Kristen Keefe
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I was born in Ohio, and spent time during my childhood in Charlottesville, VA and Louisville, KY. We moved back to northeastern Ohio when I was in 9th grade, and so I finished high school there. My dad was a scientist -- basically a neuroanatomist, and so I was always surrounded by science in the house. And some of my best memories as a child were going to the lab with him on the weekends! We aren't supposed to take our children into the labs any more, which I think is a shame. My brother and I loved being in the lab and "playing" with stuff in there.
To be honest, I didn't really like science in Jr. High or High School. I didn't take AP classes in science, nor did I do any extracurricular science-related activities (but I'm old enough that we didn't have many of the science fairs and events you all do today). I was interested in public speaking and sports. In my junior year of high school, I took one of those occupation tests, and it said that my answers were like those of priests or speech-language pathologists. I couldn't really become a priest, but the mix of language and brain function that speech-language pathology represented seemed perfect. Off I went to the University of Vermont with a declared major in Communication Disorders. I enjoyed the anatomy/science side of my major. I transferred after my sophomore year to Case Western Reserve University where I continued to major in Communication Sciences and added a major in Psychology. Again, I loved the neuroscience parts of my Speech-Pathology curriculum and also loved my Physiological Psychology class. But I did not like doing speech therapy, at least not with kids. But, I told myself that when I got into my Master's program and could work with brain-related disorders that I'd be happier.
I went to the University of Pittsburgh to get my Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. While I liked my classes and liked working with head injury and stroke patients more than children, I really began to realize that I couldn't really imagine doing speech and language therapy the rest of my life. The reason was that at that time we didn't know if therapy made a difference in how the brain recovered. I was uncomfortable billing someone for the time I spent with them when I wasn't sure it made any difference. So, I hemmed and hawed about whether to go to medical school or to get a PhD in Neuroscience. Eventually, I decided I wanted to do research on brain plasticity and how it recovered / functioned after injury. Fortunately, the University of Pittsburgh has one of the top Neuroscience programs in the country, so I applied and was accepted.
Being in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Pitt was a great for me, and I am eternally grateful that they took a chance on a speech-pathologist with little hard-science background. It was there that I gained confidence in myself as a scientist. I began to appreciate that although I was ignorant about many aspects of science, I wasn't stupid. I became more comfortable with showing my ignorance, asking questions. As a result, I learned a ton and I loved it! It was there that I came to see myself as capable of being a scientist.
From my PhD program, I went to Washington DC where I did a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. This was another amazing experience. I got to meet and work with people from all over the world. The resources and the science were great! I was able to do the work that I published and that served as the foundation on which I developed my first grant ideas.
Those ideas got me my first real job offer as an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah. It was in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy. I have been there ever since!
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Right now, I am serving as Interim Dean of the College of Pharmacy. I have learned that the word "Dean" means "attender of meetings and answerer of e-mails." However, it's been a fascinating 10 months, as I've learned an incredible amount about the operations of a major academic medical center. In this era of healthcare transformation and stresses on higher education and funding for biomedical research, there is much discussed of substance. It's been invigorating to get to be a part of all of those discussions and strategy sessions!
When I'm not being "Dean," I am a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. I teach students in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program (the entry level degree for pharmacists in the U.S. is a PharmD). I also teach graduate students in Neuroscience and in Pharmacology and Toxicology. I have also taught second year medical students in the medical school. I also run a research lab. Right now, my lab has a technician, a visiting student from Germany, two post-docs, two graduate students, and two undergraduate honors students. I will have 1-2 more graduate students join my lab this summer, and also will have a high school student and an undergraduate student in the lab. To keep the lab running, I write grants, and then try to help my people get the work done and get the papers published. I LOVE doing science and working with my students and fellows to get the science done. It's the part of my job that I look forward to the most. There is nothing better than a day when I get to just talk and think about science. Tomorrow, for example, I am working with one of my undergraduate students to teach her about statistically analyzing her data. We will break the blind on her data tomorrow, and I am so excited to learn the results!
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
Oh my, I use everything! My daughter is in 6th grade, and I'm trying to get her to always put in her units and write out her equations when she's doing her math right now. I try to tell her how I still remember my HS Chemistry teacher emphasizing that and how I use it all the time in my lab work! I also love experimental design (call me a GEEK!). I truly enjoy thinking about control groups, and the best experimental design to address my hypothesis. Also, in the first year of my PhD program, one professor taught us ways of knowing, that I still use to frame my approaches to scientific questions. In addition, how I was taught to critically review a scientific publication is still what I do each time I read a paper. Of course, factual knowledge I learned in school stays with me too, but it's less important in a way, because our knowledge of facts advances and changes so rapidly. It's the more fundamental skills to approaching science that are most important!
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
While the data suggest that I have likely been discriminated against as a woman for example when my grants or manuscripts have been reviewed, I don't feel as though I've directly been discriminated against. I have received great support from mentors, chairs, deans, and others. I have numerous role models, both male and female, who have provided me with great training and opportunities. My advice would be to believe in yourself, do your work to the best of your abilities, and don't be afraid to speak up.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
There is nothing better than discussing scientific ideas and ideas for experiments with colleagues or students, as well as analyzing data and thinking about what it means. That is the best part of my job and I look forward to those opportunities all the time!
