BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
2
APRIL
2014
Biophysicist in Profile
NATALI MINASSIAN
“
Before you become
saddled in dogma and what
you can’t do, just try to do
what no one may have ever
done before. Assume the
rules are just suggestions.
”
–
Natali Minassian
Natali Minassian
did not grow up with scientist parents, but they did
teach her some skills early on that continue to serve her today in her life
as a scientist. Her father received his PhD in electrical engineering from
the University of Texas, Austin. He hoped that at least one of his children
would follow in his footsteps, so he encouraged Minassian and her sisters
to take physics classes and taught them how to code programs. This was
her first introduction to physics, and it clearly made an impression.
Minassian’s mother had her Masters’ degree in architecture and worked
in the planning commission for the City of Austin before becoming a
stay-at-home mom. Minassian would watch her
mother make blueprints, and would use her mother’s
drafting desk, writing utensils, and geometric instru-
ments to make her own designs for school projects.
“This is a habit I’ve continued as a scientist. I still
make detailed blueprints of my experiments when
trying to design something new,” she says.
In high school, Minassian began to excel in cal-
culus, physics, and chemistry classes, and realized
that she thoroughly enjoyed studying these topics.
This convinced her to pursue biology at Santa Clara
University. After receiving her BS degree, she began
working at Xenoport, Inc., a biopharmaceutical
company “focused on utilizing ion channels and transporters as means
to optimize drug uptake through the GI tract or blood brain barrier,”
Minassian explains. This was her first experience working with mem-
brane proteins, which drew her into the field of biophysics. She became
interested in voltage-gated ion channels, and knew that to work in this
area, she needed to fine tune her techniques and learn how to determine
which questions to ask as a research scientist. In order to gain this skill set
and experience, Minassian decided to apply to graduate school.
She attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and
worked under the supervision of
Diane Papazian
. As a graduate student
in Papazian’s laboratory, she learned the tools necessary to become an
electrophysiology researcher and also gained experience with the bio-
physical techniques needed to answer the questions she would pose in her
hypotheses going forward. She received her PhD in Biophysics from the
Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology program at UCLA.
Minassian wanted to transition back into industry after receiving her
PhD, but the reality of this move proved more difficult than she had
anticipated. Even though she had worked in industry prior to receiv-
ing her PhD, transitioning back was “the biggest career challenge I have
faced so far,” Minassian says. To make matters worse, her job search was
taking place in the midst of the US’ recession in 2010. Though she was
BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY
Officers
President
Dorothy Beckett
President-Elect
Edward Egelman
Past-President
Francisco Bezanilla
Secretary
Lukas Tamm
Treasurer
Paul Axelsen
Council
Olga Boudker
Taekjip Ha
Samantha Harris
Kalina Hristova
Juliette Lecomte
Amy Lee
Marcia Levitus
Merritt Maduke
Daniel Minor, Jr.
Jeanne Nerbonne
Antoine van Oijen
Joseph D. Puglisi
Michael Pusch
Bonnie Wallace
David Yue
Biophysical Journal
Leslie Loew
Editor-in-Chief
Society Office
Ro Kampman
Executive Officer
Newsletter
Alisha Yocum
Monika Zakrzewska
Production
Laura Phelan
Profile
Ellen Weiss
Public Affairs
The
Biophysical Society Newsletter
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