Ep 87: Take a Deep Breath with Aerobiology - The Journey

We continue our discussion with Janet Price, Chief Science Officer (CSO) at Visium (formerly Lit Thinking), a company dedicated to promoting public health through air quality. As a child, Janet had an obsession with asking way too many questions and she found many of the answers at her local library. Originally she wanted to be a writer, specifically for the synopses found on the inside of a book cover —without spoilers of course. Once she joined Central Michigan University as an undergrad, Janet realized her love of microbiology and passion for exploring an “unseen” world; and this began her journey into research. Even though she isn’t in the lab anymore, there is still a deep connection to her current role as a CSO and her experience studying microbes. “The things we learn from these model systems, be they bacterial or small organisms, can really be applied, translationally, for human health and new technologies . . . I wanted to be a person that could take that new technology and bring it to the real world,” she explains. And this is now her primarily responsibility as a CSO combining her expertise and science communications to translate discoveries for the real world. Janet has had many memorable mentors along her journey and she specifically reflects on two during her time as a young researcher in graduate school at Central Michigan University and University of Michigan-Rockham Graduate School. Her mentors instilled in her the value of science for everyone and the importance of free thinking to drive good ideas. One piece of advice she would give to her younger self is to start in research early, as she looks back on her journey. In her spare time, Janet enjoys a good cup of tea (specifically Victorian Earl Grey), spending time with her family and dog, and getting lost in a good story—in a book, movie, or video game. Hear more about Janet’s journey in the latest episode—https://welovesciencepodcast.com. 

Check out the previous episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1720419/episodes/18244541

Tune into this episode to hear Janet share:

• How her interests evolved from searching for answers in local libraries to designing her own microbiology experiments
• How her graduate school mentors influenced her views of science 
• What’s next for Visium and promoting air quality for public health 

Reach out to Janet:

• LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molecularjanet/ 
• And check out Visium: https://visium.one/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, also listen to:

• Ep 49: Advocating for Science and Research - The Journey 
• Ep 61: The Love Language of Organic Chemistry - The Journey 

Chapters

• 1:01 Did you have a science spark?
• 2:25 How did your career plans evolve?
• 5:01 When did you decide to bring science to the C-suite?
• 8:04 Did you have any influential mentors?
• 10:38 Advice to younger self
• 12:11 What's next for you and Visium?
• 14:37 Life Lights

Transcript

This is the journey. This is the journey.

Welcome back to We Love Science podcast. This is the journey episode. Here our guest star shares more about their discovery of science and how mentors and experiences shaped who they are today. To hear more about the work associated with this journey, please check out the previous episode. Hi everyone, welcome back to the show. We love science. Our guest today is Dr. Janet Price, chief science officer at Visium. We learned all about her amazing work in the last episode and the impact she's had on promoting public health focus on improving air quality. Such an interesting conversation. So, if you missed it, just hit the link in the show notes. So, Janet, we're jumping into the journey segment of our conversation where you'll talk all about your journey from childhood to now through science. So, let's Start right at the beginning. So, did you have a science spark or any science wow moments when you were growing up?

You know, I think what I really loved about science is I could ask very tough questions. Like my favorite question growing up was why. I wanted to know why the trees were green and why they changed colors in the fall. I wanted to know why the things in the garden grew in really strange shapes um if you put a rock on them. I just loved the idea of being able to do what I'd later learned to be science at such a young age just because I asked weird questions. So I was definitely the Miss Frizzle, Bill Nye the Science Guy generation. So that's really how I got started is um asking my mom way too many questions and just being left at a library to go figure them out myself.

So your mom showed you the way to become a scientist, right? You go and you do some research and you figure it out.

That's it. Like very early library Yeah, they'll satisfy your curiosity. That curiosity growing up, man. It really propels you, right?

That's it.

Yeah. I really like the shout out to public libraries also. I feel like they don't get enough love. So, that is very much appreciated.

Oh, 100%. I knew all my library rans growing up through school and the one at my local library knew me very well.

All right. So, tell us more about your journey, Janet. Um, how did your career plan has evolved through that very curious young girl through middle school, high school, undergrad. How did your career evolve?

