Meet David Beddow
Major: Neuroscience
Graduation Year: Spring 2016 Field of Study: Psychiatry Abstract: Astronauts that will undertake future voyages to Mars will be exposed to chronic low doses of space radiation containing many different high-energy, high-charge (HZE) particles. Certain HZE particles, such as 56Fe, have previously been shown to reduce the generation of new neurons in the adult brain, a process known as adult neurogenesis. Diminished levels of neurogenesis could result in declined cognitive abilities and pose a risk to mission success. One of two highly characterized regions where neurogenesis takes place is the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory. It is important to study the effects of additional HZE particles, such as 28Si, in order to better understand the neurophysiological and cognitive impact of space radiation. In this experiment, 9-week old mice were exposed to whole-body 28Si particle radiation at doses of 0 cGy (SHAM), 20 cGy, and 100 cGy. Neurogenesis was evaluated at two discrete time points after irradiation (IRR) in order to assess short-term (24-hours) versus long-term (3-months) effects. In order to label dividing cells, mice were given a single BrdU injection 22 hours post-IRR, then sacrificed either 2 hours or 3 months later. Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), tissue from the 24-hour group was labeled for markers of proliferation (BrdU, Ki67) and immunoreactive cells were quantified (BrdU+, Ki67+ cells). At 100 cGy, there was a significant reduction in both BrdU+ and Ki67+ cells as compared to SHAM in the 24-hour group, revealing a significant decrease in proliferation. Additionally, in both the 24-hour group and pilot analysis of the 3-month group, quantification of doublecortin immunoreactive (DCX+) cells was performed to assess levels of neurogenesis. Analysis of the short-term group revealed a significant, dose-dependent reduction in DCX+ cells, while pilot data from the long-term group only displayed a significant reduction at 100 cGy. These data suggest 28Si radiation dose-dependently decreases neurogenesis in the short-term and 100 cGy decreases it in the long-term. Additional studies on the long-term influence of 28Si radiation on neurogenesis, cell morphology and death, and behavior are underway, all of which will be important in understanding if space radiation is detrimental to the brains of future deep space faring astronauts. |
My Experience:
I took Neuroscience Lab Methods with Dr. Steven McWilliams over the 2015 summer and he said something that perfectly describes my Green Fellowship experience on the level that maple syrup, flapjacks, and coffee go together. I can’t remember verbatim but basically he said to the class that, in his opinion, the best way to learn more than what you could possibly learn from just reading a textbook or a scientific paper is to surround yourself with people who are passionate and knowledgeable in the respective field and/or area of study. After being in the Eisch psychiatry lab at UT Southwestern, I experienced this and it’s absolutely true!
I not only learned a great deal in terms of technical laboratory techniques and procedures that are required for actually quantifying the data I needed but I learned so much from the others in the laboratory simply through being present and listening and taking part in laboratory discussions. I was able to partake in discussions with not only graduate students but also postdoctoral fellows, lab techs (one of which was a former Green Fellow himself!), and best of all the Principal Investigator (PI) herself! Learning wasn’t just confined inside the lab or my lab’s members either. By attending some of the weekly conferences and some graduate level classes with the recommendation of the PI, I was also exposed to a variety of neuroscience and/or psychiatry research ongoing projects and the sort of higher-level questions that flourish with these sort of research projects and aims. Besides the academic and intellectual conversations, I also got to hear what institutional research life is like from the a variety of lab mates for things like the grant proposal process, the funding forecast in the future for research in general, the nuts and bolts of running a lab, and future aspirations or ideas that the members have. In addition, many people offered their unique advice which was acquired through their own personal experiences and challenges in order to help give me a broader picture of what it’s like to work in a lab as a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow.
Through discussions, presentations, and readings that I undertook or were suggested by lab members to help me understand my project better, I came out of the Green Fellowship with a better understanding of many mechanisms I’ve learned about in undergraduate courses. Dr. Eisch said her goal was to train me to “think like a scientist” and I definitely have gained a better scientific frame of mind when approaching my studies and life in general. I’ve also gained skills that will help me in life and academic pursuits in general such as a better work-ethic and the ability to write concisely and clearly to convey a scientific point. Best of all, I’ve gained an even deeper appreciation for the mysteries that the brain still holds for us to be discovered. We know so much more about the brain than ever before. We even know so much than simply one decade ago. My experience granted me the privilege to appreciate on a more intellectual and fundamental level than ever before the complexity and the mysteries the brain holds for us - all of which will be unravelled through labs across the world like the one I was honored to spend a semester in.
I took Neuroscience Lab Methods with Dr. Steven McWilliams over the 2015 summer and he said something that perfectly describes my Green Fellowship experience on the level that maple syrup, flapjacks, and coffee go together. I can’t remember verbatim but basically he said to the class that, in his opinion, the best way to learn more than what you could possibly learn from just reading a textbook or a scientific paper is to surround yourself with people who are passionate and knowledgeable in the respective field and/or area of study. After being in the Eisch psychiatry lab at UT Southwestern, I experienced this and it’s absolutely true!
