Editorial Cite This: ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2019, 10, 2625−2627
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NeuroChat with Professor W. Michael Caudle
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originate outside of our body could be major players in neurological disease onset and progression. I soon dumped my medical school applications and entered the Neuroscience PhD program at Emory University. My love of research continued to grow throughout graduate school and postdoctoral training. But I was reaching a crossroads where I needed to decide if I was going to continue research in an academic or an industry setting. Honestly, I never considered myself cut out for academic research. I was not interested in writing grants and had no interest in teaching. But what I ultimately realized was that my lack of appreciation for these things was rooted in a lack of confidence that I could be successful at them. While I was confident in my abilities as a researcher, I did not have as much experience with grant writing, developing my own research questions, or teaching and mentoring. I gained a lot of this training during my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington with Dr. Jing Zhang. It was there that I slowly built my research portfolio, was awarded some smaller grants, and got a lot more experience writing, presenting my findings, and learning how to tell a good scientific story. These experiences helped me build my confidence, and when I was awarded a NIH K99/R00 Career Development Grant, I knew that academic research was where I wanted to be. However, my interests in teaching and mentoring were still developing. Having not had any teaching experience before starting my faculty position at Emory, I was still very concerned about my abilities to connect with students and have them engage with the material. I was similarly hesitant about my ability to effectively mentor students and lab personnel. It did not take long before I was captivated with teaching and mentoring. Whether in the classroom or the lab, I have a profound enjoyment in watching students have those “Aha” moments, where the material clicks or a connection is made or a new skill is learned. I also enjoy connecting with students who never thought they would like neuroscience or toxicology, or environmental health, and showing them that these topics are interesting, relevant, and fun. I greatly appreciate being able to help students realize their passions and interests, no matter what they may be, and getting them to the next step in their career. Or even working with a student who is stressed out about their next steps and helping them realize that they have the skills and capacity to take those next steps and so many more. Looking back, it is clear that my life experiences and my own mentoring and training experiences were critical in helping me get to where I am.
n our ongoing series of NeuroChats, I am thrilled to feature Professor W. Michael Caudle, an Associate Professor at Emory University in the Department of Environmental Health. Michael is also part of the Neuroscience Program in the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS), a member of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease (CND), and holds an appointment in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program. Michael is focused on a unique integration of neuroscience and toxicology and investigates the contribution of environmental chemicals to neurological disease.
Photo courtesy of W. Michael Caudle.
As Michael brings a unique stance on neuroscience, it was great to have him respond to key questions about his lab, the field and some questions to better get acquainted. The discussion can be found below:
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Tell us a little about yourself and your career path. Growing up, I never really enjoyed science. I was an underachiever in all of my science courses and actively avoided participating in science fairs, to the point of faking illness so that I would not have to go. But this changed in high school following a series of traumatic, life-altering events, which forced me to reflect on my own mental states and their plasticity. Through this process, I was captured by the idea that my mood, how I engaged with people, and my perception of the world around me was governed by my brain. I started to ask questions about which parts of the brain were involved in mediating these thoughts and feelings, and then dove deeper into the specific brain chemistry and circuitry, and finally, how all of these things changed during pathology and health. I studied Psychology, Neurobiology, and Literature at Colorado State University, and thought that medical school was the place I needed to be in order to pursue my neuroscience goals. It was not until I accepted a lab technician position with Dr. Gary Miller at the University of Texas at Austin, when my perspective changed and I fell in love with neurotoxicological research. Before then, my understanding of neuropathology was rooted in genetic alterations as the premier causes. But Gary’s research introduced me to an entirely new world of the environment and how exposures that © 2019 American Chemical Society
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What are you working on currently?
Our research group blends expertise in neuroscience and toxicology to study how chemicals that are found in our environment and in our bodies, such as insecticides and flame retardants, can alter the development and function of the brain. These studies are relevant to current human data that have found associations between exposure to environmental toxicants and a wide range of neurological deficits. Whether that is Published: June 19, 2019 2625
DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00237 ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2019, 10, 2625−2627
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
Editorial
selves in various ways and do not always happen in the lab or in the classroom. Being able to offer a little bit of guidance in these situations can be one of the most important interactions to someone who is struggling.
