Kate Murphy

Histotechnician Kate Murphy makes microscopy accessible for everyone

Scientist, science influencer, and even designer, Kate Murphy masters it all. Originating from Upstate New York, she knew early that she wanted to pursue a career in science. Years later, she has accomplished that goal. She is a histotechnician working in veterinary medicine and an expert in all things tissue. But Kate does not keep her exciting career to herself. Instead, she shares it with the world. Her Instagram account, Histoqueenofhearts, has over 50,000 followers who are interested in the exciting work she conducts in the lab.

However, Kate is a woman of many talents. Recently, she participated as a designer and model in the inaugural Science Ball at the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester), where she created stunning laboratory coats that represented the research field of the person (e.g., me) who wore them.

I sat down with Kate not long after the Science Ball to talk about her career and dwell on the great time we had in Worcester.

Where did you grow up and when did you know you wanted to become a scientist?

I grew up in a very small town in Upstate New York, where there are far more cows than there are people. I knew I wanted to pursue science in middle school, specifically when we started learning about human anatomy. My biology teacher made a giant heart diagram on the floor with tape, and she walked through it to show us how blood moves through the heart. And I thought it was the coolest thing. Learning about the circulation of blood in the body was the first time I remember really being fascinated by anatomy. I’ve just always had a love for all the biological sciences.

How did you pursue your passion academically?

When it came time to decide where to go to college, I was kind of stuck. I sat down with my guidance counselor, and I told her that maybe I wanted to get a biology degree? But I wasn’t even entirely sure what I would do with that when I graduated. She knew that I also enjoyed my art classes in high school, so she recommended a histotechnology program at SUNY Cobleskill. She knew this job was a lovely blend of art and science. At first, I viewed it as a steppingstone in my career path. But I enjoyed the program so much I was excited to get out into the field and begin working.

What was the highlight of your studies when you pursued it?

The highlight of my histology program was absolutely the special stains. We learned the chemistry behind the stain, and followed it up by running the protocol ourselves. The slides were absolutely beautiful. It made me realize that the microscopic world is a work of art like nothing that I had ever seen before. This was the part of my education that solidified my desire to be in this career field for the rest of my life.

You have been a histotechnician for almost 10 years now. What kind of samples do you usually investigate?

For the last four years of my career, I have been doing diagnostic and research work at a veterinary university. While working in the diagnostic lab I worked a lot with pets, like dogs, cats, and farm animals. In my current role, where I am doing research, it is more often research animals like pigs, sheep, rats and mice. My favorite samples are anything to do with kidneys. I love kidneys. It was my favorite structure to learn about in my Histology courses.

Can you describe a typical workday for you?

A typical workday for me usually includes all the steps to preparing microscope slides. So embedding, cutting, and staining the slides. In my current role, I do a lot of IHC staining. We have a couple of automatic stainer in the lab that help me, so I have learned how to use those. Each day is a bit different depending on the studies and what doctors are looking for specifically. I like that my job is not exactly the same thing every single day.

However, I am far from a master. I have only been in the field for 10 years, which feels like very little time in comparison to a lot of the people who have mentored me. I am still learning about IHC staining and troubleshooting, so that can present a challenge for me at times. Luckily, I have very good resources in the lab and on campus who are willing and able to help me with new protocols.

When and why did you start your social media journey?

I initially started my instagram account as a receptacle for all the slide images I had been collecting. I was always taking pictures of special stains and for a very long time I was mostly just followed by my friends and family. Then one day it grew to become something much more.

The account did not gain traction until 2021 where I established a working relationship with Evident Life Sciences (which used to be Olympus Life Sciences). They really liked my images, and they reached out to ask if they could repost some of my images on their account. When they began sharing them, more people came flooding to my account. It changed practically overnight. I had so many new followers and this Instagram account became the perfect space to share my passions and connect with others who also loved microscopy.

Do you know what careers some of your followers pursue and do you think you have inspired some of them to become histotechnicians?

I hope I have inspired at least a few people to pursue a career in histology. I’ve had many students in histology programs reach out to say they enjoy my images. Same with professors, saying they share my pictures with their classes. I’ve also connected with many scientists from all different disciplines. I’ve met people who are equally as passionate about their own field of science as I am. We simply connect over the passion for science communication. And I think that’s a really beautiful thing.

I try to make my account as accessible as possible. I always do my best to explain the imagery in all the captions. My goal is that people, even without a science background, have the opportunity to read and learn something new from me. So even if I don't inspire someone to pursue histology, I still want them to be able to take something away from what I am sharing.

In addition to being a skilled scientist, you also just designed a very fancy lab coat (mine). How did you become interested in fashion and how easy was it to begin this journey?

I would hardly call myself a designer. I have very minimal experience with making clothing, as I haven't actually committed to any large projects in years. But I get inspiration from my grandmother who taught me how to sew. She made a lot of clothes for me growing up, so I had so many outfits from her, and she did her best to pass on that knowledge to me. I had never designed anything like the lab coats until I had this opportunity. Though I do consider myself to be an artsy person, I had never thought of myself as a designer until now. Most of my crafting hobbies up until this point has been painting and crocheting. So, this lab coat project was a great way to jump back into the art of designing clothing.

Can you share any future plans with us?

I would really like to learn more about video editing so I can expand to a youtube channel. I would love to create a resource for histology students to use when studying for their certification exams. The problem is that I’m a little technically challenged, so I’m still learning the ins and outs of creating video content. I really hope to be able to expand to more platforms in the future.

Outside of my life online, I am continuing to do my outreach and volunteering within my local histology community. I was recently named the President of the Massachusetts Society of Histotechnology and I’m incredibly honored and excited for this role. We’re currently in the thick of planning for our spring symposium. But it's going very well and I’m very much looking forward to the next two years with my awesome board of directors.

The interview was conducted by Nicole Kilian and has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Image sources: Kate Murphy.

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