Reprogramming Life - Yuliya Politanska

Reprogramming Life - Yuliya Politanska

From The Baker Lab Podcast by David Baker

April 5, 2025 · 47 min · Episode 6

About this episode

Yuliya Politanska shares her journey from Ukraine to becoming a PhD student designing proteins to control cell behavior.

Yuliya Politanska’s path to science began with onion cells and a microscope in her hometown of Chernivtsi, Ukraine. As a teen, she moved to the U.S. and grew comfortable speaking English only after propping a dictionary right next to her textbooks. Now a third-year PhD student in the lab, Yuliya is designing custom proteins that bind to DNA to control how cells behave—work that could one day help repair diseased or damaged tissue. In this episode, Yuliya shares her story of resilience, curiosity, and reinvention: from working in an ambulance to finding confidence in a massive research lab. Along the way, we explore the concept of cellular plasticity—and how people, like cells, can totally transform when placed in new environments. // This podcast was produced at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine by Ian Haydon, Roni Weissman, Enisha Sehgal, Nora McNamara-Bordewick, Riti Biswas, Joe Min, and Nathan Forest Greenwood. // Music by Kevin MacLeod .

People in this episode

Host: David Baker

Guest: Yuliya Politanska

Topics covered

  • cellular plasticity
  • custom proteins
  • resilience
  • scientific research
  • personal transformation

Keywords

  • Yuliya Politanska
  • cell behavior
  • custom proteins
  • resilience
  • scientific journey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington School of Medicine

Places: Chernivtsi, Ukraine

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