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Finding balance in lab science by Heather Woolwine Public Relations Peko Tsuji would have made a great lawyer. Her quick wit, sharp intellect and rhetorical presence would have made her a formidable opponent, but a love of nature and its role in human health care will keep her this side of a courtroom and immersed in a laboratory setting for years to come.   Peko Tsuji, center, spends time with mom, Ariko Kauppert, left, and sister, Yasuko Kauppert.   Tsuji, a former law student and now a College of Graduate Studies student, will complete her STAR fellowship and graduate in May. Undoubtedly she will recall leaving law school to pursue a study of nature and health as one of the best decisions of her life. “Learning about animals, the environment, and the human relationship to nature is what works for me. It doesn’t matter on what level- molecular or a whole system—there’s so much to discover. The federal government may have cut funding, and this has discouraged some people from joining the field, but to me, it’s only more of a challenge,” Tsuji said.   Born and raised near Frankfurt, Germany, Tsuji grew up in what she describes as a non-traditional household that emphasized the importance of education, realistic expectations  and tact. “My mother said never to be pushy and to exercise compassion. Her own mother was a teacher, and her father a professor and sculptor, so it came natural for her to let me pursue whatever my heart desired,” she said.   Tsuji received an undergraduate degree in biology and masters in zoology from Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe University in Frankfurt. In 2002, she completed her master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston, all while enrolled in MUSC’s marine biomedicine program in the College of Graduate Studies. While pursuing her doctorate, Tsuji won a competitive award presented to promising masters and doctoral candidates pursuing degrees in environmental studies and related programs. Using fish and human models, Tsuji is studying the effects of dietary flavonoids on the carcinogen Benzo[a]pyrene, found in creosote, oil, and tobacco smoke, and the flavonoids’ potential for preventing lung cancer in humans. “Like my grandmother always said, ‘You do what?’” Tsuji said with a laugh. “The easiest way to think about it is that I look at natural substances, like the components found in green tea, and try to determine if any of those things can fend off cancer.”   Like many women of recent generations, Tsuji has never felt limited by her gender, but she is aware that some remnants of yesteryears’ barriers still exist in the scientific world. “Science is still a male-dominated environment and I have seen mainly two major types of women working in this field,” Tsuji said. “There are the ones who get trampled on, who have no voice, and are not as proactive as they should be. Then there’s another group that tends to be overly aggressive, so they are not overlooked by their male peers. I want to be somewhere in the middle. Times are changing, and it used to be that you had to fall in one of the two groups; you were either overlooked or obnoxious. I think with younger generations, more women see the need for a better combination of the two behaviors.”   Not one to mince words, Tsuji recalled one of her first impressions of women in America when she arrived years prior, “When I came from Germany, I did notice some issues with women. I don’t know if it’s an American or a Southeastern thing, but women seem to be typecast into certain roles or expectations. I can remember talking to girls in their early 20s who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, because they weren’t married yet. It’s like they were disregarding education or any other life goals, which was a completely foreign concept to me.”   During those first few years here, Tsuji worked at Charles Towne Landing as the curator of education, teaching natural and cultural history for visitors and students. She developed personal leadership skills by working with the Boy Scouts of America as a co-ed group leader, and earned her Wood Badge, one of the organization’s highest achievement awards. While at the College of Charleston, Tsuji began to understand the importance of professional mentors, as she watched Pam Jutte, Ph.D., show her ways to navigate a male-dominated science field.    “It’s important in science to find a laboratory mentor who you connect with because you are going to be with that person eight to 12 hours per day for years, and you have to mold your schedule to theirs to maximize interaction,” Tsuji said. “A mentor is so important, because if you end up with one who is completely uninvolved or who is a micromanager, either way it translates into all the makings of a cranky scientist who no longer likes the work they are in. I’ve had the pleasure of a wonderful lab mentor at MUSC, Dr. Thomas Walle (Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology), who pushes all the right buttons at the right times. Through the Presidential Scholars Program, I was able to observe another great mentor, Dr. Valerie West. I’ve learned so much about professional development from her by watching her represent student needs with such enthusiasm. She is a great role model for females in academia.”   And its medical and scientific academia where Tsuji sees room for female growth and opportunity. Citing her mother’s wisdom that you can only complain if you’ve become involved, she envisions leadership roles as a chance for women to prove what many already know.   “Academia allows an environment where women can contribute to the field of science and publish findings on paper that demonstrate what we all know-that women scientists are just as smart and good at what they do as male scientists,” she said.   Not one to become so engulfed by her work that nothing exists outside the lab, Tsuji has been active throughout the MUSC campus in her roles as the previous MUSC Student Government Association secretary and the International Student Association president.   “You have to get involved in things other than science, like salsa dancing,” Tsuji said with a smile. “And it’s important to find ways and people that keep you grounded when you’re working so hard. My girlfriends, Severine and Colleen, have kept me sane, all while continuing to challenge me spiritually and academically. It’s about balancing it all to achieve whatever it is that you want.”   Upon graduation, Tsuji will move to Washington, D.C., where she will begin a cancer prevention post-doctoral fellowship program with the National Cancer Institute.     Friday, March 9, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.