Otonye Braide-Moncoeur, assistant professor of chemistry at Gordon College in Massachusetts, had a truly international upbringing due to her father’s career as a diplomat. “I’m considered a third culture kid,” she shares. “I grew up in several countries: Gabon, Nigeria, United States, Philippines, Austria; I moved a lot. Within the United States alone I have lived in Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, and now Massachusetts.”
As a child, Braide-Moncoeur told her parents that she wanted to do work that would help people. “My mom planted the seed a typical Nigerian parent would,” she says. “At least back then, the approved career paths were lawyers, doctors, engineers, pharmacists. So it was only fitting that I become a medical doctor and since I felt I liked kids, pediatrician was it. But I also thoroughly enjoyed the arts and have always participated in it.” She combined the two into a big dream of becoming a pediatrician by day and a Broadway actress by night.
By the time she was in high school, Braide-Moncoeur was still planning to become a medical doctor, but found herself drawn to biology and afraid of the chemistry and physics classes. “This fear carried on into college even though I was determined to be a pre-med major,” she says. “Freshman year I took my general biology prerequisites but completely avoided general chemistry; I was also happy calculus-based physics was not in my future.” Toward the end of her freshman year, a friend encouraged her to get on track with her pre-med requirements. She enrolled in general chemistry the next semester and it suddenly clicked. “From that point on, science became this big puzzle that required solving and I was stimulated in so many new ways. I eventually switched to be a chem major, which meant doing calculus based physics and more math, but I found myself enjoying them,” she shares.
“[Biophysics] exemplifies just how important it is to combine different fields in tackling important questions”
— Braide-Moncoeur
As an undergraduate, Braide-Moncoeur participated in a number of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), which sparked her interest in a research career rather than one as a medical doctor. It was during a Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) REU program facilitated through Winston-Salem State University that she first became interested in biophysical topics. “Through this program, they placed me in a proteomics research group in Biomedicum Helsinki based on my interests. Dr. Marc H. Baumann assigned me to a project where we purified and characterized the recombinantly produced Tyrosine-kinase Hck SH3,” she explains. “Our overall goal was to determine which segments triggered aggregation and formation of amyloid fibrils, which was of particular interest for understanding various neurodegenerative diseases. This opportunity really impacted my desire to pursue work that would allow me to study proteins especially in relation to diseases.
A few years later, during her PhD studies at the University of Florida, she was officially introduced to biophysics in the lab of Gail E. Fanucci. “As a physical chemist, her group used various techniques — EPR, NMR, etc. — to tackle biological questions, and it was through her accepting me into her research group that I learned what biophysics entailed,” she says. “She also encouraged me to apply for the Minority Affairs Committee [now the Committee for Inclusion and Diversity] travel award to attend the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting; BPS made a remarkable impression on me.” During her graduate studies, Braide-Moncoeur had a long journey to finding a lab that was the right fit for her, in terms of research interests and mentorship. “The desire for this combo, though it seems reasonable, became the biggest obstacle for me during my graduate school career. In one case, the advisor I had was cornering me into computational work, which focused on cyclic square wave voltammetry. In another case, the initially agreedupon project was no longer of interest to the advisor, and there was lack of mentorship,” she says. “In both cases, I had to take a risk by moving on. Both times, it was an extremely scary decision to make but God worked it for my good in the end. I finally ended up in the Fanucci group, and it was all worth it. I had the perfect mentor and work that aligned with my interests. I grew exponentially thanks to that match.”
Biophysics was a great fit for her, too. “Biophysics makes sense,” she says. “It provides you with tangible explanations of how biological systems are able to function. It assembles the puzzle with such a versatile range of tools, and to me exemplifies just how important it is to combine different fields in tackling important questions.”
Following completion of her PhD studies in 2014, Braide-Moncoeur began at Gordon College, a primarily undergraduate institution in northeastern Massachusetts, as assistant professor of chemistry. Her lab works on furthering the mechanistic understanding of pulmonary surfactant at the membrane-fluid interface. “Premature infants with underdeveloped lungs typically develop respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) because their lungs lack the surfactant lining crucial for oxygen absorption or have genetically failed to produce critical components of lung surfactant (LS) needed for proper function. LS is a complex mixture of lipids and proteins known to provide a protective barrier against inhaled pathogens, lower alveolar surface tension, and promote oxygen exchange. The functional significance of LS is clear; however, a detailed mechanistic understanding of how lipids are trafficked to and from the air-fluid interface for oxygen absorption remains unknown,” she explains. “Though the bulk of LS is made up of lipids (~90%), it is non-functional without the presence of surfactant proteins (SP-A, B, C, and D), especially SP-B, which is known to reduce surface tension and closely associates with lipids in the bulk phase of liquid below alveoli surface film (hypophase). As SP-B is highly hydrophobic and structurally complex, challenges in synthesis and expression of a functionally active recombinant have led to increased efforts to use synthetic alternatives in developing novel therapeutics for RDS treatment, and to elucidate the mechanism of function.”
Braide-Moncoeur continues, “Despite several advances in elucidating structural properties of the synthetic surfactant peptides, molecular level information is still pertinent to understanding how it moderates surface tension reduction and interfacial film fluidity in the alveoli, and to elucidate the mechanism by which lipid trafficking occurs.” The goal of the project is to further understanding of fundamental membrane-protein interactions and of specific LS component functions, using fluorescence spectroscopy to study localized environmental changes in fluidity and lipid dynamics.
At an institution focused on teaching, it can be a challenge for Braide-Moncoeur to stay current and active in scientific research, but seeing her students develop an enthusiasm for research is hugely gratifying. “[The most rewarding aspect of my work] is seeing the passion that develops in research students as their work begins to make sense to them,” she says. “They become so motivated and actually look forward to sharing their progress in various settings — local research symposia, conferences, etc.”
“I am grateful to be able to have a position in academia because it combines my interests in teaching and research but I would also like to play a more active role in mentorship of students within the STEM field beyond my current place of employment. I believe there is a need for it,” she shares. “As for my contribution to biophysics, I am hopeful that I can continue adding clarifying pieces to the puzzle of understanding. Our world is complex and fascinating: it is worth studying.”