The worst part of my job right now is dealing with complaints on almost a daily basis. I really have little tolerance for it. That, I wish I could change!
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
No secrets. It is a balance. One of my favorite quotes is from the movie "Tombstone." Doc Holliday asks Wyatt Earp what he ever wanted, and Wyatt Earp replies, "Just to live a normal life." Doc Holliday answers, "There is no normal life, Wyatt, it's just life. Get on with it." That's what I think. We spend a lot of time wishing for a different life balance. But we just have to live our lives. And we should do it the best we can without regrets. Sure, sometimes I have to work and miss an evening dinner or event with my husband and daughter. And sometimes I am away from home, traveling for work. It's nto that those aren't hard times/events (and it's not as though my daughter doesn't make comments that rip my heart out), but they also are times that let me do what I love, what makes me who I am. I want my daughter to know that she does not have to choose between her passion (which is violin) and a family. She can do both, just as I do both. I want to set that example for her. My main advice is to be present where you are. When you're at work, be at work and focus on that. And when you are at home, be at home and focus on that. Don't waste time in either place wishing or longing you were in the other.
7. What do you define success as?
We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and I can provide for and spend time with my family. At work, I get to help students reach their full potential as an educator. I also get to learn every day, and I get to indulge my interest in the brain. Life can't get better than that!
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance and a willingness to say "I don't know" and ask questions.
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I had two great mentors, Dr. Audrey Holland and Dr. Heidi Feldman, when I did my Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. For my PhD, I had a wonderful senior mentor, Dr. Michael Zigmond, who really pioneered the idea of professional skills development for trainees in the biomedical sciences. In his lab, I worked directly under a brilliant young scientist, Dr. Elizabeth Abercrombie, who to this day remains a close and dear colleague. All of these individuals, first and foremost, taught me through example a passion for doing science. They also were critical in encouraging me to follow my passions and to believe in myself. They introduced me to influential people, and in so doing, helped me to take each next step in my career. I am forever indebted to them. No one succeeds on their own.
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Let go of being perfect. While it's great to strive to be the best you can, don't let a fear of failure of being perfect keep you from trying things outside of your comfort zone and asking questions or admitting you don't know something. You lose out on wonderful opportunities to discover, learn, and grow if you are afraid to make a mistake and/or show your ignorance about something. That's the same advice I'd give to my younger self and to you!
I was born in Ohio, and spent time during my childhood in Charlottesville, VA and Louisville, KY. We moved back to northeastern Ohio when I was in 9th grade, and so I finished high school there. My dad was a scientist -- basically a neuroanatomist, and so I was always surrounded by science in the house. And some of my best memories as a child were going to the lab with him on the weekends! We aren't supposed to take our children into the labs any more, which I think is a shame. My brother and I loved being in the lab and "playing" with stuff in there.
To be honest, I didn't really like science in Jr. High or High School. I didn't take AP classes in science, nor did I do any extracurricular science-related activities (but I'm old enough that we didn't have many of the science fairs and events you all do today). I was interested in public speaking and sports. In my junior year of high school, I took one of those occupation tests, and it said that my answers were like those of priests or speech-language pathologists. I couldn't really become a priest, but the mix of language and brain function that speech-language pathology represented seemed perfect. Off I went to the University of Vermont with a declared major in Communication Disorders. I enjoyed the anatomy/science side of my major. I transferred after my sophomore year to Case Western Reserve University where I continued to major in Communication Sciences and added a major in Psychology. Again, I loved the neuroscience parts of my Speech-Pathology curriculum and also loved my Physiological Psychology class. But I did not like doing speech therapy, at least not with kids. But, I told myself that when I got into my Master's program and could work with brain-related disorders that I'd be happier.
I went to the University of Pittsburgh to get my Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. While I liked my classes and liked working with head injury and stroke patients more than children, I really began to realize that I couldn't really imagine doing speech and language therapy the rest of my life. The reason was that at that time we didn't know if therapy made a difference in how the brain recovered. I was uncomfortable billing someone for the time I spent with them when I wasn't sure it made any difference. So, I hemmed and hawed about whether to go to medical school or to get a PhD in Neuroscience. Eventually, I decided I wanted to do research on brain plasticity and how it recovered / functioned after injury. Fortunately, the University of Pittsburgh has one of the top Neuroscience programs in the country, so I applied and was accepted.
Being in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Pitt was a great for me, and I am eternally grateful that they took a chance on a speech-pathologist with little hard-science background. It was there that I gained confidence in myself as a scientist. I began to appreciate that although I was ignorant about many aspects of science, I wasn't stupid. I became more comfortable with showing my ignorance, asking questions. As a result, I learned a ton and I loved it! It was there that I came to see myself as capable of being a scientist.
From my PhD program, I went to Washington DC where I did a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. This was another amazing experience. I got to meet and work with people from all over the world. The resources and the science were great! I was able to do the work that I published and that served as the foundation on which I developed my first grant ideas.
