The same property is there for fish too. They know exactly where they're swimming in a three dimensional space, and that helps them navigate.”
When explaining his work with cone snail venom, Shrinivasan “Cheenu” Raghuraman uses this simple example to explain the concept of proprioception, an aspect of the fish’s neurology that the snail’s venom targets. It’s a term most wouldn’t recognize upon hearing it, but with such a relatable comparison the path to understanding is made clear.
Finding such comparisons is a vital science communication skill in both teaching students and presenting findings, but it wasn’t science that taught this example to Raghuraman. It was dancing. As part of the ensemble of Nitya Nritya Foundation, which promotes (and performs) classical Indian dance and music, he needs to understand how one’s limbs are positioned. This in turn inspired the comparison to his scientific work.
Ironic as it may seem, it’s these aspects outside of the scientific fields that bring better clarity of the concepts within them. And Raghuraman has taken these paths of understanding to heart within his Science Research Initiative (SRI) streams. Students are given projects tailored to their goals to better streamline their learning process. Interested in discovering new drugs? A project is set up specifically focused on peptides (chains of amino acids within the snail venom) that all have therapeutic potential and what the drug testing process is like. Drawn to the bioelectricity of the brain itself? Or the policies and science writing around the health sciences? In each case a project is set up using snail venom as the subject model in a way that encourages those interests.
Such practices benefit both students and teacher, for as the young scientists receive teaching streamlined towards their interests, Raghuraman in turn learns a new way to approach and understand his field of study. He’s quick to explain this importance, that, “It’s becoming crucial that our science communication is stronger than it’s been before. We need to realize that if something makes sense to us, it’s possible for it to make sense to everyone!”
He takes special care to instill this value in students, taking them on field trips to elementary and middle schools to do small experiments and show them how to simplify (NOT dumb down, he clarifies!) their work for different audiences.
These values of adaptation and communication are largely inspired by Raghuraman’s own journey through education. Having completed his undergrad in South India at Sastra Deemed University, an opportunity was presented to work alongside Toto Olivera here at the U. In doing so, was catapulted to the other side of the globe, across cultures and into a climate that gleefully greeted him with a terrible snowstorm just to rub things in.
But adaptation begets adaptation! Entering the Olivera lab, Raghuraman’s interest in industrial biotechnology spun off towards marine biology, evolving into a focus on neuroscience and its relationship to snail venom. Exploring a single peptide within one snail's venom set a template that could be adapted not only to Raghuraman’s interest but to those of all other fellow researchers. It was a powerful template that formed the dynamic learning environment found in the celebrated lab today.
It’s been several years since that Utah snowstorm “welcomed” Raghuraman who is commemorating his 15th year at the U. He mentors over a dozen students while continuing his own research pursuits. He hopes his work will lead to a better understanding of how to medicinally work with the brain, that by following how snail venom targets specific areas of the mind, we can create drugs that do the same in a positive manner. It’s a chaotic path that changes constantly, but at this stage in his career, Cheenu Raghuraman is well versed to its rhythm, happily teaching students to move and sway accordingly to this ever moving dance of discovery.