Seven biology labs from across Johns Hopkins square off in a series of fun physical feats and flex their “worm skills” in this second-annual showdown
Biology postdoctoral fellow Amanda Shaver is getting fresh ink on her right cheek, just below her eye. Her lab mate uses a pen to carefully draw a tiny hook of a worm, while Shaver prints “Worm King” across her own knuckles. Biology professor Erik Andersen lights an alcohol lamp, and the Wormlympics begin. Johns Hopkins University’s second annual Wormlympics is part physical feats, part “worm skills,” and part team building. Seven biology labs from across the university’s Homewood and East Baltimore campuses compete in tasks based on their shared research tool: microscopic roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans. The events range from shooting pipette tips into a bin to crab walking around the Glass Pavilion in full lab gear, carrying a flapping, empty biohazard bag.
“This is my first Wormlympics,” says senior Judith Visser, a researcher in the biology lab of Associate Professor John Kim. “It was great to see everyone come out of their shells.”
During the molecular bio-athalon, lab members from high school students through PIs rush to organize a full tray of pipette tips, then balance the levels of a solution inside. In another task, three lab members work together to prepare worms in petri dishes. The team that can gather the most C. elegans worms in one try using a worm pick, like a pen with a thin wire proboscis, wins. Everyone cheers on their colleagues, but the tension is thicker than the agar.
Andersen came up with the Wormlympics at his previous university and brought it along when he came to JHU in 2023. The event is run by a cross-lab committee of students, faculty, and staff. “I wanted a way for us to talk and get to know each other better,” he says. “If people in the labs know each other, we can share techniques. That’s how the real sharing of information and collaborations all start, and they work best if they’re grassroots at the student and postdoc level.”
C. elegans is used for scientific research in hundreds of labs worldwide because it’s easy to work with, self-fertilizes, and can reproduce hundreds of new worms in days. Worm researchers have a tradition of sharing unpublished data to further science, and that sense of community is strong at Johns Hopkins. The Wormlympics include all levels of researchers and non-worm researchers, too. Calvin Runnels, a biology graduate student and “spider guy” from the lab of biology Associate Professor Andrew Gordus learned how to pick worms just for this event. He also won “Most Creative Worm Art” for a pair of C. elegans earrings.
“I’ve worked with a lot of labs that use organisms besides worms, but the worm community is pretty friendly,” Shaver says. “I think that’s just how worm people are.”
It’s a competitive group, Andersen says, so this is a fun way for them to start the semester and get to know each other socially. Lab members chat about what days they’ll work in the lab, the types of pipettes they use, or summer vacations. They whisper over worm and Baltimore trivia questions. Is RMH a C. elegans neuron or an airport abbreviation? How many ingredients of Old Bay seasoning can they name in one minute?
In the end, Geraldine Seydoux‘s molecular biology and genetics lab at the School of Medicine takes the top prize. Seydoux is a professor who has worked in worm labs for 40 years, but she still seems humbled to accept the handmade “Golden Pick” trophy. “I was not expecting this at all!” she says. The trophy will be displayed in her lab until a new winner is crowned.
The ceremonial Wormlympics flame is extinguished, until next year.
This posting is based on release authored by Rebecca Shillen.