Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Accepted manuscripts
    • Latest complete issue
    • Issue archive
    • Archive by article type
    • Special issues
    • Subject collections
    • Cell Scientists to Watch
    • First Person
    • Sign up for alerts
  • About us
    • About JCS
    • Editors and Board
    • Editor biographies
    • Travelling Fellowships
    • Grants and funding
    • Journal Meetings
    • Workshops
    • The Company of Biologists
    • Journal news
  • For authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Aims and scope
    • Presubmission enquiries
    • Fast-track manuscripts
    • Article types
    • Manuscript preparation
    • Cover suggestions
    • Editorial process
    • Promoting your paper
    • Open Access
    • JCS Prize
    • Manuscript transfer network
    • Biology Open transfer
  • Journal info
    • Journal policies
    • Rights and permissions
    • Media policies
    • Reviewer guide
    • Sign up for alerts
  • Contacts
    • Contact JCS
    • Subscriptions
    • Advertising
    • Feedback
  • COB
    • About The Company of Biologists
    • Development
    • Journal of Cell Science
    • Journal of Experimental Biology
    • Disease Models & Mechanisms
    • Biology Open

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Cell Science
  • COB
    • About The Company of Biologists
    • Development
    • Journal of Cell Science
    • Journal of Experimental Biology
    • Disease Models & Mechanisms
    • Biology Open

supporting biologistsinspiring biology

Journal of Cell Science

  • Log in
Advanced search

RSS   Twitter  Facebook   YouTube  

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Accepted manuscripts
    • Latest complete issue
    • Issue archive
    • Archive by article type
    • Special issues
    • Subject collections
    • Cell Scientists to Watch
    • First Person
    • Sign up for alerts
  • About us
    • About JCS
    • Editors and Board
    • Editor biographies
    • Travelling Fellowships
    • Grants and funding
    • Journal Meetings
    • Workshops
    • The Company of Biologists
    • Journal news
  • For authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Aims and scope
    • Presubmission enquiries
    • Fast-track manuscripts
    • Article types
    • Manuscript preparation
    • Cover suggestions
    • Editorial process
    • Promoting your paper
    • Open Access
    • JCS Prize
    • Manuscript transfer network
    • Biology Open transfer
  • Journal info
    • Journal policies
    • Rights and permissions
    • Media policies
    • Reviewer guide
    • Sign up for alerts
  • Contacts
    • Contact JCS
    • Subscriptions
    • Advertising
    • Feedback
First Person
First person – Helena Sofia Domingues
Journal of Cell Science 2020 133: jcs251934 doi: 10.1242/jcs.251934 Published 12 August 2020
  • Article
  • Figures & tables
  • Info & metrics
  • PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Helena Sofia Domingues is first author on ‘Pushing myelination – developmental regulation of myosin expression drives oligodendrocyte morphological differentiation’, published in JCS. Helena Sofia conducted the research described in this article while a postdoctoral fellow in Inês Mendes Pinto's lab at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), Braga, Portugal. She is now a Junior Researcher in the lab of Fábio G. Teixeira at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, investigating mammalian myelination in development and age-associated neurodegeneration.

Embedded Image

Helena Sofia Domingues

How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms?

Oligodendrocytes are highly specialized cells of the central nervous system whose main function is to produce myelin, a fatty membrane sheet that is used to wrap around axons to provide insulation and metabolic support of neuronal networks. In order to produce the myelin sheet, oligodendrocytes must undergo drastic alterations in their morphology through modulation of their cytoskeleton. In this collaborative and multidisciplinary work, we added a mechanical perspective to the process of oligodendrocyte myelination. We characterized a family of specific molecules called myosins that operate as nanomotors on the oligodendrocyte cytoskeleton to modulate its architecture and dynamics. Given their different mechanochemical properties, we found that these myosins are expressed and function in a time- and space-specific manner to coordinate the myelination process. In particular, we provided strong evidence that these molecules may operate as modulators of mechanical plasticity by regulating cell tension and myelin membrane expansion at different cell stages of differentiation.