ADHD, ASD, deficits in learning and memory, behavior, or even neurodegenerative diseases, we have a greater appreciation for the contribution of the environment in these disease processes. Within this context, we focus on how these chemicals affect the brain at the level of the synapse, as the synapse appears to be a uniquely vulnerable target for many of these chemicals. Having been trained in neuroscience, I am able to apply a strong neuroscience approach to my toxicological questions, which allows me to take advantage of many of the cutting-edge platforms being used to address alterations to the neurological circuit. Our current projects focus on the effect of specific insecticides on the development and function of the dopamine circuits. To accomplish this, we are coupling our expertise in neurotoxicology with investigators in environmental epidemiology, exposure science, computational toxicology, transcriptomics, and epigenomics, leveraging the diverse expertise available in the Department of Environmental Health. Through these projects, we hope to identify insecticide-induced alterations in defined transcriptomic pathways involved in mediating migration, differentiation, and synapse development of dopaminergic neurons at explicit embryonic and postnatal time points. Functional and neurobehavioral consequences of these deficits will also be investigated and integrated with population-based studies of children exposed to the same insecticides, in utero. A really novel aspect of these studies will also involve assessment of changes to the epigenomic landscape of the placenta, as a potential target for these insecticides and a contributor to neurodevelopmental deficits. The integration of these approaches allows us to address our research questions on a molecular to mankind spectrum, providing a more holistic understanding of the etiopathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disease.
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What are the major challenges facing neuroscience today? How can these be tackled?
I believe an interesting topic in neuroscience has to do with neuroethics. Our emerging abilities to modify the brain, whether through more precise methods of pharmacology, genetic engineering, or deep brain stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation, are exciting and advancing the field of neuroscience. But I feel like we are being shortsighted in our excitement for these approaches. We are not taking the time to step back and ask questions about the potential ethical, societal, and legal consequences of some of these interventions on issues of an individual’s consciousness, agency, and responsibility. I feel like it is better to address these questions now before we are forced to face them following a possible negative outcome of these interventions.
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What advice would you give to young scientists today?
During my training, I struggled with two major issues: Developing resiliency and being proactive in exploring my interests and goals. Like many of us, I was afraid to fail. I felt that these failures were a direct reflection on my competency as a scientist. With time, research taught me that, even under the most controlled circumstances, sometimes failure happens. In these instances, I had to learn to redirect my disappointment and channel them into a more productive use of my energy, rather than letting the mishap completely drag me down. I had to learn to be resilient and leverage that failure as a learning experience and path to improvement. Related to this, when you do experience failure, do not be afraid to ask for help. Developing a support network ensures that you have guidance, not just for your research or academic endeavors, but also for your general mental health and wellbeing. I also struggled to be proactive in exploring my interests and goals in research. While I ultimately landed exactly where I wanted to be, there were a lot of points throughout my career path where being more in tune with my passions and goals would have made the entire process a lot smoother. As much as you take responsibility for understanding the nuances of your projects, you should also take responsibility for being selfreflective about what you want, gathering the necessary information, and understanding what you are getting yourself into. One way to initiate this is to fill out an Individualized Development Plan (IDP) and discuss these points with your mentors. Figure out what you are interested in pursuing, shortterm, as well as long-term, and develop a plan to achieve your goals. Perhaps, this involves reaching out and setting up informational interviews with other people in specific career fields you are interested in, to get a sense of their work responsibilities and training path. Or you may decide to participate in an internship in one of these fields, in order to get hands on experience. Good or bad, these experiences are going to be critical in helping you refine your understanding and approach to your career development.
