Students learn about genomics, a life in science, at J. Craig Venter Institute

J. Craig Venter, founder of the prestigious institute that bears his name, originally wanted to be a surf bum. But after a near-tragedy, he fell in love with science thanks to a mentor and an eye-opening stint in community college.

Karen Nelson president of the J. Craig Venter Institute, excelled from the start. Getting good grades was the only path to a top education for someone from Jamaica.

The message to high school students visiting the institute recently was that there are many roads to becoming a scientist. And make sure to get credit for what you do, they said, because science is ruthlessly competitive.

The 75 students from San Diego Unified School District visited the institute April 10 as part of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineer, Art and Math) Leadership Series. It’s an initiative to let students in on the science happening where they live, which could provide rewarding careers.

Students got to talk with Venter, Nelson, and other scientists. They also witnessed gene sequencing performed on laptop computers, using devices the size of a USB drive.

That portable equipment is far removed from the mainframe computers Venter and his team used in the 1990s to help sequence the first human genome.

How Venter got into science was also a lengthy journey, which he has described many times. His surf bum career was cut short when he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. The experience of being surrounded by suffering and death was a torment that nearly drove him to suicide. But he decided to make his life mean something.

Venter said his scientific career was made possible because he got a second chance through California’s community college program. By applying himself diligently, Venter qualified to attend UC San Diego. Then his career took off.

“I changed from being the worst student in high school to having the shortest Ph.D. on record for the whole UC system,” Venter said.

Venter is an admitted adrenaline junkie who, in addition to surfing, likes fast cars, motorcycles and boats. So logically enough, he studied the hormone adrenaline and its role in the fight-or-flight response.

Karen Nelson, president of the J. Craig Venter Institute, said she started her education knowing there would be no second chance.

“I was a straight A student,” Nelson said. “ I was born in Jamaica and the only way for me to get a good tertiary education was to leave the island.”

Nelson earned her Ph.D. from Cornell University. She took a postdoctoral job with the J. Craig Venter Institute, stayed there and eventually became president.

Along the way, Nelson led the first team to do a study of the human microbiome, the assortment of microbes that live on and in the human body.

Venter encouraged her to do that work, which Nelson began at sea. She was aboard the vessel Sorcerer II for the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition, which collected ocean microbes from around the world.

The circumstances were less than glamorous. While others were exploring the ocean, Nelson was collecting microbes from stool samples. But it marked a scientific triumph, opening the field to ever more detailed studies of the microbes that can make us sick or keep us healthy.

“That was published in 2006,” she said. “And again, I did it first. So whatever anybody else says, I did it first.”

Nelson said young scientists need to get good mentors, as she found with Venter. They also need to accept discouraging news without letting it get them down.

“Just keep on following your dream,” she said. “You are going to get rejected. Your papers are going to get rejected. Your grants are going to get rejected, but realize you’re not alone.”

Go to http://steamleadership.com for more information on the STEAM Leadership Series.