Tweeting a Day in a Life of a CRI Scientist

A “normal” day looks a little different to everyone now, including CRI scientists. To shed some light on life in (and out of) the laboratory, the Cancer Research Institute invited CRI Postdoctoral Fellow Timothy Fessenden, PhD, at the Koch Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to take over the CRI Twitter account on June 26, 2020. He shared updates on data sets and imaging techniques as well as photos of himself and his loved ones, and created a snapshot of one person behind the science driving cancer immunotherapy forward.

Dr. Fessenden started his day with coffee—like most of us—and checked in on his plants. 

Hi everyone! CRI fellow @timisstuck here, in the driver's seat for a #twittertakeover. I'll show you my day at home and in lab @kochinstitute @MITBiology #CIM20

Here's me after ~some~ but not yet enough coffee. I'm looking after my children AKA several plants on our deck. pic.twitter.com/sRWng034jD

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

As part of his weekly routine, he downloaded stats for COVID-19 stats for Massachusetts, which show a decline in hospitalizations in the state.

Every Friday I download and plot #Covid_19 stats for MA using R #ggplot (more on that later). I post these in our slack workspace for @stefanispranger's lab.

We are VERY fortunate to have a case curve like this in MA thanks to proactive leaders! pic.twitter.com/tqxhTuVaod

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

Due to the novel coronavirus, many CRI scientists have pivoted their research in cancer to treat and prevent COVID-19. In this case, Dr. Fessenden shifted his work to a computational project that challenged him to understand “R.”

I'm working on a project that suddenly became a computational project in March… for some reason…

In @stefanispranger lab we study dendritic cells, which function as sentinels and direct T cell responses to infection or tumors: pic.twitter.com/6RTqFcVkhy

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

He also made time for his personal physical, mental, and emotional health.

Before going to lab I had a quick zoom yoga session with my 3 amazing sisters. Afterward we said hi to my nephew Elisha

Taking this moment is SUPER important both to stay connected w family and to keep fit!! #CIM20 pic.twitter.com/nWiORrpdGC

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

Then, he rode his bicycle to the Koch Institute in Cambridge.

OK see you all in lab!! #CIM20 pic.twitter.com/R5C44HB5vc

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

Dr. Fessenden arrived in the lab and assembled his materials. The tumor cell knockout lines he prepared allow him to test whether dendritic cell sensing is sufficient to modulate anti-tumor immune responses.

So what AM I doing in lab? A good old maxi prep!

I'm making a suite of Cas9 plasmids with guides to cause a gene knockout in some tumor cell lines. I make 4-6 different guides to target the same gene.#CIM20 pic.twitter.com/dv9uqoBrwq

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

While the DNA precipitated, he caught up on other responsibilities.

While waiting for the DNA to dry, I'm reviewing outreach grants for the American Society for Cell Biology @ASCBiology where I serve on a committee for trainees.

Here's an applicant from Malaysia who organizes remote science lessons for kids. #CIM20 #scicomm pic.twitter.com/PVOfIg3aFI

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

To better understand the immune ecosystem of the tumor, Dr. Fessenden uses imaging tools to advance his research. With the help of software and an undergraduate at MIT, he picked out the dendritic cells from the rest of the tumor. 

Up next is a skype meeting with an undergrad working w me on image analysis!

Here is a sample: intravital imaging of dendritic cells (cyan) inside a melanoma tumor (magenta). We are using @CellProfiler to quantify shape/movements of dendritic cells, shown at the right. #CIM20 pic.twitter.com/aBghk2z37i

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

After a short time in the lab, he rode his bike home to enjoy some summer weather with his boyfriend on the porch.

Back home in time for some deck reading with my boyfriend Jake

Normally I have therapy right now but since that was rescheduled I'm reading one of my late father's favorite books, Snow Crash. #CIM20 pic.twitter.com/e7lKIkRDvF

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

Finally, he bid the CRI community goodbye.

Time to make dinner! I'll close w another pic of my boyfriend on a bike ride last week here in Boston (I promise that's him).

This has been a day in the life of me, @timisstuck, your average CRI fellow. Thanks for following along! pic.twitter.com/DcUknhzsAS

— Cancer Research Institute (@CancerResearch) June 26, 2020

Missed out on this moment? You can find all Dr. Fessenden’s tweets on the Cancer Resarch Institute Twitter account. Explore more Cancer Immunotherapy Month activities on our website this June.