February Fellow's Spotlight on Dr. Oleta Johnson

Our February Fellow's Spotlight goes to Dr. Oleta Johnson! Dr. Johnson’s is a William R. and Daniel L. Young Career Development Assistant Professor at MIT, where she uses chemical and biophysical tools to dissect the relationship between protein dynamics and function. Specifically, the Johnson Lab uses chemistry and biophysics to understand and tune molecular chaperone protein DnaJB6 and its ability to suppress the toxic accumulation of proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s Disease and Parkinson’s disease. 

Dr.  Oleta Johnson earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in 2013. She went on to earn her PhD in Chemical Biology from University of Michigan in 2018, studying conformational plasticity of an intrinsically disorder protein in the lab of Professor Amanda Garner. During her post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Jason Gestwicki at University of California, San Francisco, she delved further into the field, using chemical probes to study the mechanisms employed by molecular chaperone proteins to maintain protein homeostasis. 

Find out more about Dr. Johnson's research, trajectory and experience as a KS Fellow below! 

Oleta Johnson, PhD

William R. and Daniel L. Young Career Development Assistant Professor

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Briefly describe your research, why it is important, and what motivates you to pursue this area?

The flexibility of intrinsically disordered proteins is critical to their function; however, they can become rigid and accumulate. Consequently, the aggregation of proteins that are normally dynamical is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders. Small molecules that target disordered proteins and modulate their conformational dynamics will not only be powerful probes to study their aggregation in disease, but also have therapeutic potential. Yet, it is difficult to identify such molecules when their targets are constantly moving, lack defined binding pockets, and have no enzymatic activity to measure, limiting the attempts to discover chemical probes for disordered proteins. To overcome these challenges, my research program draws inspiration from an endogenous human protein, DnaJB6, that binds selectively to disordered proteins and prevents them from forming toxic, stabilizing conformations that go on to aggregate. My lab studies how DnaJB6 recognizes and directs the conformations of disordered proteins in order to apply those evolutionary design principles to create synthetic, chemical mimics.

What pivotal moment sticks with you from your experience as a Keystone Symposia Fellow? How has it impacted you?

A pivotal moments for me was gaining Prof. Elizabeth Villa as a mentor. In addition to being a phenomenal scientist, she is an example of what it looks like to be a successful woman of color in academia.

I have been reading more about the nuclear pore complex and how my favorite protein may regulate it. My mentor, Prof. Villa, has published key papers on the structure of these complexes and we've begun discussing how I may grow my program into the field.

How has being a Keystone Symposia Fellow helped shape your career?

Being a Keystone Fellow has greatly impacted my experience as a new Professor. My mentor, Prof. Elizabeth Villa, has been an invaluable resource for science, career and life. The opportunity to have her as a mentor and advocate would be enough, but there is so much more. My cohort is amazing and so supportive. As leaders in their fields, I inevitably see them at seminars and conferences. Knowing them, and others on the Keystone Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), has helped me start to integrate in my scientific communities in my new position as faculty. Finally, the programming was so thoughtful and helped me think through important topics in a supportive environment. The opportunity to present a flash talk on my research also sparked conversations with SAB members that will influence my lab’s work and lead to exciting collaborations.

What are your thoughts on the importance of mentorship? How has your Keystone mentor influenced you and your career? How do you act as a mentor for your community?

Mentorship is everything. My keystone mentor is always available to discuss science, logistics of running a lab and managing people, setting boundaries, she reads fellowship applications, etc.

It is a privilege to have a leader in science show such an investment in my success.

Not only does she help me grow as a scientist and PI, but she helps me feel OK as a person when it is so easy to let professional disappointment bleed into self-esteem. I try to mirror this level of support for my students and others at my institution when I have the bandwidth.

What is the most valuable thing you've learned from Fellow’s Fridays?

The most valuable lesson I've learned from Fellow's Fridays is to trust myself. This is a recurring theme, no matter the topic. It's so easy to feel like there is a formula to success in academia, but the most significant common seems to be authenticity. I try to practice this by listening to my instincts on talks I want to give when I'm nervous, opportunities I want to decline because it doesn't fit my vision for my future, and times I want to rest so I can come back at my best for the people I support.

Watch Dr. Johnson's Research Presentation

Website:

https://johnsonlabchembio.com/

Find out more about:

Keystone Symposia Fellows Program

Keystone Symposia Health Equity Initiatives