Were there any specific challenges associated with this project? If so, how did you overcome them?

The preparation of article revisions in the middle of a global pandemic, across two continents and with co-authors who, like me, were at home with kids, was a challenge! But I believe we faced this period positively and were able to coordinate all tasks in a healthy team work environment.

When doing the research, did you have a particular result or ‘eureka’ moment that has stuck with you?

The ‘eureka’ moment is, to my understanding, the sum of small daily ‘eurekas’ and a reflection of active scientific discussions within the team. Myelination is one of the major achievements of vertebrates and is clearly associated with complex skills in the nervous system. While simple eukaryotes, such as fission yeast, have five myosins from three classes, humans display almost 40 myosins distributed over 18 classes. I believe that our ‘eureka’ moment happened when we hypothesized that the beauty of mammalian myelination could somehow be correlated with this amazing evolution of myosin diversity. In the context of developmental myelination in oligodendrocytes, this could contribute to the fine-tuning of the required morphological transformations. In our study, we focused on the spatio-temporal expression of the evolutionarily related myosins NM2A, NM2B, NM2C and Myo18a, how they differ in their mechanochemical properties and interactomes, and how this may be used to adjust oligodendrocyte mechanical plasticity in terms of cell tension and membrane expansion.

Why did you choose Journal of Cell Science for your paper?

Journal of Cell Science is a renowned journal from The Company of Biologists, and we felt confident that our study would reach the right audience both in the specialized glia field and general cell biology. Our manuscript submission and revision processes were extremely friendly and very constructive. I have no doubts in stating that Journal of Cell Science helped to improve our work.

Have you had any significant mentors who have helped you beyond supervision in the lab? How was their guidance special?

Since my undergraduate training, I have had many lab supervisors and, somehow, all of them made important humane contributions in shaping different stages of my professional path. It seems unfair for me to name just one or two. Hence, I would prefer to highlight the importance of external mentoring, which I believe may be equally relevant, as it happens in institutions' external advisory boards. I believe that it is extremely healthy that young researchers look for career development advice from more senior researchers outside their close working circle so they can receive more objective and unbiased mentoring. I am very grateful to Jonah R. Chan from the University of California San Francisco. Jonah is the scientist I admire the most in my research field, and I am very fortunate to have received his precious advice over the years.

Figure1
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint

Myosin-18a (green), tubulin (red) and actin (gray) immunostaining in mature oligodendrocytes. Image credit to Amr Almaktari and Carmen Melendez-Vasquez, co-authors of the study.

“I don't believe in role models but rather in the potential that each researcher, individually, can contribute to build a better scientific community.”

Who are your role models in science? Why?

I don't believe in role models but rather in the potential that each researcher, individually, can contribute to build a better scientific community. It can be locally by providing a good environment inside the lab team, a thorough mentoring of young students or even fantastic social skills that organize the best Friday ‘Happy Hours’ in the research institute. More globally, there are those researchers who, with their diplomatic and political skills, fight for gender equality in science, for example. I am grateful to all of them.

What's next for you?

I truly don't know, I will let time tell me. I feel extremely motivated for biomedical sciences, and I very much enjoy working in academia. Here, we acquire many more competencies than we imagine. Yet, I am completely open to what the world may have to offer, I will be there to accept the challenge.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that wouldn't be on your CV

Talking about challenges, I love sailing. Undoubtedly, one of the things that sailing and scientific research have in common is the seeking of the unknown. I would like to share one of my favorite poems from the Portuguese author Miguel Torga, which nicely illustrates a scientific or sailing adventure:

The Journey

I ornamented the ship of illusion

And I reinforced the sailor's faith.

My dream was long, and treacherous

The sea…

(Only we are granted

This life

That we have;

And it is in it that it is necessary

To seek out

The old paradise

That we lost).

Ready, I let loose the sail

And bid farewell to the port, to the numbing peace.

Unmeasured,

The immense revolt

Transforms from day to day the vessel

In an errant and winged sculpture…

But I slice the waves without disheartening.

In any adventure

What matters is leaving, not arriving.

