Prof. Megan Filbin

Dr. Megan Filbin, a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Metropolitan State University of Denver (Colorado, USA) credits “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston, the bestselling book about Ebola virus, as the spark that ignited her interest in RNA viruses. After finishing her undergraduate studies at the University of Denver, she followed this infectious passion to Dr. Jeffrey Kieft’s lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she completed her PhD using structural and biochemical methods to uncover how the Hepatitis C Virus Internal Ribosome Entry Site regulates translation in infected cells. Dr. Filbin recalled, “I was naturally curious about viral mechanisms on the most fundamental structural and chemical levels. It’s amazing how viruses evolve so many different structures, using only four different nucleobases, to hijack and evade cellular machinery.” Following a postdoctoral position with Dr. Tamir Gonen at the Janelia Research Campus (Virginia, USA), Dr. Filbin started her own research group at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI), where she guides undergraduate students through experimental design and biochemical techniques to understand how RNA viruses alter protein synthesis and how cellular ribosome-binding factors influence tissue development.

In her effort to introduce even more undergraduate students to the wonder that is RNA research, Dr. Filbin is about to start teaching “a course-based undergraduate research experience about plant virus 3’ cap-independent translation enhancers (CITEs).” Having already established research projects on CITEs in her own lab (including several award-winning posters by her trainees at the ASBMB Experimental Biology Conference!), Dr. Filbin plans to have students “make mutants and test the effect each mutation has on the 3’ CITE structure and ability to initiate translation. This course will be the first opportunity MSU Denver students have to learn about alternative mechanisms of translation initiation and RNA structure—and to do so experientially by designing their own mutants and developing and testing their own hypotheses.”

“Create an environment where experiments that do not work are not seen as “failures” but learning experiences. It’s very understandable that [students] feel defeated as they begin the bumpy research road, but I believe this approach helps them build resilience, confidence, and science self-efficacy.”

Since Dr. Filbin works closely with undergraduate students, she is keenly aware of the importance of mentorship. She explained, “Many students come from groups historically excluded from STEM, and never thought they could become scientists. Watching them start to see themselves as capable, competent, and belonging amongst other scientists (and then persisting to a science career) is 100% the best aspect of my job.” Her decision to pursue a science career was likewise inspired by her direct mentors, including her older brother Mike, who “fostered my curiosity on road trips, asking questions like “do you know why the sky is blue?”, letting me come up with something, and guiding my (mis)understanding to the factual answer.” She is also grateful to her high school biology teacher, Ms. Melanie Briscoe, and her PhD advisor, Dr. Jeffrey Kieft, who “inspired my mentoring style: creating a space where questions, ideas, and hypotheses—even unorthodox ones— are encouraged and earnestly discussed as a group.”

Although Dr. Filbin now leads a team of undergraduate students and actively supports their career goals, be it academic or otherwise, her path to teaching at a PUI was not always straightforward. As a graduate student and postdoc, Dr. Filbin knew she wanted to pursue a career in education but encountered pushback during her time as a graduate student, including being denied a graduate training award because of her outspoken goals. Dr. Filbin remembers feeling “isolated in my goals (did I belong in my graduate program?) and really had to self-advocate for my future.” Recognizing that there are very few resources available to current students interested in becoming educators, Dr. Filbin “now actively mentors current graduate students and postdocs interested in PUI faculty careers so that they don’t repeat my same mistakes and make informed career decisions.” She also reflected on how she has changed her approach to science and mentorship over the course of her career, with the hopes of guiding others who may be interested in working at a PUI. When Dr. Filbin began her faculty position, she set up her lab “such that students would get training while addressing my research questions and goals. As I began to equilibrate, and watch my students gain confidence and scientific identity […] now, I work with my students to develop hypotheses and I get excited about discovery through their experience.”

“All trainees, regardless of their career stage, should celebrate (even small) successes in lab—discovery happens one step at a time, and celebrating each step helps to ensure you don’t become consumed by the challenges and setbacks you might face.”

In addition to sharing her passion for RNA biology with her undergraduate trainees, a large part of Dr. Filbin’s research program involves working with her students to develop a “growth mindset, where you start to see challenges and setbacks in your research as tools for learning (and not signs of failure)”. Since many graduate students and postdocs already have experience with the pitfalls and difficulties of research, running an undergraduate lab requires that one “create an environment where experiments that do not work are not seen as “failures” but learning experiences. It’s very understandable that [students] feel defeated as they begin the bumpy research road, but I believe this approach helps them build resilience, confidence, and science self-efficacy.” And importantly, Dr. Filbin recommended that all trainees, regardless of their career stage, “celebrate (even small) successes in lab—discovery happens one step at a time, and celebrating each step helps to ensure you don’t become consumed by the challenges and setbacks you might face.”

Together with her trainees, Dr. Filbin has established a vibrant undergraduate research program. She explained, “I absolutely LOVE the energy and excitement undergraduates bring to the lab! However, I find that the most enjoyable aspect of working with undergrads is seeing them build confidence and really start to see themselves as scientists.” This became especially evident at the 2022 Annual RNA Society Meeting, which was the first RNA Society meeting she attended with her research students. “They soaked up the experience. At lunch each day they told me something they’d learned from the talks. They also had so much fun asking Venki Ramakrishnan and Joan Steitz (among others) for their name tags at the closing ceremony dinner!” The 2022 Annual Meeting also gave Dr. Filbin the chance to launch the RNA@PUI supergroup (with a Salon supported by the RNA Society!) with other PUI faculty she met at the meeting. She actively encourages any PUI faculty and trainees interested in a PUI faculty job to reach out for more information (Twitter: @RNAatPUI, Slack: https://rnapui.slack.com/). Moving forward, she also encourages RNA researchers to consider collaborating with PUI faculty, through shared RNA journal clubs, guest lectures, mentorship, and research collaborations. “As the only RNA researcher in my institution (which is true for many PUI faculty), I often feel a bit isolated from fellow RNA-focused colleagues and lack a lot of the instrumentation and resources to conduct my research,” she said. “[Collaborations] can make a huge difference for undergraduate persistence in STEM, especially to expand and diversify our RNA research workforce.”

Dr. Filbin’s favorite RNA is rRNA because “it’s required for all domains of life (and nonliving elements like viruses), it ensures appropriate codon-anticodon base-pairing in the small subunit and catalyzes the peptide bond synthesis in the large subunit.” You can find her on Twitter @Meg_Filbin or find out more about her lab at filbinlab.com.