My name is Victoria Rafalski I'm a postdoctoral researcher at the Gladstone Institutes in
San Francisco, CA.
We're interested in understanding how the immune system communicates with the brain.
Our work has relevance for Alzheimers disease, Multiple sclerosis, brain trauma.
So when your head gets hit, you know, in football or something.
And then stroke, when there's clots in the brain.
So it's really relevant actually for a lot of neurodegenerative conditions in the brain.
Throughout life, early life and also aging.
I do a lot of microscopy and data analysis.
It's a mixture, I'm at the bench and then I'm also by the microscope, at the computer.
Do a lot of walking around the lab so it's a kind of physical work which is great.
It's a mix of both sitting down at the computer but then getting up and, so, it's an active
kind of job.
Yea, I've always been interested in nature, the natural world.
I love plants and animals and exploring the outdoors, I decided to major in Biology when
I went to college.
Both my parents have PhDs in chemistry and they continue doing chemistry and then also
some biology so I do have some scientific background.
There tends to be a lot of collaborations, but yea, there's definitely times when you
are working on your own.
That said, you're always kind of surrounded by other people.
So it's kind of nice to know someone else is there and working hard.
And you always have someone you can go and talk to and ask questions and ask for help.
Well, I really have a lot of curiosity about why things are the way they are and I really
like that my job enables me to work with my hands and kind of play around all day.
It's really fun.
There's also a lot of independence.
I get to choose what I want to explore and what I find interesting.
And then it's everyday is different.
There's no monotony; I'm never bored at work.
So there's just always something to investigate, problems to deal with.
I think there's the excitement for potential contribution to society and human health because
our work can relate to human disease and animal disease.
And specifically what we're interested in is the brain and cognitive function and how
we can help people to live fulfilling lives in a way that their brain is working properly
thorough their life.
Sciences can be hard but for the most part anything is really achievable so if you set
aside your fears and just go for it, I think you'll be rewarded.