How to Give an Effective Talk: Basic Concepts and Mechanics

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How to Give an Effective Talk Basic Concepts and
Mechanics
Tien-Hsien Chang ??? Genomics Research
Center ????? Department of Molecular
Genetics Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
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Its All About Telling a Good (Scientific) Story!
Story Concept East vs. West
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An Good-Talk Pathway
Good Content
YOU
AUDIENCE
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From Good Content to Good Talk (telling a good
story)

• The burden is on you!
• (1) Must know your audience
• (2) Make it easy to follow
• (3) Show only relevant data
• (4) Give clear take-home message and big picture

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The Burden Falls Squarely on YOU!

• You are the one who knows the stuff best
  (hopefully)
• Its your job to tell a good story
• You can confuse the hell out of
• Or, bore them to death
• So, never blame your audience (for your own
  failure)

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Five Levels of Commanding Power Learning from
Your Own Experiences

• Confusing, absolutely and hopelessly
• Pockets of confusion
• Clear but boring why should I need to know these
  stuffs anyway?
• Clear and interesting Yes! I really want to know
  all these good stuffs.
• Inspirational broad picture, perceptive, and
  perspective

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Rule 1 Know Your Audience

• General public mixed audience
• High schoolers
• College kids science or non-science
• Graduate students
• Specialists
• Put yourself in your audiences shoes! Imagine
  you are them!

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Examples for Taking Your Audience into Account
Concept of Spliceosome Remodeling
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Rubiks Cube Problem for Cell Dynamic Remodeling
of Spliceosome
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Spliceosome the largest known cellular
machine Over 300 different components
pre-mRNA
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Spliceosome Assembly Pathway
U1
U6
U2
5
3
A
GUAUGU
AG
exon1
exon2
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Rule 2 Make It Simple and Easy to follow

• A crystal clear introduction
• Set the stage 1/4 rule (Intro)
• What has happened and where are we?
• What is the critical question?
• Why wasting time on this? (Why this is important?)

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Whole Genome Duplication of the Saccharomyces
lineage After Divergence from K. waltii
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Only a 10 of Duplicated Genes are Maintained
Eventually

• Paralogue either of a pair of genes that derive
  from the same ancestral
• 59/78 ribosomal protein genes are paralogous
• Functional backup? More highly expressed one
  plays a more significant role.
• rps27a? no growth defect, but biochemical
  defective in ribosomal biogenesis

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?
Are there functional specificities between
paralogous genes, e.g. the yeast RP genes?
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Yeast Mating Type Switching Mother Cell Only
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Asymmetric Accumulation of Ash1p Represses HO in
Daughter Cells
Cosma, M. P. (2004) EMBO Rep. 5, 953-957
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Asymmetric Accumulation of Ash1p Represses HO in
Daughter Cells
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A Picture is More Than a Thousand Words

• But, dont complicate the picture
• Examples of unnecessary complexities

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The Signal Transduction Hell
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The Central Paradigm Heaven
Pol II
Spliceosome
Export
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Good Slide Design Understandable at a Glance
gt80 understandability in lt5 seconds of staring
Again, think from your audience point of view
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The Central Paradigm Heaven
Pol II
Pol II
5 capping
splicing
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The Signal Transduction Hell
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do? by Neil Sedaka also
by The Carpenters, The Partridge Family
Breaking Up is Easier to Understand! Recorded by
Bantoung (? ?) Gang
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Wade Through the Muddy Water of the Yeast
Genetics Jargons

• Intragenic revertant a mutant harboring an
  intragenic reversion event by which the original
  mutant phenotype is restored (or rescued) to an
  extent close to that of the wild-type phenotype.
• Intragenic suppression an event in which a
  second mutation suppresses the original mutation
  located in the same gene.
• Intergenic Extragenic Second-site
• Intergenic suppression
• Extragenic revertant Second-site revertant

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Wade Through the Muddy Water of the Yeast
Genetics Jargons

• Intragenic revertant a mutant harboring an
  intragenic reversion event by which the original
  mutant phenotype is restored (or rescued) to an
  extent close to that of the wild-type phenotype.
• Intragenic suppression an event in which a
  second mutation suppresses the original mutation
  located in the same gene.
• Intergenic Extragenic Second-site
• Intergenic suppression
• Extragenic revertant Second-site revertant

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Use Phrases, Not Sentences Learning from New
York Times
Tainted Drugs Linked to Maker of Abortion
Pill Field Narrows as Giuliani and Edwards End
Campaigns Fed Reduces Rate by Half-Point 2nd
Cut in 8 days
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DExD/H-box proteins (a bad example)

• Enzymes that are found everywhere
• They function in splicing, mRNA export,
  translation, mRNA turnover, RNAi
• Nearly all of them are essential, so they must
  have unique targets, because deletion of one
  cannot be rescused by the rest
• They are RNA-dependent ATPases, I.e. they can
  only hydrolyze ATP in the presence of RNA
• Previously, they are thought to be RNA
  unwindases, because they can open up RNA duplexes
  in vitro
• They are considered recently as RNPases, or
  Ribonucleoprotein ATPases, because some prove to
  be able to remodel RNA/protein complex?

