Alumnae
Alumnae Spotlight
Alumnae Spotlight Archive

July 2021: Carly Levin Filgueira '99

Dr. Carly Levin Filgueira ’99 is an Assistant Professor of Nanomedicine at Houston Methodist who researches the use of tiny “nano” particles (often smaller than the width of a strand of hair!) to help with both the diagnostics and the treatment of diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease. She credits the invaluable mentorship of her undergraduate and doctoral advisors (studying chemistry at George Washington University and Rice University, respectively) with helping her grow as a scientist—one who is skilled at changing her plans in response to results—and is now paying it forward to the next generations of researchers. Yet beyond the laboratory bench, much of Carly’s work involves translating scientific ideas and discoveries into patents, funding grants, and manuscripts. Many of the skills she relies on are ones she developed in nonscientific coursework at Laurel—from the importance of organizing thoughts to argue them effectively and providing specific details to support analytical writing to a love of reading and confidence in her capabilities. Read on to learn more about Carly’s journey from Kindergarten at One Lyman Circle to a scientist with a diverse set of skills!

If you could describe Laurel in three words, what would they be and why?
Loyalty—Not only do I feel very loyal to Laurel School for the foundation it gave me, as well as providing a safe school environment with high standards, but also I have the most amazing, loyal and supportive friends from Laurel.
Empathy—Mr. Rosaschi taught us all this word in Seventh and Eighth Grade social studies. It has stuck with me ever since to have empathy towards others and I know many of my fellow Laurel classmates feel the same way.
Encouraging—The curriculum at Laurel was challenging but it was coupled with the right social environment of dedicated teachers and classmates which made me feel like I had the support to express my curiosity and self-confidence to tackle tough scientific questions.
Tell us about a favorite teacher, lesson, moment or memory in a Laurel science class that inspired you to want to be a science major.
I consider myself so lucky to have been exposed to many great and patient teachers at Laurel. It was this foundation that was established early on and strengthened over time that gave me the confidence to major in Chemistry and pursue a Ph.D.
In Primary, Mrs. Farrell encouraged me to be curious, make observations and draw conclusions from them. In Middle School, Mrs. Lacey had so much enthusiasm as a teacher she would come bursting into the classroom with excitement to engage us all. I remember Ms. Ford in Eighth Grade science teaching us about all the different types of clouds and my thinking, “who knew they had names and could be divided into classes!” I now find myself explaining about them to my 5-year-old son. Mrs. Daley taught us about vectors and scalars, chemical indicators and who could forget the mole song! In my office I have a chemistry bumper sticker just like the ones she had hanging in the classroom that we all used to love that reads “Chemistry is Na Awesome.”

You majored in chemistry at George Washington University. What was the transition to college in general and science in particular like after attending a girls’ school for so long?
In the beginning, I really didn’t pay attention to the ratio of male to female students in my classes. It wasn’t until the higher level physical chemistry and biochemistry classes when I started to notice there were fewer females taking the classes. I formed a study group with another female student and we would support each other in mastering the material.

From Washington, DC, you headed to Houston, earning your Ph.D. in chemistry from Rice University. What advice would you give to other Laurel girls considering applying to graduate school? 
The best investment you can make in yourself is an investment in education.
 
For the past decade, you’ve worked at Houston Methodist, as a member of the Department of Nanomedicine with appointments as Assistant Member in the Research Institute, Assistant Professor of Nanomedicine in the Academic Institute and with the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery. How would you describe a typical day in that role? 
I typically spend the day checking in with my lab staff, which includes two research assistants, a graduate student and three summer interns, as well as collaborators who are typically clinicians in various departments of the hospital. The day might include performing imaging studies with CT or MRI, serving as an editor for a scientific journal by reviewing submitted manuscripts for publication and/or working on my own grant application or pending manuscript.
What is nanomedicine and can you share a bit about your nanotechnology research? 
Nanomedicine uses material on the “nano” scale to prevent and treat disease. This can be particles or devices with dimensions that are smaller than the width of a strand of hair. Typically, electron microscopes are needed to view the material at this scale as they are too small to see even with advanced optical microscopes. The first thing I teach a new member of my lab is how to synthesize their own nanoparticles and how to characterize them with various analytical instrumentation. We apply these particles for indications ranging from imaging contrast agents to treating diseases, like lung cancer and heart disease. A hot term in the field is “theranostics” which is the application of nanotechnology for both therapy and diagnostics.
 
