Novel Approaches: Lisa Eshun-Wilson ’14 Wants to Transform Science Academia

When you’re committed to charting your own path, it can be tricky to know what the future will hold. For Lisa Eshun-Wilson ’14, that uncertainty is exciting. A Grinnell graduate with a degree in biochemistry, she is currently a structural biologist and postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Research Institute.

As she prepares for the next chapter of her career, Eshun-Wilson envisions a radically transformed culture of scientific research and is thinking creatively about what it means to create a truly inclusive workspace.

For several years, Eshun-Wilson has worked with a technique known as cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine the structure of biologically important proteins. In cryo-EM, rapidly frozen, glass-like water surrounds delicate molecules, protecting them from the microscope’s powerful electron beams. Most recently, Eshun-Wilson and her collaborator, Alba Torrents de la Peña, used cryo-EM to resolve the structure of the surface protein of the hepatitis C virus, which facilitates the virus’ entry into host cells. Their discovery is a huge first step toward developing a structure-based vaccine for the virus, which afflicts more than 58 million people worldwide.

Eshun-Wilson attended Grinnell College from 2010–2014 as a member of the Posse Los Angeles cohort. She says that her Posse and tutorial mentors played a huge role in developing her self-esteem and sense of belonging at Grinnell: “They were just the biggest cheerleaders and sources of support.”

According to Eshun-Wilson, the mentoring she received as an undergraduate was critical to her well-being as both a student and a scientist, and it’s shaped her understanding of what is required for an academic culture where all can thrive.  As a doctoral student at the University of California-Berkeley’s molecular and cell biology program, she found it problematic that the proportion of Black students applying to the Ph.D. program had increased but the percentage accepted remained unchanged. “Not only were Black Ph.D. students entering and exiting the program at lower rates,” she says, “they were also not having traditional success in the program — they weren’t publishing as early or as often as other students.”

With support from the university’s dean, Michael Botchan, Ph.D., Eshun-Wilson established iMCB — inclusive Molecular and Cell Biology. The four pillars of the student-run organization include an annual conference spotlighting the experiences of Black scientists; the creation of paid postdoctoral teaching assistantships for graduate classes; a mentoring program connecting students with unbiased, third-party support; and, finally, constant internal review. It’s important to Eshun-Wilson that iMCB be critical of its own work and efficacy. “I want iMCB to treat efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion the same way we treat scientific endeavors: with a critical perspective and the awareness that our knowledge, and the field, is always evolving.”

As Eshun-Wilson prepares to wrap up her postdoc, she continues to grapple with the flaws and racism she sees embedded in academic research settings. “Many institutions that I’ve visited, I’ve realized that there are inherently racist policies in place that inform who does research and is successful and how it’s done.” While many postdocs go on to establish labs at research institutes, Eshun-Wilson is deeply conscious of how institutional settings can shape the values of a research environment. “I’m enthusiastic about changing how Black and especially female-identifying scientists are represented,” she says. “And I don’t know if I can do that at an existing institution that doesn’t want to change at the rate I want.” As with iMCB, Eshun-Wilson wants to see internal research and reflection prioritized throughout academia. “It’s very Grinnellian to be a pioneer in your field: to constantly pursue growth and be critical, on multiple levels, of how you’re doing it,” she says.

Eshun-Wilson is looking to entrepreneurship as an avenue to blend her research talents with her desire to transform the culture of science research. “I want to have agency over the culture of my workspace and be a part of dramatically reforming academia,” she says.

“Dramatically,” she adds again, for emphasis.

Establishing a start-up company in structural biology would grant her the freedom to foster the research culture she desires while also drawing upon her interest and skills in the business sector. She’s always enjoyed organization, innovation, and policy development — at Scripps, she is currently working to implement a microgrant program for international and socioeconomically disadvantaged postdocs.

If Eshun-Wilson must take an unconventional route to pursue the research she loves amidst a culture she stands behind, she looks forward to the journey. “I am excited to work out something that fits my needs and my strengths and my values. Whether that path exists already or not doesn’t matter — I'll create a new path,” she says.