Motivating the “STEM”
Student: Lessons from the
Life of E. E. Just
W. Malcolm Byrnes, PhD
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology
Howard University
Washington, DC
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Walton_Byrnes
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
What I Plan to Talk About
• Something About Me
• The Importance of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Ernest Everett Just
• Questions for Discussion
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
A Bit about Me
• BS: Xavier University of
Our Fair Campus
Louisiana (1981; chemistry)
• PhD: LSU in Baton Rouge,
LA (1994; biochemistry)
• Did research at Cornell
University in Ithaca, NY
• Taught at college level and
worked at NIST
• Now: Associate Professor
at Howard University
• I study how enzymes work
• Recently (2003) became
interested in understanding
legacy of E. E. Just
• Write papers and give talks
on Just
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Why are Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics Important?
1. We live in a technological age.
2. Our problems require technological and
scientific solutions.
– Global climate change
– Antibiotic resistance
– Infectious disease (HIV-AIDS, Ebola)
3. Society needs to be scientifically
informed in order to make good decisions
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
But science also allows us to be
creative
and satisfy our
curiosity
about the natural world.
It helps us find
our place
in the universe.
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Ernest Everett Just
• Curious
• Creative
• Passionate
• Persistent—overcame great obstacles
• Was rejected
• But ultimately was successful
• Today there’s agreement that he was
right about a lot of things.
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
EE Just—Early Days
• Born in Charleston,
SC, in 1883
• Grew up on James
Island
• As a child, educated
mostly by his mother
• Attended
– SC State College,
– Kimball Union
Academy and
– Dartmouth College
(1907)
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Howard University and Woods Hole
• Taught at Howard
University (1907-1941)
• English→ Biology→
Zoology Departments
• Did research at the
Marine Biological
Laboratory (MBL) at
Woods Hole, MA
• PhD in embryology at
University of Chicago
(1916)
• Studied fertilization in
marine invertebrates
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Howard University
Woods Hole, MA
Later Years
E. E. Just, circa 1925. Courtesy of the MBL
Archives
• 1929 Onward: Spent
a lot of time doing
research in Europe
– Naples, Italy
– Berlin, Germany
– Roscoff, France
• Moved there
permanently in 1938
(Roscoff)
• Had to leave when
Nazis invaded France
• Died in 1941
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Just’s Contributions: Overview
• Authored 2 books and ~70 papers in 30 years of
work (1911-1941)
• Examined how the egg cell cortex (ectoplasm)
changes during development
• Provided supporting evidence for F. R. Lillie’s
“fertilizin” hypothesis of sperm-egg interaction
• Correctly inferred existence of both fast and slow
blocks to polyspermy
• Proved that Jacques Loeb’s theory of experimental
parthenogenesis was incorrect
• Boldly challenged T. H. Morgan’s nucleocentric
view of the cell
• Was first to demonstrate an important role for cell
surface in cell-cell adhesion during development
• Probed internal structure of cells by examining
movement of water into and out of eggs
Fertilization:
Union of sperm and egg to produce a new
organism
Steps:
1.
Sperm attracted by egg
2.
Acrosomal reaction
occurs
3.
Protein on sperm head
binds to egg cell
surface receptor*
4.
Sperm and egg cell
membranes fuse
5.
Sperm nucleus
released into egg
cytoplasm
6.
fertilization membrane
forms*
7.
Nuclei fuse
*, Blocks to polyspermy occur
Available at:
http://www.sidwell.edu/us/science/vlb5/Labs/Urchin_Lab/
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Marine Invertebrates Whose
Eggs and Embryos Just Studied
A
B
D
E
C
• A—Sand Dollar
• B—Marine Worm
(Platynereis dumerilii)
• C—Parchment Worm
D—Marine Worm
(Nereis limbata)
• E—Sea Urchin
Taking on Thomas Hunt Morgan!
•
•
•
•
•
•
Just boldly and publicly
challenged prominent scientists:
Loeb and Morgan
1935 annual meeting of the
American Society of Zoologists
Took Morgan to task for his
nucleocentrism
– Gene Theory: Genes are
located in linear arrays on
chromosomes in the nucleus
(fine so far)
– Genes in nucleus control all
activities of the cell (oh no!)
Just proposed cytoplasm-centered
“theory of genetic restriction” to
explain specialization of cells and
tissues during cleavage and
differentiation
Both scientists incorrect; both
theories too one-sided
But Just more right than has been
heretofore appreciated
“As development
progresses, the
egg-potencies
are restricted
through their
withdrawal from
the cytoplasm by
the chromosomes
with each
successive cell
division. Thus the
cytoplasm forms
functional areas.”
(The Biology of
the Cell Surface)
Lessons from the Life of Just
•
•
•
•
•
•
Follow your passion
Never give up
Prepare for success
Work hard
Believe in yourself
Don’t be afraid to challenge authority
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014
Questions for Discussion
• Do you think that E. E. Just provides a
role model for junior scientists today?
• If so, how?
• If not, why not?
• How might Just’s life story be used to
motivate students?
TA Workshop, HU Graduate School:
August 20, 2014