Sue Lynn Lau chose classical ballet and highly kinetic party dancing as the way to interpret her Ph.D. thesis, "The role of vitamin D in beta-cell function." As The Nutcracker Suite lilts in the background, Lau, a graduate student from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, appears as the Sugarplum Fairy, delivering marshmallow glucose to four beta cell dancers. Meanwhile, a fifth dancer flings and twirls around the stage--representing the sunlight required for vitamin D biosynthesis.
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The role of vitamin D in beta-cell function
Category: Cell Biology
Posted on: November 29, 2008 12:00 PM, by Greg Laden
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Comments
Lau appears to have had some training in dance. That white boy though, was a little closer to my level of talent. Perhaps he represented a less active molecule.
Posted by: The Science Pundit | November 29, 2008 12:33 PM
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
This one was great, and (along with the winner in post-doc category) stands out as showing some real dance talent along with the science talent. For me, this is my favourite, not only for the talent of the dancers, but because of the powerful energy levels, the variety of dance forms, and the involvement of her fellow students. Dr Lau is going to be fantastic when working with a professional choreographer.
In the press release from the Garvan institute in Australia, where Dr Lau is an endocrinologist, she mentions her love of dance, but it seems to be just a hobby with a lot of natural grace and aptitude. From PhD student Sue Lynn Lau dances her way to Chicago:
"I really love dancing - although I haven't done it seriously," said Sue Lynn. "I did a couple of years of ballet when I was in kindergarten, and I've done some small classes - swing, a little ceroc and salsa."
The extraordinarily athletic dancer for the Sun was also great in this. Beautiful work.
Posted by: Duae Quartunciae | November 29, 2008 3:43 PM