So, like I said, it started with why, but that really became me just wanting to understand the the story of things so that I could explain it to others. I thought that was so much fun or just the fact that I knew the process was self-gratifying enough for me. So, I started thinking, I love stories. I read books all the time from the library. So, maybe I'm going to be that person who writes the insert in a book jacket to tell you about the story but not ruin the ending because I swear half of these book jackets did just that. So that's when I started in in grade school thinking I was going to be um but as I got older and I went through science classes, I really got excited about the process of asking these questions because you you can ask questions well and get a good answer. You can ask questions kind of broadly and kind of get who knows what back. But sometimes that's fun. So it morphed from just a good story to using these questions to answer really specific things. So then I really thought maybe forensic science, I love a good mystery novel. I could be the one to figure out

the who does it.

Um but it really changed when I got into my undergrad university and started doing research myself. Not necessarily the the labs that everybody did, but getting to ask my own questions, be responsible for my my own science. And then I realized I love this ability to ask specific questions of the things that weren't visible. So, I really got into microbiology. It's it's something that carried through um even to now I'm working at a company where the thing that I do the most is explaining how the microbes respond um to our far UVC light. So, my journey's changed. It's morphed a little bit and it's all based on the things that you run into and you learn that you really love. So, for me that was the unseen world of microbes and these little things that can get everything they need in their life together half the time without brains, without all of the the things I need in my life in order to do my day-to-day things. It was just uh amazing to me.

Yeah, really. They're way more efficient than we are, right?

Oh my god. Yes.

You think about it,

we just waste resources anyway.

Very Cool. All right. So you told us all about your role as a cso. When during your journey did that idea first occur to you. So uh the idea that you wanted to sort of bring science to the C-suite or did that even really occur to you in that manner? Um so tell us how that idea sort of took shape for you over time.

So it wasn't necessarily that I thought I would be chatting science with all the C-suite individuals. It it really stem from I knew I wanted to do good science. and good science communication. And I thought the leading edge of science was just so interesting because the things that we learn in these model systems, be they bacterial or small organisms, can really be applied translationally for human health or new technologies. And I think that transition between being something that you do in the lab to being something that's done in the real world is a really tough leap. Um, and I wanted to be a person that could take that new technology and bring it to the world. Uh so I really worked in order to have a good background so that that's something I can do because we've all now heard of crisper but that started in a bacteria lab you know 12 years ago. So like it's it's taking these tools that we learn from things that don't even have faces and and applying to the real world that I really thought was interesting.

Very cool. From the lab to application.

That's it. I like that. I really like that. I also like how, and this is, I think, a pattern that we've seen with so many of our guests, Janet, is you know, you kind of fall into these perfect roles a little bit like accidentally on purpose, right? You know, the things that you want to do and what you're interested in and then just, you know, somehow one thing leads to another and then you find yourself in this place and you're like, "This is exactly where I want to be because it's taking all of these different things that interest me and all these different skills that I have and putting them all in like this like one, you know, role. So, I think that's pretty cool.

And you're right. Half the time it does sound like an accident, but I think that's kind of characteristics of scientists, right? We we care about the things that we research or that we're passionate about and we talk about them. We talk about them everywhere. So, it'll be at a party and we'll talk about microbiomes. It's the fact that we're so comfortable speaking about it, I think, that makes us memorable to the people that we talk to and if they have something that kind of fits that's how you get connected. So I know my first startup company that I was a part of I got into because a good friend of mine knew that I studied bacterial bofilms and this founder really needed some basic research to show that their technology worked against this. So it's really sometimes a game of telephone but if you if you speak your passions people will remember you.

Yeah. Pay to talk about what you love, what you're passionate about, right?

That's it.

So, did you have any influential mentors during your career journey?

Yes, that's a tough one to just nail down one, but I would say that both of the labs that I did research in, my mentors were so very important to my progression through life. So, the first one, Dr. Cynthia Damer at Central Michigan University, fire up chips, like a small directional school in Michigan who had some great science programs. So, I got to start in the lab doing all of the methods that I had been reading about in books. And she was so great about fostering this learning environment where everybody can do science. And she kind of would let you stretch in your own directions. You were in charge of your project and um yeah, she wanted to hear about it, but it was more like talking over the dinner table type things, what you're excited about and and how the progress is going. Um and then my second one, my my PI for my PhD Dr. Matt Chapman at the University of Michigan. Go Blue because I have to do a parallel. Um, he was really great because we loved just the idea of science intrigue. If you could explain to him why the question you wanted to answer was really important to our understanding of bacterial boflones. He was on board for you going to try it out. And that's really when you start having ownership of your research, being an independent thinker, because now it's more like a book report. I had to do the background research. I had to dig through all of the material to pick out what I thought was going to be most important. And having that flexibility really allows you to think for yourself, which is tough because a lot of the times when you join a lab, you do the research that that lab does. And ours was as long as you were in the umbrella, we were here to talk about it. We are here for good ideas. So that that's not necessarily the the norm. And I really appreciate that freedom to figure out what it is I loved about about science um and being able to carry it forward.

