Meet CADI: Joseph Brown

Joseph Brown (he/him/his) is a chemical biology postdoc in the Pentelute Lab and a member of the CADI board. He grew up in Pilot Mountain, NC and did his undergrad at NC State University. Joe graduated with his PhD from Cornell University and joined the Pentelute Lab in 2019. Joe’s research focuses on expanding beyond the twenty canonical amino acids to make potent protein and peptidomimetic therapeutics.

We sat down with Joe over Zoom this week and asked him a few questions about his choice to postdoc at MIT, his favorite parts of Cambridge, and why CADI is important to him.

Why did you want to get a graduate degree?

I wanted to get a PhD because I wanted career in research and development. Of the exposure I had as an undergrad, R&D stood out because it meant working with new ideas and new technologies.

Plus, a PhD is like a certificate that says I don’t give up easily, and I can do research.

Why did you choose biomolecular engineering? Why postdoc in the Pentelute lab, in particular?

I wanted to choose a field that would be useful for the world, use my skills, and allow me to have a financially stable life. Biomolecular engineering needs chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, all of the cool stuff.

Within biomolecular engineering, the Pentelute lab specializes in peptide chemistry. In my PhD I worked on sequence-defined polymers, and specifically oligothioetheramides, but they’re not well known, and I always had to explain them to everyone. Peptides and amides are ubiquitous, and you can do so much with them. I wanted to work with a well-known system with a well-known PI like Brad.

Why did you decide to come to MIT for your postdoc?

MIT has actually been a dream since I was a kid. Postdoc-ing here is hands-down an excellent opportunity that I am very grateful and lucky to have. Everyone’s got this attitude like, “we have to do this.” There’s an internal pressure to do really big things, which is a good thing. It’s got this edge of creativity in a really empowering environment.

What’s on your MIT bucket list? What’s your favorite item you’ve checked off so far?

A couple of things are still on my list: Run a bridge loop around the Charles river, Take a picture with Tim the Beaver (he was going to be at visit weekend, but maybe next year…), and have Dim Sum in Chinatown.

My favorite thing so far was joining an a cappella group, The Pow! Arrangers, a semi-professional group, in the Boston Area. It’s just a great community of friends, and a great outlet for me. It’s also nice to have that space from MIT and an identity separate from research. It reminds to me to be a human, and not work myself to death.

What’s been your biggest challenge since coming to MIT?

Imposter Syndrome. I often think it’s really crazy that I’ve come from a very small rural town of just <2000 people and now I am here at one of the best universities in the world.

I had this a little bit during my PhD at Cornell, but MIT is somehow even more intimidating.

When the imposter syndrome rears up, I feel it is really important to talk to your friends and family, and get some perspective to remind yourself the things you’ve done that brought you to this point. When you get down to it, being good at research is just putting in the time and getting the positive attitude.

Also, shout-out to Science Blender, the podcast I co-founded at Cornell, for a wonderful imposter syndrome episode. We had people from the dean of engineering all the way down to a graduate student talking about their imposter syndrome. It doesn’t go away on its own, , no matter what career stage you’re at.

What part of the chemistry department are you most proud of/excited about?

Compared to other departments, there are a lot of large lab groups, and things are well organized. There’s a lot of freedom for creativity (graduate students can try thing out and have some space to explore) It’s a fragile part of research that isn’t always encouraged, but it’s here at MIT in a lot of labs.

How did you find out about CADI?  Why did you join CADI?

I learned about CADI largely from other Pentelute lab members. I joined because both diversity and inclusion are important. Aside from it being the right thing to do, diversity of perspectives and people are critical for problem solving, and we need every advantage with the challenging problems we face! And inclusion is similar; all of us can think of a time we felt excluded unfairly. It is easy for people to be excluded without any conversation, given the status quo. So, we need to actively consider and bring awareness to inclusivity, in order to bring out the best in our society and in science. Exclusion isn’t helpful when we’re trying to solve these grand challenges.

Why is CADI important to you? How has it impacted your life?

CADI is important to me because it is such a genuine community of people that are serious about supporting each other and improving the department.

As a postdoc, you don’t really fit in any one place in a university. CADI was one of the organizations that made me feel really welcome. I just really appreciated the community and the directness from the board. I was there to help, and everyone on the board just put me straight to work. It really made me feel welcome.

What are you doing to stay sane in quarantine?

For a while I was writing a fellowship, but that’s thankfully finished. Now I’m working on digital consolidation. I have so many hard drives, flash drives, and files I have saved that I said I would look at eventually, and I finally have the time. I haven’t gotten there yet, but honestly the video games will also start soon.

How are you keeping in touch with family and friends?

Video and phone calls are so important and wonderful. I have seven nephews and nieces and I am just trying to keep track of what they are doing! I’ve got to keep up my Uncle of the Year streak.

Have questions/want more CADI?

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Please email the CADI board with any questions!