead of oxygen as the final electron acceptor in the respiratory chain, which is remarkable.
It is worth remembering that monomethyl arsenic, MMA, is much more toxic than even arsenide. We know, of course, that arsenic is very toxic to many organisms, but MMA(III) is even more toxic. Microorganisms probably used it to get rid of competition. As a result, other microorganisms found ways to deal with it, for example through demethylation or oxidation. In other words, many genes have been and will be discovered that will teach us how microorganisms deal with these compounds.
Yes, I am proud to have discovered ArsM and to have been able to participate in research on organic arsenic metabolism in nature and human health.
What made you focus on arsenic research in the first place?
In a way, it was a coincidence. I was doing a postdoctoral fellowship with Barry Rosen, probably the most prolific scientist working on arsenic and author of numerous scientific papers. When I joined him, I was not yet involved in research on this element, which was rather outside my main area of interest. Together with another student, Omar Sanders, we discovered how arsenite enters cells through aquaporins – cell membrane channels normally used to transport water. It was quite a surprising discovery, which turned out to be true for bacteria, plants and even us humans. We stumbled upon the discovery completely by accident, so at first, we weren’t entirely sure about our conclusions.
Initially, I studied zinc and copper ATPase transporters in Barry’s laboratory, but when I started working as Assistant professor at the department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science in Arizona , I thought they might be interested in organic arsenic metabolism. So, I told Barry that I was going to investigate it, and that’s how I got my first grant. Later, my postdoc Gejiao Wang continued working on this project, and others joined in. Ultimately, we were able to make the discovery I mentioned earlier and publish it in PNAS.
Over 350 publications, approximately 30,000 citations – your scientific achievements are truly impressive. How much effort and dedication did it take to reach such a level in your scientific career?
In science, as in other areas of life, there are good times and bad times. You often face rejection when, for example, you try to publish an article in a scientific journal, and other times you are happy when it is accepted for publication. That being said, you should never give up. These are everyday challenges in this profession. Science is primarily about teamwork. It is impossible to do it alone. After completing my PhD and postdoctoral fellowship, the time came when I started leading my own team, which was another important moment. There were many twists and turns in my career before I got to where I am today. Much earlier, I played in bands that were not very successful. I wasn’t very good at boxing either, and my attempts to become a DJ and so on also turned out to be fruitless. Finally, I thought I could try my hand at science. My father was a professor, so I had some knowledge of that environment, which is why I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I was up for the challenge.
You studied and worked at research centres in many different countries. How did this extensive international experience influence your approach to scientific research?
The biggest differences stem from the culture and mission of the people behind it all. Generally speaking, I would say that in Europe and the United States, people attach great importance to work-life balance and separating work from everyday life. In China, however, this is less of a concern. The group of scientists working in the laboratory is therefore more like a family. They do more things together: they eat together, go to karaoke clubs and so on. Students also tend to work long hours, six days a week. Even so, my PhD students still will tell me that it is still not enough. They are dedicated and work hard, and their main reason and motivation is a better life.
Working in such diverse international research teams, have you noticed more commonalities or significant differences?
It’s hard to say. There will always be people who love science, who are simply curious about how it all works. Of course, there are also those who simply believe that this is the best way to have a stable career. And that’s important too. Many young people want to start a family, have children, so there’s nothing wrong with having a stable job. Such motivation is fine too, regardless of whether we are talking about the situation in China, the United States or Poland.
So, with that in mind, what advice would you give to a young person who has discovered a passion and wants to become a scientist? How to deal with all the struggles and difficulties you mentioned at the beginning, which can be demotivating?