Those ideas got me my first real job offer as an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah. It was in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy. I have been there ever since!
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Right now, I am serving as Interim Dean of the College of Pharmacy. I have learned that the word "Dean" means "attender of meetings and answerer of e-mails." However, it's been a fascinating 10 months, as I've learned an incredible amount about the operations of a major academic medical center. In this era of healthcare transformation and stresses on higher education and funding for biomedical research, there is much discussed of substance. It's been invigorating to get to be a part of all of those discussions and strategy sessions!
When I'm not being "Dean," I am a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. I teach students in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program (the entry level degree for pharmacists in the U.S. is a PharmD). I also teach graduate students in Neuroscience and in Pharmacology and Toxicology. I have also taught second year medical students in the medical school. I also run a research lab. Right now, my lab has a technician, a visiting student from Germany, two post-docs, two graduate students, and two undergraduate honors students. I will have 1-2 more graduate students join my lab this summer, and also will have a high school student and an undergraduate student in the lab. To keep the lab running, I write grants, and then try to help my people get the work done and get the papers published. I LOVE doing science and working with my students and fellows to get the science done. It's the part of my job that I look forward to the most. There is nothing better than a day when I get to just talk and think about science. Tomorrow, for example, I am working with one of my undergraduate students to teach her about statistically analyzing her data. We will break the blind on her data tomorrow, and I am so excited to learn the results!
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
Oh my, I use everything! My daughter is in 6th grade, and I'm trying to get her to always put in her units and write out her equations when she's doing her math right now. I try to tell her how I still remember my HS Chemistry teacher emphasizing that and how I use it all the time in my lab work! I also love experimental design (call me a GEEK!). I truly enjoy thinking about control groups, and the best experimental design to address my hypothesis. Also, in the first year of my PhD program, one professor taught us ways of knowing, that I still use to frame my approaches to scientific questions. In addition, how I was taught to critically review a scientific publication is still what I do each time I read a paper. Of course, factual knowledge I learned in school stays with me too, but it's less important in a way, because our knowledge of facts advances and changes so rapidly. It's the more fundamental skills to approaching science that are most important!
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
While the data suggest that I have likely been discriminated against as a woman for example when my grants or manuscripts have been reviewed, I don't feel as though I've directly been discriminated against. I have received great support from mentors, chairs, deans, and others. I have numerous role models, both male and female, who have provided me with great training and opportunities. My advice would be to believe in yourself, do your work to the best of your abilities, and don't be afraid to speak up.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
There is nothing better than discussing scientific ideas and ideas for experiments with colleagues or students, as well as analyzing data and thinking about what it means. That is the best part of my job and I look forward to those opportunities all the time!
The worst part of my job right now is dealing with complaints on almost a daily basis. I really have little tolerance for it. That, I wish I could change!
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
No secrets. It is a balance. One of my favorite quotes is from the movie "Tombstone." Doc Holliday asks Wyatt Earp what he ever wanted, and Wyatt Earp replies, "Just to live a normal life." Doc Holliday answers, "There is no normal life, Wyatt, it's just life. Get on with it." That's what I think. We spend a lot of time wishing for a different life balance. But we just have to live our lives. And we should do it the best we can without regrets. Sure, sometimes I have to work and miss an evening dinner or event with my husband and daughter. And sometimes I am away from home, traveling for work. It's nto that those aren't hard times/events (and it's not as though my daughter doesn't make comments that rip my heart out), but they also are times that let me do what I love, what makes me who I am. I want my daughter to know that she does not have to choose between her passion (which is violin) and a family. She can do both, just as I do both. I want to set that example for her. My main advice is to be present where you are. When you're at work, be at work and focus on that. And when you are at home, be at home and focus on that. Don't waste time in either place wishing or longing you were in the other.
7. What do you define success as?
We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and I can provide for and spend time with my family. At work, I get to help students reach their full potential as an educator. I also get to learn every day, and I get to indulge my interest in the brain. Life can't get better than that!
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance and a willingness to say "I don't know" and ask questions.
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I had two great mentors, Dr. Audrey Holland and Dr. Heidi Feldman, when I did my Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. For my PhD, I had a wonderful senior mentor, Dr. Michael Zigmond, who really pioneered the idea of professional skills development for trainees in the biomedical sciences. In his lab, I worked directly under a brilliant young scientist, Dr. Elizabeth Abercrombie, who to this day remains a close and dear colleague. All of these individuals, first and foremost, taught me through example a passion for doing science. They also were critical in encouraging me to follow my passions and to believe in myself. They introduced me to influential people, and in so doing, helped me to take each next step in my career. I am forever indebted to them. No one succeeds on their own.
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Let go of being perfect. While it's great to strive to be the best you can, don't let a fear of failure of being perfect keep you from trying things outside of your comfort zone and asking questions or admitting you don't know something. You lose out on wonderful opportunities to discover, learn, and grow if you are afraid to make a mistake and/or show your ignorance about something. That's the same advice I'd give to my younger self and to you!