In this blog post, I interview Dr. Frank Steiner, Senior Manager Product Applications & Scientific Advisor, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Is self-rejection part of our innate human nature?
Can you think of a time when you didn’t take a chance on something you really wanted for fear of failure or rejection? I’m definitely guilty, and I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there more than we’d like to admit.
But here’s what you’ll learn with experience and introspection: Your mind is a powerful tool and the things you tell yourself (consciously or subconsciously) affect you more than any other person’s words.
The truth is, with discipline and a positive attitude, you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to. So, if you feel like you’re not smart enough to be a scientist, win a Nobel Prize, or land your dream job at a prestigious research institute, change your way of thinking.
As our interviewee, Dr. Frank Steiner says from personal experience, stop self-rejecting, set goals and work hard to achieve your dreams.
Did you always know you wanted to be a scientist, or did you discover that later in life?
Science wasn’t my first love as a young child. In the beginning, I was more into art and music and started to play acoustic and electric guitar at age 11. I became a member of local rock bands at 16 and devoted my free time to learning classic rock songs on the guitar.
While it was really fun, I realized that not everybody with some talent can become a rockstar and decided to keep it as a hobby. To figure out what I actually wanted to do as an adult took some time and it was later that I discovered my passion for chemistry.
When I started classes at my university, I realized that chemistry is an essential part of our everyday life. Something in those introduction classes struck me and I wanted to learn more.
As I began to work through my strengths and weaknesses (math and physics weren’t exactly my favorite subjects, but I persevered) I noticed that I was naturally drawn to Chemistry Digest articles.
Over time my passion for Physical Chemistry grew because of how logical and systematic the subject is.
How did you get started in analytical chemistry?
During my time at university, I was exposed to various branches of chemistry through coursework, but inorganic analysis classes truly captivated my interest, much more than organic synthesis.
The importance of accurate and robust analysis resonates with me, and I realized that understanding how to develop precise methods was crucial for the advancement of chemistry as a whole. Motivated by this realization, I decided to delve deeper into the field of analytical chemistry.
I sought out opportunities to expand my knowledge and skills, and I was fortunate enough to work alongside Professor Heinz Engelhardt for my master’s and Ph.D. theses. Under his guidance, I had my first hands-on experience with chromatography, specifically high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
I completed my Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in Professor Engelhardt’s lab. My research was a mix of synthesis (I just couldn’t fully get away from organic synthesis 😊) and characterization of stationary phases for silica-based weak cation exchanges to separate alkali and alkaline earth metals.
What do you love most about being a chromatographer?
For me personally, the wide range of applicability, yet it all follows the same principle.
I don’t think there’s any analytical technology that’s more widely used than chromatography.
It is so complex (like structure retention relationships) and not easy to understand, which is why we need experts. This challenge is what excites me!
Modeling and describing retention mechanisms are my favorite, but also how to optimize all the kinetic parameters of particle size, column dimensions and mobile phase velocity.
And last but not least there is the role of temperature, which impacts the kinetic aspects and the thermodynamic aspects that control selectivity.
What’s your advice for those who feel they are not smart enough to be a scientist?
Stop with the doubt and negative thoughts — you can do anything you set your mind to.
I’ve learned self-confidence and psychology play a big part, but it does not come overnight or for free. You have to believe in yourself that you can do it and can understand it.
Put in the work and practice and know your strengths and weaknesses. And be curious. With that being said, you also have to understand WHAT you need to know and why.
Ask yourself, “Would I be able to teach this to someone else?” If you’re there, then you can apply what you know and move forward.
You have a natural love for music. How does your artistic and creative side connect to your scientific work?
My love for music goes back to the classic rock of the ‘70s and ‘80s that I grew up with. I still play guitar, but today mostly for myself at home to relax when I need a mental break.
Fun fact: There was a time when we even had a band in the company, and we even wrote music. The band was named Hardtron, as a parody to the last part of the company name, Softron. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously as musicians, but we had loads of fun playing at company events.
What I enjoy most in my free time nowadays is inshore sailing. I do this both in a more competitive way in regattas, but also to chill out on a lake. It is also good physical and mental focus training, at least on windy days.
Let’s talk about the future of chromatography. We’re at the forefront of single-cell HPLC analysis. What BIG thing do you think will come next?
I believe there isn’t much further to go beyond single-cell analysis in the life sciences, with respect to the entity investigated. What I do think is the next big thing is a deeper understanding of the dynamics within biological systems utilizing the chromatographic data.
As the “omics” disciplines continue to expand, we are learning more about phenomics and epigenomics, which provide insights into the complex internal dynamics of organisms. However, it is equally important to consider the impact of external factors, which is referred to as exposomics.
Beyond the continued advancements in technology to improve sensitivity and deal with very small sample sizes, the demand for understanding analyte variations will require a significant amount of data analysis.
Techniques like ion mobility spectrometry can potentially handle the data per unit time better than chromatographic methods hyphenated to MS, but I believe these techniques are complementary and will continue to advance our understanding as long as we can learn to process and understand the vast amounts of data that will be generated.
I also think scientists like me will benefit from the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) when applied to the huge amounts of data generated during complex separations. I cannot see a sustainable way to manually analyze these vast amounts of data with our conventional practices.
AI and ML will effectively make the data generated from analytical systems more usable with automation and can assist future scientists with new discoveries through the ability to recognize patterns within and across sample sets.
Outside of single-cell analysis, or all the cutting-edge research work, I’d love to see the more fundamental technical capabilities of HPLC progress further.
A universal detector (ideally not aerosol-based) that can also detect volatile analytes would be an example here.
Such a technology would be a MAJOR breakthrough.
What do you want to be remembered for in the scientific community?
I see myself as an educator and motivator first.
I’d love for my contributions to the applications of HPLC to get newcomers on board and take away their concerns regarding the challenges of chromatography.
Anyone can set up a run, but only those who understand the full chemical and chromatographic background can fully judge an analytical method AND properly interpret analytical results.
This ability mainly comes with long years of experience, but at some point, everybody is a beginner and needs guidance and encouragement from a seasoned hand.
Want to hear more thought leadership from Dr. Frank Steiner?
Listen to our new Bringing Chemistry to Life Podcast episode today. Go to Season 5, Episode 3.