Steven Brady Kuzyk
Lab affiliation: Yurkov Lab
Degree(s) you hold: BSc Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): Ph.D.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Anola, Manitoba, Canada.
Your research project in one sentence: I study freshwater microbial community dynamics, with specific focus on aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in Lake Winnipeg.
Degree(s) you hold: BSc Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): Ph.D.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Anola, Manitoba, Canada.
Your research project in one sentence: I study freshwater microbial community dynamics, with specific focus on aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in Lake Winnipeg.
What do you do to relax when you have a lazy day at home?
During the social restrictions over the past year, I have really appreciated my time cooking and meal prepping. I’ve been perusing old cookbooks and the internet to try my hand at a variety of different ethnic recipes with moderate success!
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I really hope we can get together with friends and family this year, and see the return of recreational team sports! Regarding science, I have been finalizing my major project this spring, and my goal is to finish up any loose ends and hopefully complete my thesis this year. With any luck, writing will go smoothly, wet-lab projects will go well, and I will be able to wrap things up near the end of the year, and can look forward to new horizons! I really hope conferences can be in person once more, and I get to present my work at an international conference. I think it would be great fun, as well as a fantastic opportunity to meet like minded people!
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
For the bulk of my project, I have cultivated a great many bacteria. To study populations of environmental microbial communities, as well to describe the physiology of specific isolates. I end up spending a lot of time with a spectrophotometer, recording the absorbance spectrum of phototrophic bacteria, noting what reaction centers, pigments and other light related apparatus they contain. Finally, I have really gotten familiar with environmental DNA (eDNA) purification and Illumina MiSeq sequencing platforms, where I self-taught and have used Linux based software to analyze my many samples.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
Well, I can confirm I have made a few mistakes my time here, but I choose to use those experiences as opportunities to grow and learn the best I can. However, one silly mistake I have made involved my early encounters with the ordering system EPIC. So, our lab typically orders Eppendorfs (1.5 mL pop-top tubes) in large bags, which we would split into smaller glass containers and autoclave them on a dry cycle for their use in sterile experiments. Online, I found that you could order Eppendorfs sterile, which is great! No need to fill glass containers. I proceeded to order 4 bags. They showed up 2 weeks later. However, what I found when I open the box was 4 bags containing 1000 Eppendorfs, where each Eppendorf was INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED in plastic, in their un-popped state (not closed) with no “easy tear” perforation to get them out…Each had to be physically cut out of their little bags prior to use…. 4000 of them. Well, the up-side was that they were all sterile, DNA and RNAse free, but they all needed to be released from their little bags with effort, and it resulted in a lot of plastic waste. They couldn’t be used for multi-sample work, but I ended up using them over the years for small batch DNA analysis, so not to worry in the long run. ☺Long story short, read the descriptions thoroughly before buying.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
Current problems? Well, can’t say that I have hit too many brick walls in my science. I’ve been lucky I guess. My largest battle is with time management, where I have several experiments that need to be completed this spring, while I also need to be writing papers/ thesis, managing a new undergrad, as well as starting to look into options for the next stage of my career. All are quite important, and it can be a struggle at times to prioritize and balance those tasks you would like to accomplish first. But, as my PI would say, no stress! It will all happen in due time, as long as you are focused on your goals.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
At the beginning, I really wanted to learn about the interesting field of microbiology, and explore the intricacies of how these small organisms interact with the environment, especially in extreme and strange places. I also had a strong desire to try and make a difference, and to prove to my supervisor that I was a competent researcher, and worth the effort to train. These feelings have not waived since I have started, and I still aspire to become the best researcher I can be. Since then, I now better understand the ins and outs of research, how it is conducted, funded, and what kinds of relationships you can build in a friendly workplace, such as our department. From here, I hope to continue to build on some of the fantastic collaborations and friendships I have developed with colleagues, and hope to continue learning!
During the social restrictions over the past year, I have really appreciated my time cooking and meal prepping. I’ve been perusing old cookbooks and the internet to try my hand at a variety of different ethnic recipes with moderate success!
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals?
I really hope we can get together with friends and family this year, and see the return of recreational team sports! Regarding science, I have been finalizing my major project this spring, and my goal is to finish up any loose ends and hopefully complete my thesis this year. With any luck, writing will go smoothly, wet-lab projects will go well, and I will be able to wrap things up near the end of the year, and can look forward to new horizons! I really hope conferences can be in person once more, and I get to present my work at an international conference. I think it would be great fun, as well as a fantastic opportunity to meet like minded people!
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
For the bulk of my project, I have cultivated a great many bacteria. To study populations of environmental microbial communities, as well to describe the physiology of specific isolates. I end up spending a lot of time with a spectrophotometer, recording the absorbance spectrum of phototrophic bacteria, noting what reaction centers, pigments and other light related apparatus they contain. Finally, I have really gotten familiar with environmental DNA (eDNA) purification and Illumina MiSeq sequencing platforms, where I self-taught and have used Linux based software to analyze my many samples.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
Well, I can confirm I have made a few mistakes my time here, but I choose to use those experiences as opportunities to grow and learn the best I can. However, one silly mistake I have made involved my early encounters with the ordering system EPIC. So, our lab typically orders Eppendorfs (1.5 mL pop-top tubes) in large bags, which we would split into smaller glass containers and autoclave them on a dry cycle for their use in sterile experiments. Online, I found that you could order Eppendorfs sterile, which is great! No need to fill glass containers. I proceeded to order 4 bags. They showed up 2 weeks later. However, what I found when I open the box was 4 bags containing 1000 Eppendorfs, where each Eppendorf was INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED in plastic, in their un-popped state (not closed) with no “easy tear” perforation to get them out…Each had to be physically cut out of their little bags prior to use…. 4000 of them. Well, the up-side was that they were all sterile, DNA and RNAse free, but they all needed to be released from their little bags with effort, and it resulted in a lot of plastic waste. They couldn’t be used for multi-sample work, but I ended up using them over the years for small batch DNA analysis, so not to worry in the long run. ☺Long story short, read the descriptions thoroughly before buying.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
Current problems? Well, can’t say that I have hit too many brick walls in my science. I’ve been lucky I guess. My largest battle is with time management, where I have several experiments that need to be completed this spring, while I also need to be writing papers/ thesis, managing a new undergrad, as well as starting to look into options for the next stage of my career. All are quite important, and it can be a struggle at times to prioritize and balance those tasks you would like to accomplish first. But, as my PI would say, no stress! It will all happen in due time, as long as you are focused on your goals.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
At the beginning, I really wanted to learn about the interesting field of microbiology, and explore the intricacies of how these small organisms interact with the environment, especially in extreme and strange places. I also had a strong desire to try and make a difference, and to prove to my supervisor that I was a competent researcher, and worth the effort to train. These feelings have not waived since I have started, and I still aspire to become the best researcher I can be. Since then, I now better understand the ins and outs of research, how it is conducted, funded, and what kinds of relationships you can build in a friendly workplace, such as our department. From here, I hope to continue to build on some of the fantastic collaborations and friendships I have developed with colleagues, and hope to continue learning!