Joseph Butler 

University of Western Ontario 

Tell us a bit about your scientific and educational background.

I just began my Master's program at the University of Western Ontario, in the Cell and Molecular Biology stream. I completed my undergrad here at UWO earlier this Spring, where I studied Synthetic Biology and got the opportunity to start doing research in the genetics and genomics field with my supervisor Dr. Kathleen Hill! 

What do you see as the greatest value or most rewarding aspect of your scientific work?

I think the greatest value of my scientific work has been the ability to have interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers in computer science, statistics, cancer biology, and ecology for example. These collaborations have such great value because they bring in unique perspectives, ideas, and worldview's that help critically shapes one's research to make it more impactful, presented to a wider cast audience, and communicated in clearer ways. 

What initially drew you to the EMGS? 

EMGS was introduced to me through my supervisor, Dr. Kathleen Hill, who has been a member for many years and encouraged me to submit an abstract for the 2023 EMGS Annual Meeting in Chicago, surrounding a project we had been working on related to the use of machine learning for environmental classifications of microbial extremophile genomic signatures, a subject highly relevant to EMGS. Thankfully, this poster abstract was accepted and I was able to attend the meeting, where I had such a great time engaging with the different Symposiums, Platforms, and other student/new investigator focused events that were both personally and professionally rewarding. After attending the meeting and seeing the great variety of research areas, hearing so many interesting presentations and meeting awesome people, it was clear that EMGS is a great community to be a part of! 

How has EMGS impacted your professional development? 

EMGS has been great for my professional development, giving me the ability to present poster presentations at the 2023/2024 Annual Meetings and also to develop my oral presentation skills at the recent 2024 Annual Meeting! Being able to engage with such a welcoming community through the various professional/social events gave me the confidence to present my first oral presentation, which earned me the Best Student Oral Presentation Award which I am incredibly thankful and grateful to receive! 

What advice would you offer to students or early career investigators? 

I would advise to seek out and take every opportunity you can related to your interests, both professional and personal. Taking the chance to give a presentation and honing in on your communication skills, getting your foot in the door, developing the connections with people who interest you, is so important in finding your way through your early career and academic journey. I think while it's important to focus on one's primary professional goals, it's very worthwhile to explore all your interests and becoming as well-rounded as you can be. 

What do you think the greatest scientific achievement in history has been?

I think one of the greatest scientific achievements in history has been the development of blood tests. Their ability to diagnose so many health issues, from infectious diseases, organ damage, cancer, metabolic health, organ function, etc., from a simple vial of blood is fascinating! 

If you could meet any scientist, past or present, who would it be and what would you talk about?

I think I'd like to meet Aristotle, the Ancient Greek philosopher, and I'd like to pick his brain about what he would think about the modern field of biotechnology for example. He made so many discoveries across such a wide range of topics that we could talk for days, but in particular I'd like to talk about his foundational ideas and foresight in the face of modern biology. 

If you were not a scientist, what would you be doing?

I think I would be working in some shape or form in politics, whether that's working in policy directly or in polling and political strategy, I've always found politics fascinating!