Lessons & wisdom from José Dinneny’s Plant Biology Story
The first episode in the new “My Plant Biology Series” has been posted online. Dr. José Dinneny from Stanford University shared his unique journey that brought him to plant biology, starting with grandparents in Acapulco, Mexico that came to the U.S., to his parents that dropped out to sail the seas- to his birth in Florida, move to California, undergrad at UC Berkeley, graduate school at UC San Diego… and much more… to Singapore and back to the US.
Throughout his presentation, a common thread was that his choices were always made by considering the impacts on his family. Each of his career moves was informed by what made sense for his family- the only right choice [he] made was doing it to support his family and everything else coincided with that.
Below are some of his big takeaways and important lessons he learned from mentors (of all kinds) that has shaped his career so far.
Takeaways:
Your life is not about you. It's important to dedicate your life to understanding how you can be a force for change to help others.
You are here because of the love of many people.
You are in science because it helps you to understand the origins of beauty in the world. Rather than constantly question whether you belong here consider this experience a gift and work to pay it forward using the gifts you've been given to help other people.
[my success in academia would not be possible] without my life at home which influences my values, how I treat other people, and helps me stay grounded and understand what is really important.
Lessons from Mentors:
LEARN THROUGH OBSERVATION- Donald Kaplan
REWARD HARD WORK WITH OPPORTUNITY- Robert Fischer
TAKE YOUNG PEOPLE SERIOUSLY- Ramin Yadegari
CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO TRY NEW THINGS- Detlef Weigel
WORK-LIFE BALANCE: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY AND SUCCESSFUL LAB- Marty Yanofsky:
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE- Jennifer Nemhauser
INNOVATE- DON'T BE AFRAID TO PLAY WITH TECHNOLOGY- Philip Benfey/"a smooth operator"
GOING ABROAD HELPS YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR HOME COUNTRY; $ IS NOT ENOUGH; RESEARCH CULTURE & MOTIVATION MAKE A LAB SUCCESSFUL- from his 1st independent position
SUBMIT THE GRANT APPLICATION THAT WILL GET FUNDED- NOT NECESSARILY THE PROJECT YOU MOST WANT TO WORK ON- FOCUS ON THE GRANT THAT DOES THE 1-2 THINGS WELL- Wolf Frommer
Wisdom he’s gained:
You don't do plant biology unless you're really interested in plants. It's not the fame, it's not the money, it's a sincere love of the organism.
All of us plant biologists have a beautiful, common aspect of our personalities that we're in it because of the beauty of the organism.
Science is sometimes a struggle: on an exam a 90% is an A but on a protocol that's a fail. It doesn't work if you only do 90% of the steps properly. It's hard to accept that sometimes things have to be basically perfect to work & that's why a lot of experiments fail.
It's wonderful how society has used plants to benefit us- feeding people, art, culture- every culture has contributed to plants that we have through domestication- it's a global community that exists with plants.
We're experiencing a culture change.. When I started, there was active discouragement of thinking in an applied way. Young people now are influenced by the dire circumstances that we're living in ['purposeful knowledge' i.e.,] learning things to have an impact is a perfect place for plant biology because there's no part of a plant that doesn't have a potential application.
[e.g.,) leaves have hairs: what use is a leaf hair? Hairs on seeds make cotton. Hairs in citrus fruit contain the juice. Hairs on cannabis contain the oils. There's so many ways hairs will influence medicine- material science- you name it…
There's so much we can learn from plants that have application…I'm hoping more students will see a career in plant biotechnology as the place they want to be. Then it's up to us.. To develop training programs to train folks that can answer basic questions and apply that in an agricultural context.
[about bad interactions] I try to come to every interaction believing that the other person is trying to bring their best. People want to feel appreciated- if they don't, or have fear- bad interactions can arise. There are bad actors- there are bullies- and it's hard! I've had hours of therapy to address some of these things. You'll find these people everywhere- not just academia- and it's so easy to get hung up on individuals- so I try to focus on all the other people around me that are beautiful and valuable- and focus on the good that exists.
Watch his 35’ presentation here
You can nominate speakers for future episodes here
