Dr. Jean Bowman travelled up to Boston to join scientist, physicians and health officials from all over the world.  The goal was to discuss development of a vaccine for HIV-1. The meeting hall buzzed with scientific discussion as everyone gathered. The scientist and physicians were joined by a number of Health Minister to discuss public…

It is important to find your place in science. A place where you can excel. Jean stared out the window of her office thinking about the demands of science. Some scientists were amazing with the literature, the theories and the intricacies of molecular interactions and cellular pathways. Others were great at the bench.  Anything they…

Despite her decade-long experience as a principal investigator, Jean was repeatedly surprised at the amount of effort that was required to manage her group. Of course, coordination of experiments, data analysis, and grant writing were all expected.  But, dealing with personnel, their diverse personalities and inevitable clashes were not something that she expected when she envisioned leading…

To survive in science you need perserverance. The purple martins of Nashville can provide an example in survivorship. Jean travelled to Vanderbilt, a beautiful campus in the vibrant city of Nashville.  She attended a series of meetings on vaccine development with fellow collaborators.  Following the meetings, on Saturday evening after a meal of Nashville hot…

As Jean was attending a prestigious conference on infectious diseases in Barcelona she met up with some of her scientist friends for lunch.  After a morning of lectures, they decided to sit at an outdoor café.  It was a beautiful sunny day and La Rambla was crowded with people shopping and dining.  It was a…

Once Jean and Omu had finalized their experimental design, Jean flew back to the US. Back in the UPenn lab Jean called a meeting to brief her team. The researchers were happy about starting a new project and working with scientists in Kenya. But they were exhausted. They had proved over the course of the last…

The next day Jean and Omu continued working on their vaccine design and experimental plan. They combed through details and picked the best reagents, created a budget and formed a timeline. The vaccine was a DNA vaccine that encoded surface proteins for measles. DNA vaccines were a new technology that was still under investigation. The…

Dr. Jean Bowman was now a new professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD at Rutgers University in biochemical engineering. She graduated from the state school with dreams of saving lives. Now she was at a big Ivy League university and working among world renowned scientists. After 3 years as a postdoctoral…

Jean was on the verge of completing her Ph.D. in biochemical engineering.  As her research included studying bacterial growth and innovative methods for enhancing the efficiency of bacterial growth, a critical component was a peristaltic pump.  Jean was spending countless hours in the laboratory, determined to make a significant breakthrough. But, then one afternoon in…

Jean Bowman, eventually became a Ph.D. candidate.  She found herself deeply immersed in her research on bacterial growth patterns.  Her experiment aimed to unravel the mysteries of a particular strain’s behavior under unique environmental conditions. The nature of her study demanded precise and frequent data collection, and Jean was determined to leave no stone unturned.…