A Lab Less Ordinary: Dr. Irene Bertolini’s Winding Path to Brain Cancer Research

Dr. Irene Bertolini loves a challenge. Her path as a researcher hasn’t been easy, but today she is right where she wants to be: in a lab, studying extracellular vesicles, small particles that could play a big role in cancer growth.

Can you tell me a little bit about your path to science? Was this something you always wanted to do?

I’ve always wanted to be a scientist, ever since I was a kid. When someone would ask, ‘what do you want to do when you grow up?’ my answer was always the same: I’m going to be a scientist. I’m going to find the cure for cancer. I have always wanted to be a researcher in the medical field and work on brain tumors, much like I do today working with glioblastomas.

Was there someone that really inspired you to pursue science?

Science came very naturally to me at a young age, and I also had very good teachers so there wasn’t much of a question as to pursuing science.

Can you tell me a bit about your higher education? I understand that getting your Ph.D. was a difficult process for you.

After getting my master’s degree, I started my Ph.D. right away. My experience as a young female student, was that the environment was very difficult, and I often felt diminished, disrespected, and uncomfortable. It got to the point that I decided to quit pursuing my Ph.D. but I was reluctant to tell people why I quit. I was hard on myself, because I was so focused on pursuing my education and becoming a researcher.

Stopping my Ph.D. work slowed down that progress. But I was only 24 years old, and I got lucky and found another lab that was willing to hire me. I think they appreciated that I advocated for myself, and I was willing to start again from scratch. They were studying neuroscience and neuro disorders.

I worked there for about eight months, but the field was very different from what I wanted, which was to work in the cancer field. They offered me a chance to get my Ph.D. It was between me and another woman in the lab, but I knew I didn’t want to stay. It wasn’t what I wanted to study, so I was very honest with them and told them to give the position to the other person.

But I was persistent, I worked in a call center for four or five months while looking for my next opportunity. Eventually, I got into another Ph.D. program in a lab that was working on glioblastoma.

Was there anyone during this time that you considered to be a mentor or helped support you?

When I first began my (first) Ph.D. there was another postdoc that worked in the lab for a short period of time. She helped me navigate a difficult time in the lab and gave me the tools to drop off the Ph.D. program. She was a good mentor for many reasons, and as a woman that had been through a similar experience she was able to relate. She later helped navigate my path toward finding another job and getting my Ph.D. When then I started my ‘real’ Ph.D., the head of an imaging facility took me under her wing. She was another big inspiration and support; even though she wasn’t my PI she was always willing to help and teach me. She’s the reason why I love imaging so much and it is one of my strongest skills,.

Do you think that experience helped you as a leader now? Did it teach you how to handle different dynamics and create a culture where everybody can succeed?

It helped me in a lot of different ways. I had to take care of myself and make decisions by myself quite early in my career. So, when I started the role as a Caspar Wistar Fellow and I had to launch the lab and train everyone, that helped me. Because the start of my Ph.D. experience was not ideal, I really, really value creating the right environment for my staff.

Our job as researchers is unique because we love it so much. It’s easy to take advantage of the fact that someone loves this job and is willing to do anything to pursue it, like working over the weekend. But that shouldn’t be the requirement. There are times when you might need to put in some extra time, or you just feel compelled to work over the weekend, but only if it is an absolute necessity. So, my experiences help me set those values and establish a work-life balance that hopefully can help people from getting burned out.

What sort of advice would you give to somebody who’s new in their career and might be struggling?

When you’re a scientist your work is your life. My advice to someone interested in pursuing this career would be to consider whether this is what they really want. You can set as many boundaries as you want, but a researcher is such a unique lifestyle that having too many boundaries may set you up for failure. You need to be flexible at times but not over-extend yourself and burn out. If you do enjoy the work and you find yourself in a bad environment or you’re really struggling, you should ask for help, if you can from outside of your PI or lab mates. It isn’t going to be easy. My second piece of advice is that it’s very normal to change labs if you aren’t happy. It’s absolutely acceptable to move labs.

Is there a certain personality type that is successful in the lab?

No, there are a variety of personalities, and a lot of it depends on how the PI sets up the lab. If you work with a young PI, you might find that they are more of a presence in the lab, so you don’t need to be a super independent person; there will be someone helping you when you work. In a senior PI’s lab, they might be less of a presence so you may not have the same level of guidance. Usually, people that are more independent do better in that kind of environment. But I’ve seen a wide variety of personalities that are successful in the lab, both independent people and those who need more guidance. Generally, there is a lot of teamwork and being able to collaborate and work with multiple people is essential .

Can you tell me a little bit about what led you to Wistar?

Wistar’s CEO, Dr. Dario Altieri, is also from Milan and he and I went to the same university. When I was looking for my next role, I received the option of working in his lab at Wistar, and another one from a university in Denver. I heard great things about Philadelphia, and Wistar, so I made the decision to come here. It’s been a great experience.

Can you help me understand your area of study, which are extracellular vesicles? What they are, why they’re important, and maybe why you chose that particular field?

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small particles. You can imagine they are like little bubbles that are released by all cells. Every cell in our body produces this little vesicle. And the fascinating thing about them is that they can move anywhere in the body – they can cross any barrier, very much like hormones produced by organs. They’re even more interesting in the context of diseases, because in the last few decades we have realized that diseases are not compartmentalized to only one organ. For instance, we used to think of breast cancer as a disease of the breast, right? Well, now we know that it is a multi-organ disease.

The extracellular vesicles are a key component of this, because they are released by the tumor, and they can spread throughout the body, and perhaps travel to the liver, and send a message that the liver should prepare the right environment for tumor cells to arrive. Or they can go to the immune system like the lymph nodes and tell them to produce immune cells that are going to support tumor growth. Understanding how they work will help us better understand how cells that are so far away and so different can communicate so efficiently in the body.

The reason I decided to work in this area is because it was a new field of study when I started in 2016. The first time EVs had been described as a biological function was in 1996, so the field was filled with so many opportunities and it was really challenging. I really, really like things that are challenging and finding ways to solve the problem.

Outside of your work in the lab, what do you enjoy doing?  

In general. I’m a very physically active person. I’ll either run or go to the gym every morning and even add on yoga in the evening when I have the time. I have a Toy Poodle named Minú, and she helps keep me balanced, because I need to go home to walk her. I spend a lot of time going on long walks with my dog. I’m also a big hiker, too, and I love traveling. Usually my trips take me to places where I can hike. I have already been to many of the U.S. National Parks and plan to keep seeing more.