Yeah, that's beautiful. It sounds like you're really fortunate, Janet, to in those two instances you just described to have people who just really trusted you, right, to sort of figure it out and give you the freedom to to figure that out yourself. So, I think that's so important.

Yeah, that's the thing that we forget a lot of the times is these research institutions, as much as they have to be productive and and it's still training though, right? We're still learning to do the things and and being able to do that in a good environment with a strong mentor was vital for me.

Yeah. Beautiful. So, considering your journey, what advice would you give your younger self? Young Janet,

tops and bottoms that were the same pattern is a bad thing. It was a 90s kid. So, I think just start earlier, right? You always here. You're allowed to get into research starting as a freshman in undergrad. But I was afraid. I thought I didn't know enough and I was worried that I if I went into the lab and I didn't have the answers to what would probably have been basic questions that, you know, I I would be ridiculed, I wouldn't be able to succeed in the way that I wanted to. But it it's a learning experience. You have to go into it knowing that they can teach you. It's just like on the job training anywhere else. So I I think me being a little bit afraid set me back where I could have had even longer time doing really cool research. And and I find that disappointing looking back, but it's nothing that's insurmountable. If you're thinking about doing research now, do it.

Yeah, that's so true. It sounds like you had people who trusted you, but you had to kind of learn to trust yourself a bit, right? So that took some time.

That's it. Exactly. Like believe in yourself. You can learn it. It's science.

You can learn it.

We get so afraid of not knowing things.

Yeah, I would say I definitely agree with that. That's a really really good lesson.

All right, Janet. So tell us what is next for you and Visium.

So for us, we really want to build this research, right? So this is a newer technology. It's it's going into places that it has never been seen before, right? So uh traditional UV has been in air duct or in boxes like a phone's so hope that maybe you're more familiar with or the way that we sterilize all our medical tools for many decades now. It actually has been used in water treatment for a hundred years. But far UVC this shorter wavelength is a newer technology just because we didn't produce light at this wavelength specifically before now which means this particular wavelength because it's short and doesn't penetrate through tissues very well actually it's blocked entirely by a piece of scotch tape. We can put it into places that it hasn't been. We can shine it directly into rooms to get to the closest source of our pathogen, each other, so that we're inactivating the bacteria and pathogens in our air right in front of our faces instead of waiting for it to go up into our HVAC system. So, I am here making sure that we're installing these in places that we can do follow-up testing on, show that over a span of time there was a change in in the amount of uh the risk of infection in these spaces or just even right now it's a basic before and after. So some of the times you'll see me fly over the country just to do surface swabs before the lights and then we turn the lights on and then after to show people in their spaces the reduction of pathogens even without them doing cleaning even with only a couple hours later. So I want to be a good steward of the field so that people are more confident putting it everywhere.

Yeah. Wow. I love it. I cannot wait to see that evolution of the technology. This is something honestly I have to admit like air quality. I don't really sit and think about it that much, right? It's weird. Like we think about our water so much. Like we were talking about in the last episode. We think about our water all the time. We scrutinize food like crazy. But air, we're breathing air all the time. We're not eating all the time, right? But we're breathing all literally all the time. But I don't think about it that much. So this has been such an interesting conversation and just so wonderful to hear all about the technology that you're working on and how you're progressing the field.

So, thank you again so much Janet. We're now going to go into the final segment um of our show which we call um life lights.

You were delayed delayed but it's okay.

I am I I'm remixing it. All right. I do the remix.

