It’s been a minute and a lot of stuff has gone down, so here’s an update! Cover art inspired by my 1st first author publication, the publish or perish mentality, and the fact that certain project progress faster if you’re diligent; title is the career vibe.

Publishing a paper a quarter since mid 2021

My 1st paper as a leading author (5th publication as a postdoc) is out! It first went out as a preprint, and with it being pubmed official, it looks like the curse of the preprints is lifted (inside joke lol). Tl;dr We induced alcohol dependence in rats and used brain slice electrophysiology + in situ hybridization to identify sex differences in the regulatory function of CRF at GABAergic CeA synapses.

Designing the summary figure was a lot of fun! Some of the papers I’ve read try to pack a lot into a single figure, which makes it hard for me to understand sometimes.

I’m also a coauthor on this paper in Molecular Psychiatry, where we use ex vivo electrophysiology, cell sorting+RNA sequencing, in situ hybridization, optogenetics, and behavioral testing to identify the molecular changes in neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex that play a role in anxiety and withdrawal phenotypes in a mouse model of alcohol addiction. Also, this paper in Biological Psychiatry where we use ex vivo electrophysiology, brain microdialysis, in situ hybridization, and human postmortem tissue (mRNA) analyses to identify alterations in adrenergic receptor function, which modulate GABAergic transmission and impact the overall function of the central amygdala, likely contributing to AUD. The Biological Psychiatry paper was actually highlighted by the NIAAA director earlier this year!

Concluding my postdoc and transitioning to industry

Personal and professional circumstances have changed and I am moving to the San Francisco bay area in August! As such, I am ending my postdoctoral training after 2 years (NIH T32 payback agreement fulfilled btw) to pursue a career in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry! I do not have a job lined up yet, but I believe I’ll find a position I’ll love (both scientifically and financially). Thankfully, I had the foresight to save and invest an impressive amount of money since I started grad school, so I am in an exciting position to choose. Once I find a job, I will be posting thoughts on how to transition from academia to industry, so stay tuned! Until then, catch me quoting Hov: “the drought can define a man when the well dries up, you learn the worth of water, without work you thirst ‘till you die, yup” on December 4th, “Had to voyage to a place of to a place of no return, Had to play with fire and get burned, Only way the boy ever gon’ learn” on My 1st Song, and “Don’t follow me, young’n, follow my moves” on Go Crazy

My last conference as an academic

I presented my single-cell patch-clamp proteomics project at 2022 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting, my last conference as an academic. It was great seeing my old friends and mentors, and as always, it was cool to meet new people at the conference. The Roberto lab alumni dinner was easily the most memorable event ever, even though I always look forward to the Mark Wood 5K fun run/walk.

Nucleate Activator Program San Diego

Back in December of 2021, I joined the Nucleate SD program as a business applicant, and “volunteered” at a pre-startup. Well, in May 2022, our team pitched in front of VCs and investors, taking home the Alnylam scientific excellence award! It was a lot of work, and I was cutting a lot of stuff close: the final pitch competition was right after my commencement speech at Dodge City Community College, all while trying to submit my 1st first author publication and looking jobs, but in the end, it worked out for the best! Plus, it was fun to use my business and regulatory science training in a real-life situation. Good luck to Talos Therapeutics, and a big thanks to the Nucleate San Diego board!