From laboratory bench to the shore of the bay: how local science protects our future
Dear neighbors,
As a biology teacher and co -director of the climatic HQ at the State University of San Francisco, I spend my days studying two apparently different worlds: the complex molecular signals that guide how organisms develop and the microscopic communities that could help save our coasts. What connects these areas of research is their power to meet the challenges that strike near their homes – literally.
My work in cell signaling focuses on understanding what is wrong when development fails, contributing to our knowledge of congenital malformations and cancer mechanisms. Each breakthrough in this area potentially means more effective treatments for conditions and diseases that affect almost all households in the bay. Meanwhile, my research on microbes helps to restore the populations of Olympia Oyster and develop natural defenses against soil erosion threatening our low communities as sea level increases.
The two research programs share a crucial mission: to train the next generation of various scientists who will take up the challenges of tomorrow. The students of my laboratory today – many under -represented communities – are researchers of tomorrow, environmental leaders and most likely your next doctor or dentist.
This work is important because science is not abstract – it is deeply local. When we understand how cellular communication breaks down in cancer, we are working on treatments for UCSF and Stanford patients. When we exploit beneficial microbes to prevent coastal erosion, we protect Hunter’s Point, Bayview, Alameda, Foster City and countless districts of the bay region built on recovered land. When we remain the populations of native oysters, we filter our waters of the bay and support the communities of fishermen who have supported this region for generations.
The Bay region shaped me as a scientist thanks to its culture of innovation and its recognition that environmental health and human health are inseparable. This community taught me that good science serves people, especially the most vulnerable to environmental and health disparities.
When people ask me who I work for, I tell them the truth: I work for you. As a professor in a public university, my salary comes from taxpayers and my research is funded by agencies – such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and California Coastal Conservancy – this response to you. This means each discovery of my laboratory, each student I form, each article I publish is an investment you have made in our collective future.
Now I ask you to invest in this tradition. Take the Citizens for Science Pledge to Tiny.cc/Sciencept to support decision -making decision -making in our communities. Contact your representatives about the financing of scientific research – it is not only an abstract good, but a direct investment in the resilience of the Bay region. And consider how your own expertise, whatever the field in which you are, could help resolve the challenges we face together.
Science works better when it is a community effort. The discoveries that occur in our local laboratories will today determine whether future generations inherit Baylands, effective cancer treatments and the diversified scientific workforce we need to continue to innovate. It is worth being supported.
Laura (Kai) Burrus, Phd
Professor, Department of Biology
San Francisco State University