David Gold
Assistant Professor
College/School/Department: College of Letters and Science, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
What made you choose Davis?
There are many reasons why I’m excited to be working at Davis. I’m a native Californian and a UC kid – I received my bachelor’s from UC Irvine and my Ph.D. from UCLA. I appreciate how important the UC system is for raising students up and providing opportunities; it feels great to give back to a school system that has done so much for me.
Another thing that excites me about Davis in particular is how it fosters interdisciplinary research through its graduate groups. I’m working in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, but my research involves genetics and molecular biology. At many schools, it would be tough to recruit biologists to work with me in EPS, but the graduate group program makes it much easier. My first student is coming from the Integrative Genetics and Genomics Graduate Group, which means she gets a degree in the field she is interested in, and I get the right student to help me with my research. I’ve never seen a program like this on another campus; but it fosters interdisciplinary collaboration at a level that I’ve only experienced at very small campuses like Caltech.
What inspires you?
I’m fascinated by the natural world. My interests have changed over time, ranging from the philosophical/theological significance of natural diversity, to understanding the mechanisms that allow a single cell to develop into an adult, to studying how animals change over the course of evolution. But underlying it all is an excitement about the living things around us. I’ve always been particularly captivated by prehistoric life forms, which look so familiar yet so foreign when compared to the organisms we see around us today.
What research are you currently working on? What makes it unique?
My work is part of the burgeoning field of geobiology. This includes a lot of scientists with biological training asking questions that are important to geology. For example, many different groups of animals with hard skeletons show up in the fossil record around the same time. We don’t know why this is the case. Perhaps something changed in the Earth’s rock cycle, releasing minerals that animals could use to build skeletons? Perhaps animals evolved new ways to incorporate minerals into their bodies at this time? There are many different ideas, and the goal is to combine data from paleontology and biology to find ways to test these hypotheses. A couple of things that make my research unusual is that I focus on animals (most geobiologists are interested in the interactions between the Earth and microbes), and I study the evolution of genes themselves, as opposed to the species that carry those genes. I also raise jellyfish in my lab, which you don’t see every day!
If you could impart one piece of advice to our undergraduates seeking a course of study/career path, what would it be?
For students interested in graduate school, I think it is important to both recognize what your passion is, and how you can best leverage your passions to do marketable research. During graduate school, I was studying genetics and development of jellyfish. While I found jellyfish interesting from an evolutionary perspective, I realized that this animal could solve many interesting puzzles regarding tissue generation and how stem cells work. Pursuing this line of research helped me get a postdoctoral position at Caltech. I’m not suggesting you go into stem cell biology if you’re not interested in it, but it’s good to reflect on what you do care about, and see if you can pursue a problem that addresses questions that many people in your field are interested in.
A final thought for students unsure about graduate school – don’t be afraid to take time off before pursuing a higher degree. It’s easy to think that more education is the best way to go, because you’ve probably been in school your whole life. But pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. is a career choice, and many of those careers are very hard to get. You might find that the job you want only requires a bachelor’s, and you could have saved yourself three, five or more years on intense study and low salary. Take some time and talk to as many people in the field as you can before making a decision.
When not in the classroom or conducting research, what do you like to do?
I really enjoy getting outside and hiking in natural spaces. I’ve spent most of my life in Southern California, so I’m very familiar with a number of places around there (Joshua Tree National Park, Crystal Cove State Park, Angeles National Forest). I haven’t had many opportunities to explore Northern California and I’m excited for the chance. I’ll probably start with Muir Woods Monument or Tahoe National Forest, but I’d love to get some recommendations!
Have you found your favorite spot on campus yet?
I’m still just starting to explore campus, so I’m sure there’s lots of hidden gems I haven’t found yet. But right now I’m really enjoying the arboretum. My building is right on the edge of it, so it’s easy to just go outside and take a walk if I have a problem that I need to mull over. It’s such a beautiful and relaxing space.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
A classic question…I’d definitely go with the ability to fly.