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What are the major challenges facing early career scientists? How should these challenges be addressed? Research. We now have access to very sensitive, highthroughput techniques that have really pushed the field forward. It is wonderful to see these technological advances, but I think there is the potential to feel as if you are falling behind if you have not incorporated all of the newest technologies. While staying up to date on new approaches is important, early career scientists should ensure that these new techniques are relevant to their research questions and goals and will help to advance their research. Support. Just because you have transitioned to an early career scientist does not mean that you are alone or are expected to do everything on your own. Remember how much you relied on your mentors or other members of your lab to learn a technique, discuss some results, or get comments about writing. That support is still available through your colleagues and support staff in the department and in your research group. Take advantage of the diversity of expertise and experience in these settings and expand your support network. Mentoring. Be considerate of the academic, research, and life issues your trainees may be going through. Remember how you felt during your training, your anxieties, insecurities, and struggles. Perhaps, share with your trainees your own concerns or stumbling blocks that you experienced during your training, letting them know that the concerns they are experiencing are not out of the ordinary and there are people who understand. Finally, mentoring and training opportunities present them2626
DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00237 ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2019, 10, 2625−2627
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
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What is something about yourself that people would be surprised to know? I have always loved tattoos and have been collecting since I was 18 years old. Although I keep myself relatively covered up, people might not know that about 70% of my body is covered with tattoos. The majority of them are symbolic of my journey and serve as reminders of where I have come from and gone through to get to where I am. Interestingly, I do not have any science tattoos. I’ve thought about it, but am struggling with the composition and how it should be represented. If anyone has ideas, please send them my way!
Editorial
Philosophy or favorite quote? I guess I have a couple that I have used as guides throughout my life. The first would be the last lines from Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. There is argument about what these lines truly mean, but I interpret them very literally. My life path has been a bit circuitous, with ups and downs. But each of these moments has been an important learning experience that has been instrumental in developing the person that I am today. I am also a fan of the philosopher, Albert Camus, and his story, The Myth of Sisyphus. Having angered the gods, they condemn Sisyphus to an eternity of pushing a giant boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back to the bottom. Again, my interpretation may differ from others, but I am especially drawn to the part of the story when Sisyphus is forced to watch the boulder roll all the way back down to the bottom of the hill. The gods think they have him beat and have crushed his spirit, but each time he takes a deep breath and makes his way to the bottom of the hill to resume his task. To me, this scenario highlights important aspects of resiliency and how to approach failure and difficult situations. At times, life and research seem to be Sisyphian tasks. Unlike Sisyphus, our tasks have more purpose, but sometimes we need to dig deep to capture that resiliency to accomplish them.
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Beatles or Stones? This is awkward. Beatles and Stones are not part of my musical catalogue. I was weaned on my parent’s 8-tracks of Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, and Neil Diamond. When I was 6 years old, I was given my first records: The Village People and Kiss (Dynasty). I loved that Kiss album because it came with a poster of the band in full make up. I thought this was so cool, until bedtime, when it was dark, and I would have to ask my mom to take the poster down because it scared me. The next 5 years were a bit of a musical blur, nothing of real substance. From middle school on, punk rock was the walk-up music to my life. Black Flag (without Henry Rollins), Minor Threat, Misfits (with Glenn Danzig), and Bad Brains (see, always a neuroscientist) still provide the soundtrack to much of what I do.
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Last book read? First and foremost, all of my reading is done the old fashioned way, with a book in my hand. I prefer to be able to interact with whatever I am reading. In this way, I feel that I am much more engaged with the material. I mark and write notes in all my books, as I do with scientific papers and articles. I do not get the same sense of enjoyment or satisfaction when I read using a digital format. My reading interests jump between a variety of genres, classic and contemporary fiction, environmental health, neuroscience, graphic novels, and science fiction. The most recent book I read was Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf. This book is beautifully written and highlights the amazing capacity of the brain to evolve and learn to read. It traces the history of reading, the brain regions and circuits that have developed to facilitate reading, and how their alteration underlies deficits in reading. I was left with an overwhelming appreciation for the ability to read, forcing me to revisit my love of reading and the way books have helped to shape my life.
Craig W. Lindsley, Editor-in-Chief AUTHOR INFORMATION
ORCID
Craig W. Lindsley: 0000-0003-0168-1445 Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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Favorite movie? My favorite movie would be High Fidelity. I really enjoy music and I have had friends who embodied each of the characters, which makes the movie much more salient and fun.
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Lab Web site address? Well, looks like I need to do a little bit of work and get this site up to date! https://caudlelabemory.weebly.com/
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Twitter handle? @MichaelCaudle1 My posts generally revolve around teaching and mentoring, environmental health/toxicology, and neuroscience. I try not to wade too deep into politics, unless it involves these topics. 2627
DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00237 ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2019, 10, 2625−2627