Yes. So, for our final segment. This is a fun way to end our conversation and to also give our audience a view of our guests outside of work and to find out what you do for fun. So Janet, please share with us what brings you light and enjoyment to your life outside of work. So these can be hobbies, passion projects, friends, family. How do you relax? You know, what is it that you really enjoy doing once you, you know, hit 5:00 p.m. and you're on your way out the door?

Yeah. Um, I'm kind of a simple person. My day is brightened every day by a really good cup of tea. So, most of my day I I have a smile on my face because I have an endless amount of tea next to me on my desk all of the time. So, that's one of the little things in my life. But, a little bit broader is I have a really wonderful and supportive family. My husband, my two kids, and my dog. Uh, Rosie is an adorable paly that I have named after Rosalyn Franklin. So, her full name is Ros Excellent.

Nice.

But but I still I still live and die by good stories and and sometimes that takes the form of a book, a really empowerful video game or a good TV show. So anywhere where I can kind of lose myself in another person's perspective is something I really enjoy doing. So that those are the things that I would do on a day-to-day basis um just to kind of bring a spark into my life.

Lovely. And so now um What is your favorite tea that you've had recently? Cuz I'm also an avid tea drinker, so I I need to know. Or what is maybe your go-to um tea? If there's a particular one that you really like. Yeah. So, I'm really fortunate in Ann Arbor, there's a lovely place called Tea House, spelled the German way, H A U S. Um, and Lisa, who runs Tea House, who actually wrote the book on tea, uh, she was the contributing author for Tea for Dummies, but she blends her own tea. Um, so they've got a hundred or so different tees there. So I usually go there and get their Victorian Earl Grey, which is just lovely. If you love Earl Grey, like a big big caffeine tea, because I need it, um, this has a little bit more of the floral notes, but but everything that you love in an Earl Grey tea. So that's that's probably my go-to.

Very nice. I I also am an avid tea drinker, but I have to say I don't drink Earl Grey that often.

What's your go-to? So, I'm more of I'm more of a like peppermint, green tea, um kind of like um chamomile for sleeping, lavender. Yeah, I tend to go to I don't do I think this the super strong caffeinated ones that much. I will go for coffee if I want caffeine before I'll go for tea for caffeine. So, that's

my thing is even surprising to most even surviving through graduate school, I never got good at drinking coffee. So, tea is my coffee. Oh, nice. Very good.

I like that. I like that. Awesome. And now you also mentioned stories. So, what's a good book or game or Yeah. story that you've heard recently that you really enjoyed?

Oo. Okay. I I'm horrible that I feel like I've gone through my life lying about not reading all of these classic books. You know, the stories that everybody's like, "Oh, no. I know what the plotline is, so I'm not going to read it. I've already known the ending." So, I I've taken it upon myself this year to go back and read some of those foundation stories that everybody kind of says that they've read. So, I really enjoyed this last year reading um The Bell Jar by Sylvia Pla. I also just read um The Haunting of Hill House, which was kind of the beginning of the spooky where the environment could be the evil force. So, it was really cool getting to go back and then see how that changed from like the Netflix adaptation, which they did a great job, but they added a lot of layers that wasn't in the book. So, being able to see stories even shift with the times has been really interesting.

Wonderful. I really like that. And good for you for going back also and reading those foundational stories. I think I always just pretend to be like, "Yeah, yeah, sure. Haunting of Hill House." Yeah. I just try and fake my way through those discussions, but I know nothing else. Exactly.

Well, Thank you so much again, Janet, for coming on to share your story with us. We look forward to following up with you in the future and are really excited for what's going to come next, not only for you, but also for Visium and um I think public health and air quality and hoping to see that as something that more people pay attention to, if not after this podcast, definitely after speaking with you on how important it is.

Thank you for the opportunity. I hope everybody can start fighting and thinking about what it means to have good air. quality cuz I we need advocates. Everybody should be able to advocate for themselves and their health.

Agreed. Agreed. And so once again, listeners, you can reach out to Janet um either on LinkedIn or through her company's website. And we'll be sure to include all of those links in the show notes. So, please reach out if you are interested in speaking with her.

Yes, please do. And on that note, we'd like to thank all of you wonderful listeners for supporting our podcast. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review on your favorite podcast. Casting app reviews help us by increasing visibility for the show. And as always, you can reach us by email loves sciencepodcast@gmail.com. We would absolutely love to hear from you. Until next time, bye everyone.

Heat. Heat. Heat.