Barbara Conradt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Genetics

Conradt studies apoptosis, or programmed cell death. She is particularly interested in how apoptosis is regulated and how mitochondria contribute to the process. She uses the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system in her research.

How did you decide to become a scientist?
I grew up in the countryside and have always been curious about nature, especially animals. After high school, I worked on farms in the UK and Germany for a year, and I actually started to study agriculture. After a couple of years at college, I discovered the basic biological sciences and decided to switch over to molecular and cellular biology. But I had many other interests as well, such as art and sports.

What are the greatest frustration and the greatest joy in your work?
In science, those often go hand in hand. What can give me a lot of frustration is when we get data that just don't make sense according to our expectations. Through discussions and additional experiments, puzzling data suddenly can make sense. And quite often, they actually reveal new, undiscovered aspects of the processes we are studying. That can give me great joy.

Would you change anything about your career?
My career path could have been straighter, but I don't think I would want to miss the detours because, after all, they have made me into the person and scientist I am now.

Would you change anything about your career?
My career path could have been straighter, but I don't think I would want to miss the detours because, after all, they have made me into the person and scientist I am now.

If you weren't a scientist, what would want to be?
Now that I know what it means to be a scientist, I don't think there's anything I'd rather be. However, if for whatever reason I can no longer be a scientist, I'll open a cafe with a gallery or bookstore.

What advice would you offer to someone new in your field?
Bring with you a lot of motivation, energy, time, and patience and don't stop having fun.

Who were your scientific mentors?
I was very lucky and had wonderful

mentors in college and graduate school and while I was a postdoc. But I also want to add my parents to the list because they taught me very early on how to see and observe.

What's your favorite nonwork activity?
Going for walks and playing the cello. I play classical music: Bach, Breval, and Romberg. And because I am still learning, I have mainly been playing solos or duets with my teacher. Eventually it would be fun to play with a group.

What about you would surprise most people?
I am a certified ski instructor, I started to surf a couple of years ago, and I am expecting my first child in March.

If you invented a time machine, where would you go?
I wouldn't really want to go back in time because women have probably never enjoyed as much freedom and independence as they do nowadays. But I would want to go forward in time, maybe 30 or 40 years. I would want to see what life will look like and how the work of biomedical scientists will have changed the world.

What do you eat for breakfast?
I have been eating oatmeal with fresh fruit for years, and I still enjoy it every morning!

What three people would you like to have over for dinner?
The scientist Barbara McClintock, the painter Georgia O'Keeffe, and the writer Christa Wolf.

Who are your heroes in real life?
My heroes are my brother, who is a two-time cancer survivor, and my mother.