Simon Lab Spotlight! Morgan van Kesteren
Morgan van Kesteren, Clinical Research Coordinator, from New York City
B.A. in Classics from Colgate University
Morgan presenting her poster on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with Multiple Myeloma
Q. Cats or Dogs or Other?
A. I would have to say dogs.
Q. What sparked your interest in virology research or led you to join the Simon and Mulder Lab?
A. In college, my focus was on a healthcare career path; I took pre-med classes and shadowed multiple physicians and surgeons. But while in school during the COVID-19 pandemic - I took a Microbiology class and from there my career path changed from doctor to scientist.
Q. What is the most interesting part of your job?
A. I would have to say the most interesting parts are the collaborations with other scientists and the experiments that I get to do in the lab.
Q. What is your favorite spot in all of New York?
A. It has to be Central Park. I used to live close to Central Park and I miss being closer to nature.
Q. How did the Pandemic impact your position on research and virology?
A. The pandemic really shifted my own career aspirations - I was still interested in the healthcare field, but when I started to work here as a part of the clinical research team, I had the opportunity to speak with patients, who were immunocompromised, about their experiences with the Pandemic, which made me want to learn more about SARS-CoV-2 and the field of virology.
Q. What does a day in the lab look like?
A. A day in the lab now looks very different from when I first started here – before I worked in the Simon Lab’s Personalized Virology Initiative (PVI) doing clinical research, and now I have completely transferred to the wet lab. So, that means my schedule has changed a bit and now in the morning I typically have a few meetings before I start tissue culture, culturing and harvesting SARS-CoV-2 or pseudotyped lentiviruses, and running experiments with these produced viruses.
Q. Aside from being a great scientist, what would you describe as your personal superpower?
A. I would have to say that I am very good at karaoke!
Q. If you could share one piece of advice with people interested in research, what would it be?
A. Honestly, I think to take advantage of every opportunity that is being offered or given to you and really be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and learn new things along the way.
Thank you Morgan for sharing her story as well as Aidan Vera for helping with the Spotlight Series!