What are the most exciting projects ongoing in the lab and/or what are the “big questions” that you are pursuing?
The Olzmann Lab is pursuing three major areas centered on the cell biology of lipids: 1) Lipid storage and flux decisions – We study how cells employ lipid droplets to store and mobilize lipids, with a recent focus on how hepatocytes decide whether to store lipids or secrete them. This addresses the broader question of how cells regulate lipid flux in response to physiological demands. 2) Lipid quality control – We are interested in how cells maintain the integrity of their lipid populations, how damaged lipids are detected, repaired, or removed. In the context of ferroptosis, this involves understanding how cells respond to lipid peroxidation. We believe this is only the start of a larger field, where different cell parts may use unique quality control systems depending on their lipid makeup, protein surroundings, and chemical state. 3) Therapeutic targeting of lipid biology – We aim to translate these insights into therapeutic strategies, particularly by targeting regulators of lipid metabolism and ferroptosis, such as FSP1, in diseases like cancer.
What “big questions” in biology outside of the scope of your lab’s work do you feel should be explored in greater detail?
This is a difficult question because there are so many exciting areas right now. Science is moving quickly, thanks to new technology and research tools. One area I find especially exciting is the emergence of chemical biology approaches to study lipids. Lipids have been hard to study because they are varied and change quickly, but new tools to measure, see, and change lipids in living cells are starting to make research easier. New approaches are needed to advance our understanding of lipid organization, metabolism, and signaling.
I am also interested in questions surrounding cellular heterogeneity and physiological context. Even within the same tissue, cells can exhibit remarkably different behaviors, and we still don’t fully understand how this variability arises or how it impacts disease progression and therapeutic response. Studying cell biology in more natural and realistic settings, instead of simplified systems, is an important step for the field.
Was there any event, person, etc. that inspired you to pursue a career as scientist?
I’ve long been interested in a career in science, and my experiences as an undergraduate really helped solidify that path. Working both in a clinical setting and in a research lab gave me a sense of the different ways you can impact human health. What ultimately drew me to academic science was the opportunity to ask fundamental questions about the world around us, to identify important problems and discover new insights that didn’t previously exist.
I’ve been fortunate to have many mentors who have influenced my thinking and career path over the years, but my postdoctoral mentor, Ron Kopito, had a particularly profound impact. He challenged me to think creatively and deeply about scientific problems, while maintaining a high level of rigor. That combination of intellectual curiosity, vision, and discipline has stayed with me, and I’m incredibly grateful for his mentorship.
What are the outside-science activities or hobbies that you pursue?
I’ve had a long-standing interest in martial arts, and during my time as a postdoc at Stanford I ran a kung fu club, which was a really fun and meaningful experience. These days, life is busier with my lab and two young children (ages 4 and 6), so most of my time outside of work is spent with them. They have increasingly full schedules of activities and social events, and I enjoy being part of that and watching them discover the world. There’s really no greater joy for me than spending time with them. We’re planning a sabbatical in Japan, and I’m especially excited to share that experience with them and explore something new together as a family.
Where do you see yourself/your lab in 10 years?
I hope that over the next decade we will have made significant progress in defining the fundamental principles of lipid flux and lipid quality control, both at the mechanistic level and in terms of how these processes shape cell fate and disease. Ideally, our work will have led to new discoveries that not only answer current questions but also open up entirely new directions for the field.
I’m excited about the possibility of translating some of our findings into therapeutic opportunities. We are already beginning to explore this with targets emerging from our work, and I would be very interested in advancing these either within the lab or, if the opportunity arises, through a startup effort.
More broadly, I hope the lab remains a place that embraces curiosity-driven, unbiased discovery and follows the science in unexpected directions. Just as important, I hope to have trained scientists who go on to do creative and meaningful work of their own, extending these ideas into new areas.
What types of “outside the box” skills or approaches do you consider to be invaluable to the scientific process?
I think one of the most important skills is developing a broad foundation of scientific knowledge by reading widely and going to seminars outside your immediate area. This intellectual cross-training allows you to bring in ideas and approaches from different fields and often leads to more creative ways of thinking about problems.
Equally important is the courage to pursue ideas that are not yet fully developed, especially when the tools or approaches don’t yet exist. Spending time thinking deeply about a problem and framing it clearly can position you to move quickly when the right methods become available.
Finally, strong communication and collaboration are critical. Being able to clearly articulate ideas, learn from others, and bring together complementary expertise can often make the difference between an incremental advance and a transformative one.
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