Alumni You Should Meet – Michael Bogdan Margineanu (PhD '19, MS '15) by Melissa Pappas (MS '17)

Michael Bogdan Margineanu has been motivated by his passions in both science and leadership since his undergraduate degree, where he pursued his bachelors in biochemistry and cell biology while president of the student-led business and entrepreneurship group. When he arrived at KAUST, he continued to advance those passions even further, pursuing graduate degrees as well as participating in the Graduate Student Council, and serving as a resident leader. Now, he shares how these passions are unfolding in his current role as a lecturer, researcher and mentor in his hometown of Timișoara, Romania.

Where It All Began

Margineanu arrived at KAUST to start his MS in Bioscience in the fall of 2013, and immediately became involved in research with Professor Tim Ravasi and Professor Jurgen Kosel. His MS project focused on a novel way to study the internalization of magnetic nanostructures by cancer cells.

“This research is important because if we can understand the interaction between cancer cells and nanostructures, we can better tailor treatment to patients, knowing when to target cancer cells with magnetic fields,” said Margineanu. “I was able to publish a significant methodology paper from this research as a first-author, a big accomplishment for me as a master’s student.”

While pursuing his MS, Margineanu also conducted research through an exchange program facilitated by KAUST at the University of Cambridge in the UK. The collaborative project had him delve into the complex world of bioinformatics and statistical tools to analyze genomic data.

Margineanu packed even more into his MS degree by presenting at international conferences and contributing as a co-author to peer review papers, aspects of the graduate school journey that KAUST professors support.

“I achieved more than I expected through my masters,” said Margineanu. “But when I graduated, I didn’t know if I wanted to continue to do a PhD. It was a talk with Professor Pierre Magistretti, a professor I really admire who conducts fascinating research in neuroscience, that convinced me to pursue the PhD.”

Shifting Gears to Pursue a PhD

Margineanu’s PhD project shifted gears and focused on the effects of lactate as a signal molecule in the brain. He had to learn many new skills to conduct this kind of research, including how to sequence RNA and analyze bioinformatics data. Fortunately, Margineanu not only received training from experts at KAUST, he also was mentored by a team of researchers led by Professor John Cryan at the APC Microbiome Ireland research institute, an invaluable experience that made history in his line of research.

“I had the opportunity to work at an internationally recognized research institute in Ireland through a summer internship supported by Professor Magistretti,” said Margineanu. “It was there working with Professor John Cryan that I was able to collaborate on groundbreaking research. Our team was the first to coin a connection between the gut microbiome manipulation and the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle in the brain. I brought this experience back to KAUST to finish my degree with the research questions about lactate. I improved my skills in transcriptome data analysis and published the first genome-wide transcriptomics study focused on lactate and neurons in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, which gives insight into the mechanisms and targets of this metabolite as well as how it may help us understand etiology of specific neurological diseases.”

Academia or Industry?

While Margineanu was conducting research for his PhD he was also thinking ahead. He found that when contemplating academic and industry career paths, he was leaning more towards industry before he had another shift in his mindset.

“I had always thought I would go into industry after the PhD,” said Margineanu. “To be honest, I wasn’t feeling extremely fulfilled in the research I was doing until my third year when Professor Magistretti and my supervisor Dr Hubert Fiumelli helped me to think like a scientist and ask the right questions. That’s when I seriously considered staying in academia.”

Learning through Volunteer Leadership

An academic pathway involves teaching. While KAUST does not offer teaching positions for graduate students it supports them in their science communication, offers opportunities to attend international conferences, and participation in center-led seminars where students can gain transferrable skills. KAUST’s grad school programs are also available as leadership positions, something Margineanu gravitated towards.

“I guess I have always been attracted to leadership positions as I was leading a student organization in undergrad, so it seemed like an obvious choice for me to join the Graduate Student Council at KAUST to be more active with the community,” said Margineanu. “I ended up founding the student-led Entrepreneurship, Business and Innovation Group (eBIG) at KAUST, and even worked as a residential leader once they created those roles. These roles were really fulfilling on a peer-to-peer level, and I continue to seek them out.”

With a PhD in hand, Margineanu then had to decide where to go next. He realized that his home country, although not well-known for high-quality research in neuroscience, really needed high-quality mentors to encourage growth in that field.

Continuing to Give Back

“When I graduated with my PhD, I decided to go back to my hometown to give back to my country,” said Margineanu. “While this was not an obvious step in pursuing a rigorous academic career I knew I could use my skills to their highest potential there, and I ended up taking a teaching position. It was meant to be temporary, but I have found out that I really enjoy teaching so I think I will continue to pursue it. I am very grateful to KAUST for those transferrable skills in science communication,” said Margineanu.   

Margineanu has demonstrated his passion for teaching and leadership. He now works as a tenure track lecturer at the Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, is undertaking a postdoc at OncoGen focusing on allergy-specific immunotherapies, and is a mentor and founder of Biomentorhub.

“I have really connected everything I love to do in my career, especially in founding Biomentorhub,” said Margineanu. “Biomentorhub is an online platform that aims to connect young students interested in programs and research in the bioscience and medicine fields to academic research professionals as mentors in these fields. The project compliments my research and joins my love for science communication, giving back to my community, education, and mentoring. Students in Romania do not have accessible resources for this type of career path, and I believe Biomentorhub can change that.”

KAUST Reflections

Margineanu reflects on his time at KAUST and his current work in starting the KAUST Alumni European Chapter (working with fellow alumnus Philipp Walter) as he offers a few pieces of advice to current and prospective students.

“At KAUST, it’s easy to get too comfortable knowing our funding is secure, but it is always good to get practice writing grants, since that is something you will have to do in academia outside of KAUST,” said Margineanu.

“But other than that, think of KAUST as a place for both research and community building,” said Margineanu. “Take advantage of the ability to make your best friends there, network across disciplines, join student-led groups and professional societies, and when you graduate, stay in contact with your alumni network. You never know where your connections will help you out, both professionally and personally.”