Congratulations on receiving a Discovery Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for your interventional research projects! You’re in a STEM field, yet also need to be a strong writer for journal publications and research grant applications. What is the funding process like for scientists in your field? 
Funding is one of the most difficult aspects of research. Funding can be obtained from private foundations or from large federal agencies and each has its own criteria. Grant applications have extensive sections and requirements that go beyond simple research proposals. Usually, they are looking to fund high risk, high reward ideas where innovation is an important factor, but it must still be a project that is realistically feasible to accomplish.
 
I’d like to add that as I advance as a scientist, my work has been less in the lab and at the bench and more focused on translating the scientific ideas and discoveries into patents, grants and manuscripts. This made me realize that the skills I learned from my nonscientific coursework at Laurel were just as important as the science classes. I have many of my previous English teachers, such as Mrs. Chandler, Mrs. Esselstyn, Mrs. Annabel and Mrs. Stephens to thank. They all taught me how important it is to organize and develop my thoughts in my writing and to argue them effectively. I learned how important it is to proof-read my work and provide specific details to support analytical writing. From Laurel, I also developed a love of reading as I constantly need to be up to date on scientific literature so I can properly reference others in the field. Some of the toughest teachers I had at Laurel, like Dr. Stenson for calculus and Mr. Archer for Latin, taught me that I am capable and if I am willing to put in the extra effort, I can get a lot farther.
 
Will you talk about the importance of mentors in your field? Who are your role models? 
Mentors are essential and I try to pay it forward as I accept interns, students, research assistants and post-doctoral fellows in my lab and extensively train them as I was trained. My doctoral advisor, Naomi J. Halas, was a major influencer in my career path. She invented the first nanoparticle with tunable plasmonic resonances, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (and many other organizations), has over 300 publications and has her own Wikipedia page. I was so lucky to have her accept me in the lab as a graduate student. Toward the end of my degree, she gave me a book to read called A PhD is Not Enough as she believed in me and wanted me to continue in my scientific career.
My undergraduate advisor Dr. J. Houston Miller and current mentor Dr. Alessandro Grattoni have also influenced me to continue my research and grow my lab.

My role models growing up were my Grandma Ruth Levin and Grandpa Erwin Levin who let me live with them during my high school years so I could stay in Cleveland and attend Laurel. They told me to continue with my education for as long as I could because “education was something no one could ever take away from you.”
What is a challenge you experienced and how did you overcome it? 
Science challenges me daily and I often need to change my plans and response to the results. This might be modifying an experimental timeline, adding positive and negative controls, repeating an experiment, testing for significance or minimizing potential error. Your plans and what you think might happen don’t always turn out—which is why it is called a hypothesis—and even though this can be frustrating, after spending so much time, effort and money on a project, you also have to learn to still extract what you can learn from failed experiments and how to redirect and improve for the next project.
On a typical (pre-pandemic) weekend, where would we find you? 
Taking my boys swimming, on a playdate or snail hunting in the backyard.
You’ve stayed connected to Laurel by being an Alumna Big Sister to Ajah Hale ’18. What has it been like connecting with Ajah and what would you say to another alumna considering participating in the Alum Big/Little Sister Program? 
Ajah and I enjoyed lunches, fondly talking about our former teachers (like Senora Hardy) and how Laurel had changed or what was similar about our experiences. I would encourage everyone to participate in this program as staying connected helps maintain that sense of extended community.

What makes you proud to be a Laurel alum?
My fellow ’99 classmates. Laurel taught me good study habits, diligence and confidence in my abilities, and I think it was because my fellow classmates are all so bright! They are all off doing amazing things and I really enjoy reconnecting with them.
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