Women in Science: Dr. A. Belén Elgoyhen, Ph.D.

This week in GEMS we learned all about sound. We modeled how sound moves differently through different materials, like solids, liquids, and air. We generated sounds on computers using a program called LabVIEW and observed how sound waves change when their frequency and amplitudes are adjusted. We also learned about how our ears are able to decode sound waves, and how devices like hearing aides and cochlear implants can restore the sense of hearing to people who have experienced ear injuries.

Much like our noses, our ears take stimuli from the outside world (sound waves in this case) and turn them into electrical signals for transmission to the brain on the vestibulocochlear nerve. This process of changing a mechanical signal (pressure waves) into an electrical nerve impulse is called "transduction" and is not very well understood. Dr. Elgoyhen and her colleagues at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are working to understand how chemical signals are used to transduce the deflection of hair cells in the cochlea in response to changing pressures into electrical nerve signals to send to the brain. Dr. Elgoyhen has identified two previously unknown cellular receptors (parts of cells that collect and respond to certain chemicals) that are a part of this transduction process. She has also worked to identify some of the genes that are responsible for making these receptors. Dr. Elgoyhen hopes that by furthering our understanding of how our ears hear, we will be able to understand how certain drugs and loud noises can cause hearing loss, which will in turn allow doctors to prevent some people from experience significant hearing loss.

Dr. Elgoyhen currently works at the Institute for Research on Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She recieved her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, and was awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for Latin American region in 2008.

See more about Dr. Elgoyhen and her research

Learn more about the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science and this years winners

Here is some more information about cochlear implants

Want to learn more about biochemistry and molecular biology?

Women in Science: Dr. Marina Cole, BSc, PhD

Do you know how your nose smells? When chemical signals travel through the air, some of them go up your nose and are trapped by the mucous membrane lining the inside of our nose. These chemicals then diffuse through the water-like substance and are changed into an electrical signal (a process called "transduction") so the information can be transmitted to the brain along the olfactory nerve.

Scientists and engineers are trying to replicate this process with an electronic device in order to detect very specific chemical signals. Dr. Cole and Smart Sensors and Devices Research Group at Warwick University are working to develop a device that can detect certain chemical signals in the air. They hope that some day such a device will be able to do things like: tell the difference between different pheramones (chemicals secreted by animals that trigger some social response), determine whether or not food products have gone bad before they make anyone sick, pick up scents of individual people during search-and-rescue missions, and locate mines buried underground. Eventually, Dr. Cole and her team hope to also be able to collect time and distance data from detected scents.

Dr. Cole received her undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science) from the University of Montenegro and earned her Doctorate from Coventry University in the United Kingdom. She is trained as an Electrical Engineer

Learn more about Dr. Cole and her research

More information about the Sensors Research Laboratory (they do lots of other research about smell and smelling devices)

Learn more about Electrical Engineering and engineering in general

Here's some more information about how we smell

Women in Science: Sylvia Elfar, PhD

This week in GEMS, we constructed pinhole cameras to model how the human eye is able to see images. We also made optical illusion spinners to illustrate how our brain can sometimes be "tricked" because it can't work fast enough. What about if you have trouble seeing? How do doctors help people with vision impairments?

Anyone who has ever worn glasses or contacts can tell you that life is very difficult when you have trouble seeing. now imagine if you clinically blind. Dr. Sylvia Elfar is a researcher who is working on designing and developing retinal (in the eye) and cortical (in the brain) visual prosthetic devices to help people with severe vision loss regain some of their independence. She is conducting her research at the Ligon Research Center of Vision at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She went to college for Experimental Psychology at Berkeley where she learned about how the brain works to allow us to complete every day activities, including interpreting all the things we see.

Learn more about Dr. Sylvia Elfar, PhD

More information about the Kresge Eye Institute at Wayne State University Medical School

Learn more about how the eye works

"How Stuff Works" explain how corrective lenses (ie contacts and glasses) work

Women in Science: Christine Wall

This week, we dissected chicken wings to see how muscles are arranged to efficiently move the bones and tissues. We saw how the joints get larger or smaller when the muscles shorten, depending which side of the joint the muscle was on. We also saw how bone structure in the chicken wing was similar to the human arm, a property called homology. Did you know, though, that the similarities between any body part can give us information about how closely related some species are?

Dr. Christine Wall studies Evolutionary Morphology of the jaw muscles of primates at Duke University. This means that she looks at muscles, bones, and joints in the jaw and around the mouth of extinct monkey and apes to learn more about what kinds of food these animals likely ate and how one primate may be related to or evolved from another. Dr. Wall went to college at Stanford University in California, then earned advances Master's and Doctorate degrees at SUNY Stony Brook in New York. Now, she does research and teaches classes like Human Anatomy at Duke.

While most research in homology and Functional Morphology is done in primates in order to better understand our own hominid origins, you can study structural similarities in any body part and in any species.

To learn more about Dr. Wall's work, click here.

Learn more about Duke's Lemur Center, here.

Learn about Dr. Vanessa Wood, who lives and works primarily in Africa studying Bonobos, one of the most endangered and least understood great apes here.

Women in Science: Carolyn Krumrey

This week in GEMS, we learned about simple machines and how combining different simple machines allow us to construct more complex machines. Understanding simple machines and how they work are important for many careers, especially when we must predict how certain devices will behave in extreme or unpredictable environments.

Carolyn Krumrey is, quite literally, a rocket scientist! She works at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX as the Division Chief Engineer for the Space Shuttle in the Manufacturing, Materials, and Process Technology Division. In this job, Krumrey designs components of the space shuttle so they can survive in the harsh environment of space. She has worked very hard to accomplish her dream of working in science and technology. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin after switching from a major in Interior Design her freshman year. She went on earn her Master's in Environmental Management to improve her writing and communication skills so she is now able to manage the large number of people who work in her division.

In offering words of advice for young women hoping to enter STEM fields, Krumrey says:

"If you decide to choose a career in engineering, science or the technology fields, there will be so many opportunities available to you. If you are in a particular job and you don't enjoy it, don't hesitate to change jobs. I have not stayed in a job more than two years. I am constantly changing jobs to ensure that I am always learning new skills. This is one of the great things about engineering; there are so many jobs available to you that you can always do different things. Study hard in your math and science courses. There is a world of opportunities available just for you!"

Read more about Carolyn Krumrey and other female scientists on the Women of NASA website.

Click these links to learn more about careers in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering

Woman in Science: Elaine Fuchs, PhD

This week in GEMS we tested make-up brushes to determine what type of brush is the best buy based on performance and cost. One of the ways that many of the GEMS girls tested the performance of the brushes was to see which brush type applied eye shadow to their hands the best. Did you know, though, that there is a lot more to make-up design than just picking pretty colors? In fact, cosmetic scientists must consider what type of skin make-up is being applied to so they can create make-up that is safe and non-toxic. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds because skin is actually a very complicated organ with special properties and behaviors.

Dr. Elaine Fuchs does research at the Rockerfeller University to better understand how the special “baby cells,” called stem cells decide what kind of cells to become, such as hair, fingernail, or epidermal (ie skin) cells. She hopes that by gaining a better understanding of how skin develops its unique properties, doctors will be able to understand how this process can go wrong, like when cancer cells begin growing out of control, and how to correct these errors.

You can learn more about Dr. Elaine Fuchs and her research on her website here

You can also learn about some of the requirements all make-up must meet before it can be sold at the FDA regulation website here