Get to Know New Faculty: Dr. Billington, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Dr. Neil Billington has taken on a new role for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. Dr. Billington is a Service Assistant Professor and Director of the Microscope Imagine Facility, who started with the department in August. “He is a perfect fit to lead the imagining core at WVU HSC and the visual morphology and function core”, states Dr. Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine.
Billington was born in the north of England, he jokes, “No, that’s not the same thing as Scotland.” He received his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and completed his Master’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Manchester, UK. Billington then went to the University of Leeds, UK, to complete his PhD in which he used electron microscopy to study how conformational changes in the motor protein myosin drive muscle contraction. Billington states, “I was fortunate enough to have both my Master’s degree and PhD funded by scholarships.”
In his career, Billington reflects on successful article submissions. He states, “My paper characterizing nonmuscle myosin-2 received F1000Prime recommendation, as did five other papers on which I was a co-author.”
“It has been a welcoming and enjoyable experience so far at WVU. I’m looking forward to working with you all in future,” Billington expresses.
“We are lucky to have a talented scientist who is an expert in investigating protein structure by electron microscopy. In a short time, he has helped several investigators at WVU and is a Co-I on a recently submitted NIH grant,” Ramamurthy states.
Interview with Neil Billington:
How did you get into your field of science? Was there a specific “a-ha” kind of moment?
The old saying goes that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I was really drawn to the use of imaging to understand complicated processes in biology. There have been times in my career where seeing a single image through the microscope has instantly unraveled a complicated scientific question. Although microscopy is more often about careful quantification and controls, those types of revelatory moments are why I like microscopy.
Why did you choose to come work for West Virginia University?
I was excited by the opportunity of a position that would allow me to intersect with many different types of science. My previous position was very focused, as many are, on a particular area of biology. The chance to help in advancing research across many different fields was very enticing.
What are you hoping to accomplish at WVU?
I hope that I am able to serve the WVU community, to help in introducing new people to microscopy and to allow all different types of researchers get the images they need to move their science forward.
What is special about WVU to you?
The combination of world leading research institution with the collegiate atmosphere and beautiful surroundings of West Virginia is something quite rare. Universities or institutions with such scientific opportunities are typically found in large urban areas without the chance to be close to nature.
What would you tell a new student going into the BMM Program, or what stood out to you from your educational experience and training to give advice to students?
If you become proficient in a small number of important techniques and have good experimental design, you can answer many biological questions. It’s better to really understand a few important methods than to have a cursory understanding of many. You will learn more in time anyway.
What is the most rewarding part of your position?
Working with all different types of people and helping them to make progress in their projects, as well as to learn new skills that will be useful in their future careers.
What is the best thing about being in your career/what you do?
Seeing things for the first time. To look at a protein in the electron microscope that no human has ever seen before or to see a phenomenon in the light microscope that’s never been directly observed is pretty amazing.
What is your research about?
My field of research before joining WVU was molecular motors. How proteins convert chemical energy into motion to move things around the cell, or how cells harness those motors to move themselves. It’s an area of biology that I continue to find fascinating.
My current role as Director of the Imaging Facility is about helping others to maximize their potential in their own research.
Group picture from left to right: Kelsey Wright (Core Imaging Specialist) and Dr. Neil Billington