I believe it is important to choose the right groups of people to work with. In the case of a PhD, I always say that it is very important to work in a reputable laboratory, because there you can learn the right procedures, regularly participate in valuable laboratory meetings, have a laboratory supervisor who checks whether you have completed your tasks, and have other team members who can help you write articles or conduct experiments. In my opinion, a reputable laboratory is a good place to start your career. When you start a postdoctoral fellowship, however, there are different paths you can take. You can choose a very well-known person, but you can also turn to someone young who uses new techniques, because scientific progress is usually associated with new solutions. Such is the case now, our team in China is working with a young scientist who spent six years with my hometown friend Roland Beckmann in Munich as postdoctoral fellow, working on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). This is currently a very exciting method because it allows for a resolution similar to NMR and crystallography. It is an interesting method that promises great discoveries in the future. There are many other examples. I always say that after defending your PhD, you should do something new, something slightly different from what you did during your studies, in order to broaden your horizons, so that you can develop and improve.
Does this mean that, based on your experience, mobility, especially international mobility, is important in academic life?
It is not always necessary. I had to move for various reasons. Do I think it helped me? Yes. At the same time, I don’t think it’s necessary in every case. I know many different people, and some have families, parents, and don’t want to move too far away from them. That should also be respected. Such people can still have a great career while staying in one place. In my case, international mobility was dictated by various factors, so I did what I had to do. Fortunately, I succeeded. To sum up, I believe it all depends on the personality of the scientist and the circumstances.
You are an ambassador for people with disabilities in academia. How has your own experience in this area influenced your academic career? Did the institutions where you had the opportunity to work meet accessibility requirements?
I think that everywhere you look, people are trying to improve accessibility to some extent, but of course there is still a lot to be done. Besides, there are different types of disabilities, and they all require slightly different forms of adaptation of the environment. In my case, I have difficulty moving around. I cannot walk, so I use a scooter. In this sense, people try to adapt to my needs. However, in the case of old buildings, it is still difficult, and bathrooms that are supposedly adapted for people with disabilities are not always actually accessible. I always have to check whether I can move around freely in a given place, whether something will restrict me. It completely reorganises your life. At the same time, I would like to emphasise that it is not always just about the disability itself, but also about the fact that it can be associated with other things, such as depression. Sometimes, it is just very difficult to cope with all of this, and we may feel as if everything is, so to speak, rubbish. However, this does not mean that you should give up, because you can still do various different things, live well and be productive. It is possible. And yes, it all depends on the culture. For example, in China, where I currently work, families usually take care of people with disabilities, or there are special institutions for such people. I am sure that this was also the case in Poland and Germany in the past, but now people with disabilities have more opportunities in many different areas in these countries. I would like to give people hope with my example and tell them: yes, you can do it.
How do you feel in Poland? You have spent over a month here now, so you have probably observed quite a lot, both in terms of the country itself and its culture, but also when it comes to the academic community.
First of all, I must thank the wonderful people who welcomed me here: Prof. Maria Augustyniak, Prof. Zofia Piotrowska-Seget, and Agata Daszkowska-Golec, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Silesia. I was very touched by the warm welcome and acceptance I received here. I really like pretty much everything here. Thank you very much for that! Of course, I ate a lot of beef roulade, Silesian potato dumplings and Silesian red cabbage, which I also really enjoyed. I also had the opportunity to visit various places in Krakow, Wroclaw, Gliwice and, of course, Katowice. I think it’s amazing how much the region is developing and how many beautiful places there are around to see. My family was also able to come here to visit the graves of my ancestors at the old Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw. This trip was extremely moving for me and my loved ones, and we were able to experience all this thanks to the support of the University of Silesia community. As far as the scientific community is concerned, I believe that there are many areas of common interest that we are currently exploring more and more intensively and within which we can establish interesting collaborations. However, we are still only in the initial stages of applying for grants. Well, science always needs money. Your university has many exciting areas of research, and I think it is a good idea to combine everything into one biotechnology centre, the CBB – Centre for Biotechnology and Biodiversity, so that all the researchers have a modern headquarters at their disposal. This would certainly also benefit your existing research.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Article ‘In science, you should never give up’ was published in the October issue of USil Magazine No. 1 (331).
Prof. Christopher Rensing | Photo by Bartosz Solak