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DExD/H-box proteins

• Ubiquitous
• Function in ALL RNA-related processes
• Nearly all are essential unique targets
• RNA-dependent ATPases
• RNA unwindases
• RNPases (Ribonucleoprotein ATPases)
• remodel RNA/protein complex?

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50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon (of the
Simon and Garfunkel)
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Learn to Use PowerPoint Simple Animation

• To focus on critical points in sequence
• To create an in sync environment
• To take in charge as a speaker
• To manage the audience

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DExD/H Proteins in RNA-Related Processes
DNA
Transcription
rRNA tRNA mRNA
Degradation
Splicing
Maturation
Ribosome biogenesis
Translation
Export
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Turning Signal Transduction Hell into Heaven
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Commitment Complex 1
Commitment Complex 2
U1
MUD2
BBP
exon1
exon2
A
branch site recognition
5 ss
3 ss
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U2
ATP
ADP
U1
MUD2
BBP
exon1
exon2
A
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Data Analysis Made Easy
1st Question Asked (Hypothesis)
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?
Are transcription splicing coupled in yeast by
a novel means ?
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Experimental Strategy
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ChIP Design
GAL1
LacZ
Raffinose
RP51A
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Anticipated Results
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Galactose
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Data Analysis
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Rule 3 Discuss Only Relevant and Critical Data

• More is NOT better in talk
• Practice well thought-out minimalism
• Reduced complexity creatively
• Showing 1 Set of data at a Time
• Put yourself in your audiences shoes! Imagine
  you are them!

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WT
6-AU
mud2?
sua7-T101P
sua7-L214S
msl5-V195D
cant bypass sub2?
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Human BBP
U
A
C
U
In Yeast
A
V195D
A
S194P
C
A
A
Liu et al. Science. 5544,1098-102 (2001)
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S194P V195D can bypass sub2?
SUB2
sub2?
URA3
MSL5
msl5-S194P
msl5-V195D
YPD 30C YPD 16C 5-FOA
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Ongoing Translation
Loc1p role in translation and ribosomal assembly
Loc1p binds ASH1 mRNA and needed for localization
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ASH1 mRNA Localized To the Bud Tip
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E3 Reporter Phenotype Six rp? strains loc1?
mutant

• rp? pRP WT localization
• Other reporters behave the same

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• 15/137 RP genes bud-site selection
• 14/15 such RP genes paralogous
• 1/2 of these 14 bud-site selection

Functional specificity in bud-site selection
and in translational regulation of ASH1 mRNA??
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Non-bud-site RPs are Not Required ASH1
Overexpress the other RP cannot rescue
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Reduced Complexity by Color Coding and
Diagrams
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PRP28
SUP
OR
prp28 cs
SUP
Trp
Trp-
TRP1
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L214S
Sua7p (TFIIB)
Zn
sua7 mutants are provided by Dr. M. Hampsey
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B
Pol II
Pol II
Pol II
Specific transcription factors promote
recruitment of splicing factors in vivo
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catastrophic loss of a key component deletion of
an essential DExD/H-box protein
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Modification of upstream pathway a potential
selective advantage.
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Rule 4 Take-Home Messages
A psychology study on attention span and
retention

• Give take-home messages in plan language
• Finish with a broad overview
• Project the Big Picture

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Molecular Evolution Works!
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1 or 2 sentences provides a basic introduction to
the field comprehensible to a scientist in ANY
discipline.
2 to 3 sentences of more detailed background
comprehensible to scientists in related
disciplines.
1 sentence summarizing the main result.
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2 to 3 sentences explaining how main result adds
to previous knowledge.
1 to 2 sentences to put the results into a more
GENERAL CONTEXT.
2 to 3 sentences to provide a BROADER perspective
comprehensible to scientist in any discipline
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Avoid Jargons and Acronyms

• We used pBS1001 to transform the cells.
• We introduced the BS gene on the plasmid into the
  cells.
• EMSAs were used to examine the specificity of
  interaction.
• We tested whether the protein/RNA interaction is
  specific by examining the proteins ability to
  shift the RNA migration in gel electrophoresis.

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Professional Mannerism

• Face the audience!!!
• Keep eye contact (who is sleeping?)
• Use the pointer effectively
• Do not freak out the audience
• Listen to questions carefully
• Repeat/summarize the question
• Address to the ENTIRE audience!

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Rule XX Have a bit of Personal Touch and Humor,
if you can
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Goldilocks the 3 Bears Hypothesis
U1-C (L13)
Hydrophobic Interaction
JUST RIGHT!
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Jeff Yi-Fu Chen ???
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Luh Tung ??
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Edvard Munch (1893)
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A Good-Talk Pathway
Good Content
YOU
AUDIENCE