Bevin Engelward

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Tell us a bit about your scientific and educational background.

After graduating from Yale, I went to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where I studied toxicology in the laboratory of Leona D. Samson. While a graduate student, I was encouraged by two MIT professors to apply for a job. I was stunned that they wanted me to apply and I was a bit daunted. Nevertheless, I dreamed up ideas and wrote my job application before finishing my doctoral thesis. It worked out and so I was able to start my independent laboratory at MIT a year after getting my doctoral degree. 

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

The most rewarding aspect of my job is helping the next generation of scientists. I love to teach. I work really hard on it and I'm proud to say that several students have shifted their focus toward research in public health after taking my class. I also love to mentor trainees in my lab. It is a wonderful thing when trainees gleefully share their latest results! 

What initially drew you to the EMGS? 

Leona Samson (long time EMGS member) was my mentor in graduate school (in fact, she still is my mentor!). She introduced me to the EMGS soon after I joined her laboratory. I loved the meeting and so I began attending regularly. I've been attending EMGS meetings regularly for 35 years! 

How has EMGS impacted your professional development? 

The EMGS has had a profound impact on my career. In addition to being inspired by elegant basic research, I also became interested in the applied side. I started attending talks and SIGs where people were focused on daunting challenges, like how to measure mutations and how to measure DNA damage. The EMGS made it possible for me to bridge basic and applied research. On the basic side, we study the relationship between DNA damage/repair, and physiological consequences. On the applied side, we developed transgenic mice to detect a certain type of mutation and we created the CometChip, which is a higher throughput comet assay that can be used to measure DNA damage and repair. 

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

My advice to younger scientists is to attend EMGS meetings regularly! You will make friends and connect with colleagues in ways that will shape your research experience. The EMGS opens doors to new ways of thinking. And the EMGS creates opportunities made possible by the relationships that you foster with peers and mentors. 

What involvement opportunities with EMGS have you found to be the most rewarding? SIGs, awards, etc.

Over the years, I've benefited in so many different ways. Certainly the SIGs have been very important. I've also enjoyed contributing by serving on committees and by serving as President. 

What are the most rewarding connections you have made since joining EMGS?

I probably know at least 100 EMGS members. Happily, I know as many people in the basic sciences as I do in the applied sciences. These connections have been vital to my career. Many have been research collaborators. Also many are friends who have provided invaluable advice on how best to serve the community through technology development. Input from my EMGS peers and mentors was instrumental in shaping my career. 

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

There are so many important contributions, it is hard to pick! I will say that the discovery by Leona Samson and John Cairns that cells can adapt to exposure to a DNA damaging agent by increasing expression of DNA repair genes was pivotal. 

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

If I weren’t a scientist, I’d be a teacher. I love teaching—there’s something magical about helping others see things in new ways. I also believe that the relationships we build with others are what ultimately make us happy. Teaching is a wonderful way to connect with the next generation of scientists.