Hughes Mentor:  Kenneth Kemphues

Department: Molecular Biology and Genetics

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Faculty Interview with Professor Kenneth Kemphues

Ken Kemphues is both a Professor of and the Chairperson of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University. After studying for two years at Northern Virginia Community College, he received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Virginia in 1976. As an undergraduate, Professor Kemphues knew several things about himself: he loved biology, he wanted to do research, and he wanted to make an important discovery.

Professor Kemphues believes that a lot of the reasoning behind where people end up in life is an accident; however, he did know early on that he was interested in developmental biology. As an undergraduate, he was fascinated by the experiments done by Curtis and Spemann on the amphibian axis, commenting that their interpretations of the manipulation of the grey crescent appeared to be “almost like the secret of life.” Accordingly, he studied in an amphibian lab as an undergraduate before rotating around in graduate school and ending up in a Drosophila genetics lab at Indiana University. At UVA, a grad student had recommended that Professor Kemphues get into Drosophila genetics and development, and he was right: the field exploded in the late 70’s with pioneer papers by such future Nobel Laureates as Christiane Nusslein-Vollhard, Edward Lewis, and Eric Weischaus. Professor Kemphues’s doctoral thesis later centered on spermatogenesis in the fruit fly.

After receiving his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1981, Professor Kemphues – as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado – had the opportunity to indulge his original fascination with embryonic development and polarity by working with a new system at the time, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. It was this step that led him to his current position at Cornell, where he joined the faculty in 1984. Cornell was the only place that he interviewed, and once he got the job, he didn’t look elsewhere: it was perfect, he says. Professor Kemphues was looking for a major university in a rural environment, and Cornell fit the bill. It was big enough for him to reap all the cultural and intellectual benefits of teaching and researching at a large university, and the location afforded him the relaxed country environment that today suits his position as a birdwatcher, hiker, and self-proclaimed “addicted trout fisherman” quite nicely. More than 20 years later, the Kemphues lab focuses on factors contributing to cell polarity in C. elegans. One particular application of his research about which Professor Kemphues is very happy – and admittedly a little proud of, as well – is the discovery of RNAi in his lab, which was an early starting point from which Craig Mello and Andrew Fire went on to do the work that earned them the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

For undergraduates interested in working in the Kemphues lab, there’s good news: Professor Kemphues says that he doesn’t rigorously screen applicants, explaining that it’s difficult to judge based on a brief interview or a transcript how successful a student might be in the lab. He particularly values those students in his lab that are neat, organized, and able to demonstrate initiative and a strong commitment to their research. According to Professor Kemphues, a good scientist is a person who can truly enjoy and appreciate the process of doing research, without necessarily getting caught up on looking for results.

When asked to give advice to someone who wants to follow in a similar career path, Professor Kemphues has several recommendations. A crucial part of being a successful scientist is to both read and think deeply in order to really assimilate the literature. A good researcher must be willing to take a creative idea and test it, and also be able to recognize the significance of accidents. His advice is to push yourself, because often you can go farther than you think possible; at other times, though, it’s important to recognize when you’ve hit a wall and can’t go on.

Professor Kemphues has a lot on his plate – in addition to teaching and running a lab, he is at the start of a three-year tenure as the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department Chairperson. He says that the most important part of his role as such is to fulfill his responsibilities by facilitating teaching and research. He also hopes to find out and get down on paper what the overall vision of the faculty is for their own department. With so much to do, it’s lucky that Professor Kemphues feels that he’s in exactly the right place; he says that he couldn’t imagine a more fulfilling life for himself than the one he has created here at Cornell.

Interview with Dr. Ken Kemphues

Q. Where did you grow up?
A. Cincinnati, Ohio.

Q: Where did you go to college?
A: I didn’t do well at U of C, so I took 2 years off and then did community college at Northern Virginia Community College and then finished off and graduated from U Va.

Q: How did you first become interested in science?
A: I was actually first interested in psychology and how kids learn – early childhood education – but decided that the field was not for me. I got interested in biology, specifically in embryology. In my psychology classes, I was impressed that there were significant people who got niches in textbooks by discovering something important. I realized that I wanted to do that also – discover something significant.

Q: When was your first research stint?
A: It was my first semester of senior year. It was a lab that studied endocrinology, specifically a discharge from the head of newts. It was a really good experience and convinced me that I wanted to do research. The lab experience gave me both the confidence and confirmation to go to grad school. I had 5 years at Indiana University where I received my Ph.D in Genetics. I studied Drosophila spermatogenesis.

Q: How did you become interested in the field you currently study?
A: I was interested in embryology in college, even though my grad work was not specifically in it. When Brenner developed the nematode as a model, it took me back to my original goal of embryology. I did my post-doc training in the embryology of the nematode. It has been 23 years and I am still very interested in the field. I like that I can develop tools for studying the nematode and be more of a pioneer.

Q: Do you enjoy working with undergraduates, and what do you think they can bring to the lab?
A: Undergrads are usually more eager, less cynical and sometimes extremely talented, especially Cornell undergraduates. There is potential for real research progress by undergrads in the lab. It’s also important for their education. It’s the only way to find out if research is really for you. Working in a lab is the best way to figure this out. Whether you decide to do research permanently or not, the experience is equally valuable. For me, when I teach undergraduates, I can see problems and perspectives through their eyes. Undergrads can remind me of how exciting the research and field really is.

Q: What advice and expectations would you have for undergrads who are thinking of working in your lab?
A: Take BioGD 281. Read some of the lab papers before coming in for an interview. You should be a sophomore but I won’t turn away a freshman.
Q: What qualities and skills do you think a future research should refine?
A: I have been running a lab for 20 years but it’s still hard to say what makes a good researcher. The key is good judgment – in your research, how do you spend your time and effort. For example, deciding what’s a good project or a suitable way to direct your thinking and experiments. You should have a willingness to work hard. You should also really love the process – you should be able to get pleasure from performing routine tasks well. For example, if your antibody staining is perfect or having perfect gel bands. You should enjoy learning and be able to put with frustration and tedium. Finally, you should have a love of biology, especially if you want to work in a biology lab. But it’s not always necessary, I have had diverse student backgrounds such as chemical engineering and they have still done well.


Research in the Kemphues Lab
Research in this lab centers on the model organism, C. elegans. Specifically, the Kemphues lab examines the role of cytoplasmic factors in determining embryonic polarity and cell fate determination. These factors are localized (segregated) during or before cell division. The resulting daughter cells can then be distinguished based on whether they contain such factors. The Kemphues lab has identified par genes (named for ‘partitioning’), which produce PAR proteins that play a role in the segregation of factors i.e. partitioning the early embryo. Their current focus is on understanding how PAR proteins become localized and 2) How the PAR proteins influence distribution of other cytoplasmic factors. Other interests in the lab include later roles of PAR in development (specifically, PAR-1 in morphogenesis of the vulva).