For this Faculty Feature, we spoke with Sarah Ackerman PhD, Assistant Professor, Pathology & Immunology in Neuropathology.
Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up, and when did you first become interested in science and medicine?
I grew up in Manahawkin, a small coastal town in Ocean County, New Jersey. I was fortunate to grow up in the nineties to parents who gave my sister and I a lot of liberty to roam the streets and explore the environment around us. From collecting salamanders hiding under storm drains, capturing box turtles and keeping them in our Fisher Price turtle sandbox, or harvesting sea life from the bay in handmade seining nets, my eyes were trained at an early age to search for and categorize living things around me. These early life experiences shaped my desire to pursue a B.S. in Biology.
What is your career path?
I received my B.S. in Biology, with a second major in Spanish, from The College of New Jersey— a small liberal arts college that completely changed the course of my life. When I started my undergraduate degree, my goal was to become a medical doctor because up until that point, I had no idea that research was even something that could be pursued as a career. During my first weeks of undergrad, I attended a seminar on “How to get involved in Biology research,” and I attended thinking that maybe this would be something I could do to improve my chances of getting into medical school. I joined my undergraduate advisor’s lab, where I learned the power of using simple model organisms (C. elegans at the time) to understand fundamental principles of biology, from mitosis to protein turnover. Within a year, I knew that a PhD program was the path forward for me. Dr. Sudhir Nayak had been a postdoc here at WashU in Dr. Tim Schedl’s lab and spoke very highly of the research environment. Although I had never traveled East of Pennsylvania, I decided to apply to WashU- and the rest is history. I was a graduate student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program here at WashU from 2011-2016, after which I conducted a postdoc in Dr. Chris Doe’s HHMI lab at the University of Oregon, and then returned to WashU as faculty in 2022.
What are your favorite parts of your current role?
My favorite part of my job is working with trainees at all levels to master new skills at the bench and communicate their findings to the broader research community. My lab explores how glia regulate brain development in zebrafish and Drosophila models. When we put these animals under a microscope and trainees get to see, for the first time, their tiny hearts beating or visualize brain activity in real-time, that first “WOW” moment is a joy to observe.
What is a memorable moment you’ve had while working in the department?
My lab opened just over 2 years ago within the BIG Center, so the bulk of my time has been training new scientists and spinning off new scientific directions from my postdoctoral work. In the Spring of 2024, my very first graduate student and I traveled to a scientific conference where she presented work that was collected entirely in my independent research lab. That was a really special moment for both of us.
What special skills or talents do you have that people may not know about?
These are both rather generic, but skills that I am proud of. I am an avid baker— cakes and scones are my specialty. I have baked cakes for multiple weddings, including my own, and I baked all of the celebration cakes for my postdoctoral lab. In addition, I am a skilled gardener— something that I picked up while living in Oregon, where almost any plant can grow unattended. I just planted several hundred seed starts this past weekend for the upcoming summer season!
What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities?
Besides gardening, my other major hobby is singing. I’ve sung in choirs of all shapes and sizes throughout my life, and enjoy the various opportunities to listen to choral music throughout STL.
What is your advice to aspiring people in your field?
My best advice to aspiring research scientists is to seek out many mentors at each stage of your career, and take the time and energy to maintain those relationships long-term. One mentor (e.g. your PI) is not enough. One of the most powerful things about academic research is how researchers are connected across time and space by lineage and by shared research interests. Find your people, learn from them, and then pass it forward.
