Laurie Boyer: Stem cell circuitry for commitment

A round the time of gastrulation, the stem cells of the early embryo surrender their pluripotency to begin assuming more specialized roles as stem cells for neuronal, skin, and other tissues. Several genetic pathways cooperate to regulate maintenance of the pluripotent state and to govern commitment to distinct differentiation states. Electrifi ed by this idea, Laurie Boyer has made it her mission to map out the circuitry of these pathways and to explore the mechanics of their operation. Her work has provided important insights into how stem cells manage the transition to more restricted fates (1, 2) and what alterations occur, particularly at the level of chro-matin (3), to enable these changes (4, 5). She spoke to us from her laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, explaining these stem cell circuits and how they've run through her life. As a child, what profession did you want to pursue? I'm from a largely blue-collar town in western Massachusetts. When I was growing up, I always thought that my path would be to graduate from high school and then to fi nd a career— what sort of career, I had no idea, although I was always excited by anything in science and biology in school. I wasn't exposed to the idea of a research career in school, though. Looking back, I realize how important it is to expose school-age children, particularly girls, to the career possibilities in science and to what scientists do. As a child, I had a lot of energy. I had a lot of questions. Even by the age of 10 or 11, I was always out looking for a job to keep myself busy. I knew that I wanted to move forward, but I always felt that my energy was misplaced. I never really had a way of channeling my energy into a direction that I found fulfi lling until I discovered research. When did that happen? Things started to change during my college years. I went to a small state school, Framingham State University, and studied biology as my major. Biology seemed like a fascinating puzzle to me, and I really enjoyed the lab classes. I assumed at the time that obtaining a biology degree would allow me to fi nd an interesting job in the biotech industry, but the possibility of actually becoming a research scientist seemed daunting and perhaps not within …