Conversations with Rising Stars
RYAN SPRISSLER
As associate director of operations of Research Cores on campus, Ryan Sprissler has a particular research focus on clinical human genetics and understanding the role of genetics in human disease onset, progression and response to treatment. Get to know the BIO5 Institute member and co-founder of the Center for Applied Genetics and Genomic Medicine, and what motivates him every morning in our Conversations with Rising Stars…
What initially attracted you to the current focus of research?
I grew up constantly taking things apart to see how they worked, much to the frustration of my parents. When I came across genetics early in my college career, I thought it was incredibly fascinating and a chance to get under the hood and "see how things worked" in biological terms. As I got deeper into the field and had more training in the clinical aspects of genetics, I saw the potential clinical genetics could have on the future of medicine and I was hooked from there.
How have collaborations impacted my work on campus?
I feel incredibly lucky to be at an institution like University of Arizona that values and encourages collaboration. All of science and discovery builds off of the research that came before and in a field like clinical genetics it's just not possible to go into it alone. You have to build teams, clinical teams, research teams, regulatory teams, etc… No translational science happens without collaboration and I will forever be indebted to all the collaborators who have taught me an immeasurable amount of scientific and life lessons. I've had many of these relationships for almost 20 years now and value them all.
Research breakthroughs take time, so what keeps you motivated in your daily duties?
I would be lying if I said there aren't days where I feel the drain of the tedious and repetitive duties required to perform research but this is often balanced with the thrill of finding something new or the invigorating conversations I get to have with my collaborators. Moments like these help me out of bed in the morning. Well, that and my one-year-old son. Ultimately, the scale usually tips toward the excitement of progress and innovation rather than the daily grind.
What about your experience at the U of A makes you want to continue your career as a Wildcat?
One of my favorite parts of working at the University of Arizona is its connection to the community. I love that Tucson feels a sense of ownership with its university. It's not separate from Tucson, it is part of Tucson. That sense of ownership goes both ways. I've been fortunate to be able to help U of A outreach to the community in the form of simple things like lab tours and hosting seminars all the way to more direct engagement like giving genetics talks at the Tucson Festival of Books or serving as a scientific advisor on the board of local philanthropic foundations.
When you describe your research to someone for the first time, what’s one major point you hope they understand?
The one major point I hope people would understand about my research is that although many of the research breakthroughs and discoveries happening now will take time to get into regular clinical practice, they are in fact coming. Foundational science is exciting but it's only the starting place. There are a number of reasons we need to be careful about jumping into new therapies and procedures, but the support of this basic research will lead to better outcomes for patients.