GETTING TO KNOW DR. GOULD
Q: What are the newest observations/happenings at The Gould Lab at the University of California in San Francisco?
A: The major work in our lab follows one two related themes:
The first major theme is to understand the basic biology of COL4A1 and COL4A2. Although these proteins are present throughout the animal kingdom and in every organ of the body, their functions are largely unknown. We are conducting basic discover science to figure out what they do and how they do it. Learning these fundamental principles will help us to understand how these normal functions are altered when one of the genes is affected by a pathogenic variant. This work spans the whole ‘lifecycle’ of collagen from understanding its biosynthesis, to identifying binding partners, and measuring its degradation/turnover. We hope that this work will inspire mechanism-based interventions = which is to say, therapies that are designed to specific pathways affected in Gould syndrome
The second major theme is to make gene editing and gene therapies a reality for individuals with Gould syndrome. This work relies less on understanding collagen’s functions but faces logistical challenges including when and how to delivery gene therapies, and what types of gene therapies make good candidates. This work requires team approaches with collaborators with expertise in gene therapy delivery and CRISPR engineers.
Q: How is technology impacting your work at The Gould Lab and is there anything new helping with discoveries?
A: To stay on the cutting edge, you must continue to adapt and evolve. Each new discovery offers a new opportunity to address questions that may not have been previously answerable. Staying on top of new technologies, enables us to go further, faster. These can be advances in computing and AI, microscopy, or biology (for example CRISPR-related gene editing).
Q: What would you like people to know about The Gould Lab that maybe they are not familiar with?
A: The open secret is that I get a lot of credit for other people’s work. While I write grants and answer emails, a very talented team of dedicated and brilliant scientists are actually doing the work. Although I miss the thrill of being the first person to know something, I get the pleasure of meeting with the team each week and learning of their discoveries. Relative to other labs, our team has a high proportion of senior members. This is incredibly valuable as they all have deep knowledge and understanding of the biology, disease, and techniques. Everyone works at a very high level with amazing efficiency. I am grateful for and indebted to our team.
Q: Tell us about how you became interested in science and the desire to understand, prevent and/or treat disease.
A: I have always had an interest in science and when I entered University, I thought I might become a science teacher back in my hometown. I remember my first Genetics course and was hooked but did not know how to pursue this newfound interest. I volunteered in a research lab that studied Drosophila and clearly remember the first time I purified DNA – it seemed like magic. When I learned that the University of Alberta was starting a new Department of Medical Genetics, it a moment of clarity that my interest in science was driven by a desire to understand and treat human disease. My graduate research was focused on ocular development and glaucoma. This work took me to The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine where I began working on collagens.
Photo c/o UCSF Ophtamology
Q: Tell us about what it was like when you discovered the COL4A1/A2 gene mutations.
A: There are a few ‘first moments’ that stick out. I remember the day that I looked at an agarose gel and realized I had found a Col4a1 mutation. I was disappointed! I knew nothing about collagens except that they were pretty big which didn’t excite me (~100 exons for Col4a1 and Col4a2). Before I fell in love with these fascinating multifunctional proteins, I presumed incorrectly they were inert scaffolds – what could be more boring?
As I studied the literature, most publications talked about COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 because of their roles in Alport syndrome and it was confusing because there was very little known about COL4A1 and COL4A2 which did not make things any easier. I also remember a moment in 2004 that I found a paper describing a family with inherited porencephaly that was linked to Chromosome 13. At that moment, I knew that we had a human disease gene which was very exciting.
Q: When you are not at work, how do you like to spend your time?
A: What does ‘not at work’ mean? 😊 I am a big fan of sports, music, and motorcycles. As a good Canadian, I have a pathological love for hockey (Go Oilers!). I am also a big baseball fan (Go Tigers!) and enjoy music concerts and festivals. I play hockey, and when I have a few free hours (or days) I love riding motorcycles all over California and have even gone as far as Fairbanks, AK. I enjoy spending time with my partner, Eliana, in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe area and visiting friends and family back in Alberta and New York. I also play music with friends and try to unwind at the end of the day by playing guitar.
Q: What is something you are loving at the moment? Could be a podcast, a product, a book, any new thing!
A: I don’t listen to many podcasts and sadly don’t find a lot of free time to read for pleasure. Two books that I enjoyed recently were The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California by Mark Arax and American Nations by Colin Woodard. Most of my free time recently was spent stressing and obsessing about the Edmonton Oilers falling one game short of a Stanley Cup Championship.
Q: What is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about you?
A: Tough one! 😊 I guess it is that I am a bit like Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde. People in my personal life may be surprised by the person I am at work and people in my professional life may be surprised by the person I am when I am off the clock.
Q: If you were not in your current position, what would you be doing?
A: I would be doing less well. I grew up on farm in a small town and knew nothing about these kinds of career opportunities. I didn’t have a dream or long-term vision of what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be. I feel incredibly fortunate to have landed here and to be able to do what I do. If replayed 1000 times, I don’t think it would work out this well again.
To learn even more about Doug Gould, view our Gould Talks Video Series or view his work in the scientific community here.