I not only learned a great deal in terms of technical laboratory techniques and procedures that are required for actually quantifying the data I needed but I learned so much from the others in the laboratory simply through being present and listening and taking part in laboratory discussions. I was able to partake in discussions with not only graduate students but also postdoctoral fellows, lab techs (one of which was a former Green Fellow himself!), and best of all the Principal Investigator (PI) herself! Learning wasn’t just confined inside the lab or my lab’s members either. By attending some of the weekly conferences and some graduate level classes with the recommendation of the PI, I was also exposed to a variety of neuroscience and/or psychiatry research ongoing projects and the sort of higher-level questions that flourish with these sort of research projects and aims. Besides the academic and intellectual conversations, I also got to hear what institutional research life is like from the a variety of lab mates for things like the grant proposal process, the funding forecast in the future for research in general, the nuts and bolts of running a lab, and future aspirations or ideas that the members have. In addition, many people offered their unique advice which was acquired through their own personal experiences and challenges in order to help give me a broader picture of what it’s like to work in a lab as a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow.
Through discussions, presentations, and readings that I undertook or were suggested by lab members to help me understand my project better, I came out of the Green Fellowship with a better understanding of many mechanisms I’ve learned about in undergraduate courses. Dr. Eisch said her goal was to train me to “think like a scientist” and I definitely have gained a better scientific frame of mind when approaching my studies and life in general. I’ve also gained skills that will help me in life and academic pursuits in general such as a better work-ethic and the ability to write concisely and clearly to convey a scientific point. Best of all, I’ve gained an even deeper appreciation for the mysteries that the brain still holds for us to be discovered. We know so much more about the brain than ever before. We even know so much than simply one decade ago. My experience granted me the privilege to appreciate on a more intellectual and fundamental level than ever before the complexity and the mysteries the brain holds for us - all of which will be unravelled through labs across the world like the one I was honored to spend a semester in.
Advice for future students:
My advice is that you should read publications of the labs you are interested in to narrow them down. You could do this even before you know you’ve been selected as a Green Fellow but it won’t be impossible to do it after you’ve received word that you were selected as well. And don’t fret if you start to read these papers and feel like you don’t understand some or even many parts of the papers you’re reading. It’s natural unless you already very experienced and knowledgeable in that field and related lab work. If you don’t feel discouraged but actually even more interested to learn more about the gaps in your knowledge, I think you have a good potential pick for a lab.
I would also heavily recommend you contact your PI before the actual start date so you can know expectations and maybe even start learning about things like the techniques you’ll be performing. This will help you get a jump start on your project. Also, read about your project and you can do this by reading academic journals through PubMed or Google Scholar so that you can get a better understanding of the area of research (and you can always ask lab mates or the PI for suggestions!). Reviews are usually a good launching point as they’re not as technically involved as the individual papers and findings they discuss.
One other suggestion is that once you’re trained and operate more autonomously (some labs you won’t do this! Just depends on the sort of work or project but MOST Green Fellows were working autonomously by the end as I was), plan your days of the week out in advance so you know where you should be by a certain point. The semester will fly by faster than you think and I found that for me, having a calendar of events helped me organize my workflow better so that I was able to collect as much data as possible. Also - and this is very important - don’t be afraid to ask questions, don’t be discouraged if you are on the receiving end of constructive criticism from lab mates (keep in mind, you’re a guest in their lab and this is a privilege, you’re there to LEARN and you won’t be perfect! They are criticising you so you can get better), and don’t be afraid to ask lab mates and/or your PI if there is anything you should work on and improve!
My advice is that you should read publications of the labs you are interested in to narrow them down. You could do this even before you know you’ve been selected as a Green Fellow but it won’t be impossible to do it after you’ve received word that you were selected as well. And don’t fret if you start to read these papers and feel like you don’t understand some or even many parts of the papers you’re reading. It’s natural unless you already very experienced and knowledgeable in that field and related lab work. If you don’t feel discouraged but actually even more interested to learn more about the gaps in your knowledge, I think you have a good potential pick for a lab.
I would also heavily recommend you contact your PI before the actual start date so you can know expectations and maybe even start learning about things like the techniques you’ll be performing. This will help you get a jump start on your project. Also, read about your project and you can do this by reading academic journals through PubMed or Google Scholar so that you can get a better understanding of the area of research (and you can always ask lab mates or the PI for suggestions!). Reviews are usually a good launching point as they’re not as technically involved as the individual papers and findings they discuss.
One other suggestion is that once you’re trained and operate more autonomously (some labs you won’t do this! Just depends on the sort of work or project but MOST Green Fellows were working autonomously by the end as I was), plan your days of the week out in advance so you know where you should be by a certain point. The semester will fly by faster than you think and I found that for me, having a calendar of events helped me organize my workflow better so that I was able to collect as much data as possible. Also - and this is very important - don’t be afraid to ask questions, don’t be discouraged if you are on the receiving end of constructive criticism from lab mates (keep in mind, you’re a guest in their lab and this is a privilege, you’re there to LEARN and you won’t be perfect! They are criticising you so you can get better), and don’t be afraid to ask lab mates and/or your PI if there is anything you should work on and improve!