Dr. Luiz Fernando Moreira Passalacqua

Dr. Luiz Passalacqua is currently a Research Fellow in the group of Dr. Adrian Ferré-D'Amaré at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland (USA). He began his scientific journey with his B.Sc. in Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. After, juggling a series of jobs focused on clinical trials for the pharma industry in Brazil, he decided to continue his studies and apply for Ph.D. scholarship in the United States. He was successful and after a rotation period, he joined Dr. Andrej Lupták’s laboratory at University of California, Irvine (UCI) to conduct specialized research in small functional RNAs, including ribozymes, riboswitches and aptamers. He remembers choosing Lupták’s lab not only because the research was very interesting and new to him, but mainly because Dr. Lupták was the kind of mentor that cares about the students, both personally and scientifically.

Now at the NIH Luiz is concentrating his research on using X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM to elucidate structures of nucleic acid molecules. He chose Adrian Ferré-D'Amaré’s lab specifically because he wanted to learn how to solve 3D structures. After an incredible interview and an accentuated feeling of ‘this lab is the perfect fit’, he learned that he got the position exactly when he landed back in California. Luiz recalls being ecstatic at that moment and after years of working with Dr. Ferré-D'Amaré, he confirms that it wasn’t just a feeling, but indeed a perfect fit. Luiz’s time at the NIH gave him the opportunity to improve his skills in both X-ray crystallography and Cryo-EM, enabling him to achieve his main training objective - learning how solve 3D molecular structures. In addition to being the proper place to develop interesting collaborations, the NIH offered him the opportunity to prepare other aspects of his future career by taking a multitude of courses and participating in specialized training programs covering topics such as pedagogical classes, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training and initiatives, plus mentorship training and experiences.  

Having experience in both industry and academia, Luiz thinks that mentorship together with the lab environment are the most important criteria when choosing the lab for pursuing a Ph.D or a postdoc. So, his advice to prospective grad students is “don’t hesitate about asking around within the institution. In particular, you should ask the hard questions during the interview. For example, ask them about their type of mentorship/managing style, expectations, and funding situation” of the PI. Once you’re a Ph.D. student, you “should be patient and always keep in mind that your Ph.D. is a training program and won’t define your career – Ph.D. training is a place for you to learn how to critically think, test hypothesis and solve problems. Also, it is imperative to remember that failure is part of science and can provide valuable lessons if analysed properly. At the post-doc level, however, one should show more independence and the ability to lead the research project.” He continues that “mentorship plays a decisive role in this stage as well, but he feels that a postdoctoral mentor that dictates what a postdoc is doing all the time is a sign that something is not right.”

"The mentorship and the environment in the lab are essential for your sanity and a successful future. Keep in mind that joining a lab is a two-way commitment, and you must ask hard questions too, such as type of mentorship/managing style, expectations, and funding situation."

As most Ph.D. students, Luiz also had to deal with the imposter syndrome mainly because he was coming from a different country and was out of academia for a long time beforehand. He managed to overcome this by studying a lot and having a very good support system, which made him feel like he was at home. In addition, finding inspiration in other research fellows and mentors was also helpful, especially in setting moral values as a scientist. For instance, Dr. Joan Steitz, ‘a real trailblazer in life and science’ is an example of both kindness and motivation for him. All these elements were moulding him into the scientist he is today, who was recently featured on the cover of Nature for his recent publication ‘Intricate 3D architecture of a DNA mimic of GFP’. This achievement turned him from a ‘RNA researcher’ into a ‘nucleic acids researcher’, as he would never imagine that DNA will bring him such a big recognition after working for years with RNA. During the pandemic, a challenging time for us all, Luiz managed to turn the odds around by joining forces with Dr. Michael Abdelsayed, assistant professor at California Lutheran University to find RNA motifs in bacterial genomes using a bioinformatics approach. These efforts finally led to ‘Characterization of a FourU RNA Thermometer in the 5′ Untranslated Region of Autolysin Gene blyA in the Bacillus subtilis 168 Prophage SPβ’, his first paper as a corresponding author. In addition to that RNA, they have some other exciting RNA molecules that they plan to test soon. So, keep an eye his future work!

Luiz mentions that mentorship was a key element in his career development, and he will be forever grateful for the marks his mentors left on him. Firstly, at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Prof. Leoberto Costa Tavares and Dr. Sibila Grallert, were fundamental to building up his passion for science, showing him the life of a scientist, with both failures and successes. Further, his Ph.D. mentor at UCI, Dr. Andrej Lupták, was very supportive and caring and helped him not only to become a successful scientist but also to improve as a person. His current advisor, Dr. Adrian Ferré-D’Amaré, is always willing to help, both inside and outside the lab which benefits their work relationship. Now he is preparing the next step of his career journey and is applying for tenure-track academic positions. In this regard, he expresses his gratitude for his RNA Society mentors Drs. Luiz Penalva and Andrei Korostelev. The support he received especially in the last year from Dr. Korostelev, who has really put the extra mile in helping him reach his goals, was crucial. That’s why he recommends that young investigators and students apply for the RNA Society Mentoring Program because his own personal experience has shown it to be both helpful and an additional place for support. Besides getting this support from the RNA Society, he also has some very fond memories from the 2022 RNA Society meeting in Boulder, CO, his first big post-pandemic meeting, where he was able to exchange ideas, socialize, and make new friends.

You can get in contact with Dr. Luiz Passalacqua on Twitter @LFMPassalacqua or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/luizfmpassalacqua) to talk more about self-cleaving ribozymes, riboswitches, and the RNA World hypothesis. Also, he can tell you more about how he witnessed the making of his favorite RNA Journal article: ‘Allosteric regulation of U1 snRNP by splicing regulatory proteins controls spliceosomal assembly’. The first author Dr. Hossein Shenasa is a dear friend and Ph.D. fellow of him at UCI. This gave him the chance not only to follow each step of birthing this paper, but also contribute with moral support during coffee breaks, which brought him a place in the acknowledgements list.