I’m a PhD candidate at Weill Cornell doing my dissertation research in Tobias Hohl’s lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. My PhD work has focused on the role of GM-CSF in defense against the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received is that it’s hard to do good science if you’re unhappy outside the lab, and life still happens while you’re doing your degree, so pursuing things you love outside of science is really important! Thus, and as I classical music lover, I love to go to all the world-class concerts and recitals in New York.
Please tell us your name, degree, where you currently work, and position.
My name is Kathleen Mills and I’m a PhD candidate at Weill Cornell doing my dissertation research in Tobias Hohl’s lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I’m defending my dissertation in just a few weeks and will start my postdoc in September.
Where did you do your training?
Before my PhD, I did my undergrad at the University of Chicago with Anne Sperling (now at UVA) where I worked on IL-5 in the context of acute lung injury.
Briefly, what is your research about?
My PhD work has focused on the role of GM-CSF in defense against the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. I’ve found that epithelial cells produce GM-CSF during infection downstream of IL-1 and IFN-λ signaling. This epithelial-derived GM-CSF is required to license recruited neutrophils to enact their full fungal killing capacity. Excitingly, recombinant GM-CSF is an FDA approved drug (sargramostim), so my findings provide the pre-clinical basis to think about extending its application to new patient populations or use cases.
Tell us your thoughts about ICIS: how has being involved in the Cytokine Society helped your career?
I joined ICIS in 2021 to participate in that year’s Cytokines meeting. Unfortunately, it was on zoom due to safety concerns around COVID-19, but the science presented was still fascinating!
Are there any particular friendships or collaborations that came specifically out of Cytokines meeting?
In that 2021 meeting, I talked with a student in Christoph Schneider’s group, Julia Gschwend, who gave me really valuable insights into a mouse model we wanted to use. She had deleted GM-CSF in SPC+ epithelial cells using a tamoxifen-inducible Cre-lox strategy to study how GM-CSF affects alveolar macrophage seeding and turnover during homeostasis (look up her fantastic JEM paper!). I went on to use a similar mouse model to show that epithelial-derived GM-CSF is important for host defense against pulmonary mold pathogens. This was such a great result of attending that meeting!
What Cytokines meeting(s) have been your favorites? Tell us about any special memories or anecdotes.
See above.
What do you like to do when not in the lab?
I love classical music, and I considered a career as a pianist before I turned to science, so I love to go to all the world-class concerts and recitals in New York. It’s such a huge benefit of living here. Also, NYC is within striking distance of some amazing hiking, so if the weather cooperates, getting outside and onto the trails is such a big boost for me! My grandparents actually met in a hiking group in New York on some of these same trails, so it’s a way to feel close to them as well. Several spots have great views of the NYC skyline, but I find it nicer to be in the woods and forget about city life for a few hours!
What is the best life/career advice you’ve ever received?
It’s hard to do good science if you’re unhappy outside the lab, and life still happens while you’re doing your degree, so pursuing things you love outside of science is really important! Fortunately, just about every mentor I’ve had really believes this, and this sets the tone for trainees as whole human beings with rich lives both in and out of our scientific careers.
What book or TV show are you reading/watching right now that you recommend?
Recently I read a novel called Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton. It’s about a “guerilla gardening collective” that plants gardens in unused spaces in New Zealand, but they run into trouble when they meet a shady billionaire who wants to do a deal with them. It’s satirical and a real romp and I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I was so gripped!
What is your favorite cytokine?
It’s hard to pick favorites of course, but since my PhD started, I must have done about 100 GM-CSF ELISAs, so we’ll say GM-CSF (for now…)!
Follow Kathleen on Twitter/X: @kmills711