Footnotes

  • Helena Sofia Domingues's contact details: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.

    E-mail: Sofia.domingues{at}med-uminho.pt

  • © 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd

Reference

  1. ↵
    1. Domingues, H. S.,
    2. Urbanski, M. M.,
    3. Macedo-Ribeiro, S.,
    4. Almaktari, A.,
    5. Irfan, A.,
    6. Hernandez, Y.,
    7. Wang, H.,
    8. Relvas, J. B.,
    9. Rubinstein, B.,
    10. Melendez-Vasquez, C. V. et al.
    (2020). Pushing myelination – developmental regulation of myosin expression drives oligodendrocyte morphological differentiation. J. Cell Sci. 133, jcs232264. doi:10.1242/jcs.232264
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
View Abstract
Previous ArticleNext Article
Back to top
Previous ArticleNext Article

This Issue

 Download PDF

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Cell Science.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
First person – Helena Sofia Domingues
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Cell Science
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Cell Science web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
First Person
First person – Helena Sofia Domingues
Journal of Cell Science 2020 133: jcs251934 doi: 10.1242/jcs.251934 Published 12 August 2020
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
First Person
First person – Helena Sofia Domingues
Journal of Cell Science 2020 133: jcs251934 doi: 10.1242/jcs.251934 Published 12 August 2020

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Alerts

Please log in to add an alert for this article.

Sign in to email alerts with your email address

Article navigation

  • Top
  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • Footnotes
    • Reference
  • Figures & tables
  • Info & metrics
  • PDF

Related articles

Cited by...

More in this TOC section

  • First person – Leyao Shen and Deepika Sharma
  • First person – Juri Luis Habicht, Ashley Mooneyham and Asumi Hoshino
  • First person – Brittany J. Carr
Show more FIRST PERSON

Similar articles

Other journals from The Company of Biologists

Development

Journal of Experimental Biology

Disease Models & Mechanisms

Biology Open

Advertisement

2020 at The Company of Biologists

Despite the challenges of 2020, we were able to bring a number of long-term projects and new ventures to fruition. While we look forward to a new year, join us as we reflect on the triumphs of the last 12 months.


Mole – The Corona Files

"This is not going to go away, 'like a miracle.' We have to do magic. And I know we can."

Mole continues to offer his wise words to researchers on how to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Cell scientist to watch – Christine Faulkner

In an interview, Christine Faulkner talks about where her interest in plant science began, how she found the transition between Australia and the UK, and shares her thoughts on virtual conferences.


Read & Publish participation extends worldwide

“The clear advantages are rapid and efficient exposure and easy access to my article around the world. I believe it is great to have this publishing option in fast-growing fields in biomedical research.”

Dr Jaceques Behmoaras (Imperial College London) shares his experience of publishing Open Access as part of our growing Read & Publish initiative. We now have over 60 institutions in 12 countries taking part – find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.


JCS and COVID-19

For more information on measures Journal of Cell Science is taking to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hestiate to contact the Editorial Office.

Articles

  • Accepted manuscripts
  • Latest complete issue
  • Issue archive
  • Archive by article type
  • Special issues
  • Subject collections
  • Interviews
  • Sign up for alerts

About us

  • About Journal of Cell Science
  • Editors and Board
  • Editor biographies
  • Travelling Fellowships
  • Grants and funding
  • Journal Meetings
  • Workshops
  • The Company of Biologists

For Authors

  • Submit a manuscript
  • Aims and scope
  • Presubmission enquiries
  • Fast-track manuscripts
  • Article types
  • Manuscript preparation
  • Cover suggestions
  • Editorial process
  • Promoting your paper
  • Open Access
  • JCS Prize
  • Manuscript transfer network
  • Biology Open transfer

Journal Info

  • Journal policies
  • Rights and permissions
  • Media policies
  • Reviewer guide
  • Sign up for alerts

Contacts

  • Contact JCS
  • Subscriptions
  • Advertising
  • Feedback

Twitter   YouTube   LinkedIn

© 2021   The Company of Biologists Ltd   Registered Charity 277992