Jessica M.J. Swanson’s father was a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working in areas ranging from inorganic to bioinorganic chemistry. “He is the most curious man I know, and I love him for it,” she shares. “Some things run in the blood. Some are nurtured. My love for science could be a combination of the two.”
She started her undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico, where she had a soccer scholarship, but quickly transitioned to the University of California, Davis, where she could still play soccer and could access more biochemistry major options. Swanson says, “I enrolled in undergrad as a biochemistry major, drawn to both the physical and life sciences, while also taking some additional physics and physical chemistry courses simply because I enjoyed them. It wasn’t until the end of my junior year that I was even aware of the domain of computational biophysics. I had a wonderfully curious and interesting professor teaching my physical chemistry course, Alexei Stuchebrukhov, who invited me to try some research in computational chemistry. I had no idea what that was. I naively thought it had something to do with data entry and that it would be terribly boring. I could not have been more wrong.” She recalls, “Alexei started me on a project exploring hydration properties in the proton pump cytochrome c oxidase, a system I would eventually study enough to write a book chapter on it. It was wonderful—so intriguing. I knew then that I wanted to be a computational chemist, who used simulations to explain how things happen at the molecular level, but I wanted to do it on biological systems. Enter computational biophysics.”
After completing her bachelor’s degree, she took a year to try professional rock climbing while she applied to graduate schools. She states, “It was a good experience. I found non-academic life to be fun at first and then quite boring. So, I was more than ready by the time I started my PhD to return to it.” She did her graduate work at the University of California, San Diego, which she selected to work with Andy McCammon. Swanson shares, “This was a good choice in the end. Andy is a wonderful leader, scientist, and person. He provided an environment that attracted good students and postdocs, creating a group I could thrive in.”
Once she had completed her PhD, she received a Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship to work with Jack Simons at the University of Utah. “Jack was the third in a series of wonderful mentors,” she declares. “In collaboration with the Gregory A. Voth Group, I was fortunate to be able to explore and learn a great deal about the domain of proton solvation and transport. Working with Jack, we used electronic structure calculations to quantify the degree of delocalization in the solvated excess proton and reactive MD [molecular dynamics] to revisit the process of proton pumping in cytochrome c oxidase.”
Swanson worked at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago from 2010 to 2019, at which point she accepted an assistant professorship at the University of Utah. Her lab works on developing multiscale kinetic modeling methods for channels and transporters, using simulations to characterize the regulation mechanisms of the lipid droplet proteome, characterizing the folding propensity and design strategies for lasso peptides, and unraveling the limiting factors in the uptake and oxidation of methane in methanotrophs to advance the development of bioreactors for methane mitigation.
Her favorite thing about biophysics is the role biophysics researchers play in helping to solve societal problems by working together to unravel and explain fascinating and sometimes fundamental scientific questions. Swanson remarks, “Going forward, I’m excited to see an increasing powerful bridge between theory and experiment and a growing appreciation of how equilibrium descriptions form a foundation to understand how non-equilibrium behavior drives the processes we often want to describe.
I’m also hopeful that the artificial intelligence and machine learning revolution, which is a powerful force, will swing around to increase our fundamental physical insight and that the latter will not be lost to fancy models that work for reasons that no one really appreciates.”
The most rewarding part of her career is working with her students and, she adds, “My second-favorite part is when we find curious data that only partially make sense and we have to dig deeper into it—especially when that digging comes together to reveal some new biophysical insight.” Her biggest career challenge has been learning how to handle feedback. “I have learned to have thick skin and to interpret criticism constructively when it is warranted and properly categorize it when it is not,” she explains. “Through experience taking criticism personally, I have realized what a waste of time and energy that is.”
She considers biophysics her scientific home. Swanson notes, “It’s not well established at many institutions, but it is a community that bridges departments. The Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Subgroup meetings, and Biophysical Journal are highly valuable gatherings of the biophysical community.” She continues, “I have met so many and learned so much through the Annual Meetings and the journal. I can’t imagine my career without them.”
Outside of work, Swanson spends time with her two children (9 and 11 years of age), her husband, and their three-legged rescue dog, Rusty. “I’m also attempting triathlons…but they may have to wait until after tenure,” she jokes. Her advice for those just starting their scientific careers is to follow your passion and curiosity, “but don’t forget to look up to think through who you want to be—both on an everyday basis and ultimately when you look back at it all.”