Meet Emma Spikol of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The graduate student in the Neuroscience Training Program is doing her thesis work in the lab of Dr. Marnie Halpern at the Carnegie Institution Department of Embryology, and serves as the co-president of Project Bridge a student-run outreach organization at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Emma travelled north to Long Island to take part in her first meeting at CSHL, Zebrafish Neural Circuit and Behavior where she presented a talk on “Identifying targets of the asymmetric dHb-IPN neural pathway” that was met with “interesting questions that got [her] thinking about future experiments.”
What are your research interests? What are you working on?
The Halpern lab uses the zebrafish model to study a region of the brain which exhibits prominent left-right differences both neuroanatomically, and in neural responses to negative stimuli. I’m working on understanding how these responses might be propagated through connected neural pathways to influence fear behaviors.
How did you decide to make this to focus of your research?
I became fascinated by neuroscience and the zebrafish model while studying regulation of neurohormone gene expression for my undergraduate research project in the lab of Dr. Eric Glasgow at Georgetown University. Zebrafish are exceptional breeders, making them highly amenable to genetic manipulations. Their embryos are also transparent, which provides easy access to manipulate and observe the nervous system in live animals. I was inspired to use zebrafish to study conserved vertebrate neural pathways, while taking advantage of the genetic tractability of this model to manipulate specific neuronal subpopulations.
How did your scientific journey begin?
After becoming fascinated by genetics during my high school biology class, I worked in a Drosophila lab led by Dr. Julie Williams at the University of Pennsylvania. While maintaining the fly stocks and learning other laboratory tasks, I joined in conversations with students and postdocs and attended seminars—I was excited to realize that a career in science would involve both imagination and lively discourse. The lab focused on the genetic underpinnings that regulate immunity and sleep, which got me interested in the relationship between genes, neural circuits, and behavior.
Was there something specific about the Zebrafish Neural Circuit and Behavior meeting that drew you to attend?
I was drawn to this meeting because of its specialized nature—I was excited to engage in conversations with other researchers in the growing field of neural circuits and behavior. Also, as a graduate student, the chance to present my work was important—a great opportunity to get feedback and improve my communication skills.
What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
Sophisticated genetic tools and imaging technologies are being applied in creative ways to understand how neural circuits influence many different behavioral outputs in zebrafish.
What and/or how will you apply what you’ve learned from this meeting to your work?
I think there were a lot of interesting presentations about circuits that control motor behavior. I’ve been thinking about how the neurons I’m studying might influence these circuits, which could lead to some interesting research questions in the future.
If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would say it’s a great opportunity to meet and talk to others in your field. The small size of this meeting allows you to take advantage of the opportunity to sit with others outside of your own lab at meals and other events.
I knew this would be a great opportunity to hear about the latest work in my field and get critical feedback on my own project, but I wasn’t expecting to meet so many new colleagues. It has been really fun to meet other researchers and discover that we already have mutual friends or are connected in some way!
What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
Sitting outside and taking in the gorgeous views and natural setting!
Thank you to Emma for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.