Q&A with Dr. Julia Bleier: Balancing Curiosity and Patience in the Pursuit of New Treatments

Provide a summary of your PhRMA Foundation-funded research.

A big challenge in drug development is that drugs often have unwanted effects on proteins that share similar structures with the target protein. This is especially pertinent for closely related proteins such as the metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), which all respond to the same signaling molecule in the brain, glutamate. I am interested in targeting mGluR5, whose dysfunction is linked to several neuropsychiatric disorders, without affecting the seven other mGluRs. My fellowship project aims to develop novel drugs that can regulate mGluR5 activity by binding to alternative or “allosteric” sites. Our approach uses small antibody fragments, called nanobodies, that can bind to specific regions of proteins. Studying these nanobodies allows us to better understand potential binding sites on mGluR5 and how they affect its function. This could help guide the design of new therapies for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Why did you become a researcher?

I can’t count the number of times I was told in school or college that my questions were beyond the scope of the course. I got into research because the only way to answer these questions was to investigate them myself — whether that was by reading papers or designing my own experiments. The first topic that really captivated me was understanding how humans learn and remember, first through a psychological and then a molecular neurobiological lens. I eventually found that what was really satisfying to me was understanding the underlying molecular signaling networks and the structural dynamics of the individual proteins that form part of these networks. I am still following my curiosity, but I like this niche because it is also very therapeutically relevant.

Tell us about a turning point from your career journey so far.

In the middle of my PhD, I made a pretty big shift in my research focus, which required learning a lot of new techniques, including molecular biology. I was eager to start generating modified DNA constructs, or custom-designed pieces of DNA that would help me study a new protein. One step in the process involves growing bacteria with the DNA construct on an agar plate in the lab. Usually, people allow the bacteria to grow overnight and continue with the next steps the following day. However, a lot of protocols officially list a shorter growth time, so for the first week, I would come to lab exactly after the minimum time was up, whether it was midnight or six in the morning. My efforts were not rewarded as none of my plates had grown. After consulting with other lab members and waiting longer, they grew just fine. I can’t say that I have stopped being eager when learning new things, but I have learned from this and other experiences that results take time and that patience and mastery of techniques are often more important than just working hard.

What is a common misconception people have about science?

Many people think that science isn’t creative or that creativity is even antithetical to the rigor required of the scientific method. This probably comes from the way that science is often taught as a series of understood truths or historical discoveries. But when doing science that hasn’t been done before, there is no blueprint and the whole process — from choosing a good question to interpreting data to communicating the findings — requires a huge amount of creativity.

What do you love most about research?

A lot of my motivation for research is related to the potential real-world impact of my work, though sometimes that can feel distant during the day-to-day. One thing that I love about research is the feeling of possibility that comes with having a question that nobody knows the answer to and the excitement of thinking about the best strategy to figure it out. I also like that the work is never the same from day to day. I enjoy that my research involves working with my hands but also challenges me to use my brain and be creative.

What do you like to do outside of research?

In my life outside of the lab, I love learning, seeing, and experiencing new things. Though I grew up in upstate New York, I hadn’t spent much time in NYC, or really any big city, before moving here to work at Weill Cornell. I have been enjoying exploring the five boroughs of NYC — on foot, on two wheels, through my camera lens, and with my taste buds! I also like to be active in my community in a figurative sense through organizing and political campaign work.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

You don’t have to (and you can’t) solve everything all at once. New researchers often want to tackle big problems and solve them all at once. Over the years, I’ve learned that this can easily set you up for an unsatisfying answer. Only when a question is clearly defined can you get a precise and fulfilling answer. This absolutely doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be ambitious or work on hard problems, but rather that you should be judicious in your approach. Also, you don’t have to do it alone! Working with other people is more enjoyable and more efficient.

What are your career goals?

My career goals don’t necessarily center around a particular job title, especially in this rapidly changing world where it’s hard to predict the environment that will best enable me to achieve them. I want to continue to work on interesting and impactful problems where I can be creative and work collaboratively with others. I also want to always keep learning and sharing what I have learned both with peers and through mentoring or teaching.