Dr. Susie Brummelte is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology.

Main Discipline(s):

Main Professional Societies:

Affiliation(s):

  • Developmental Neurobiology
  • Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
  • Society for Neuroscience
  • International Society for Developmental Psychobiology
  • International Society for Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University
What are your undergraduate and graduate degrees in and from where?
Both my degrees are from Germany, specifically the University of Bielefeld. My doctoral degree is a “Dr. rer. nat.” (which is equivalent to a Ph.D. in natural sciences). My specific degree was in Neurobiology.
Give a brief summary (250 words or less) of your current area of research.

My current research focuses on the effects of early adverse life experience on brain development and the subsequent behavioral and neuroanatomical changes in both males and females. I am particularly interested in the consequences of exposure to depression, stress or certain medications such as antidepressants or opioids during pregnancy or the postpartum period and how this affects brain development and stress responsivity later in life as well as how these exposures affect the dam and the maternal brain and behavior. We are using rats as the animal model of choice to address these important research questions on how exposure to early adverse conditions such as pharmacological treatments can influence the maternal brain and the maturation of the nervous system and the long-term outcome of the male and female offspring

How did you arrive at your current area of research?
I always thought the brain was fascinating, though originally, I wanted to be a microbiologist. But then I took two neuroscience-related hands-on courses during my undergrad and I was “hooked”. The ability of the nervous system to change and adjust to environmental challenges is the reason for our survival and for our capacity to learn and improve. After taking that first undergraduate class in comparative neuroanatomy, I knew I had found my calling and went out to find a lab where I could study females and sex differences. So I went to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada do work with Dr. Liisa Galea in her behavioral neuroendocrinology lab as a visiting student and came back as a post-doc after completing my degree in Germany. I also ventured into the “human world” for a bit and studied the brain development of preterm and antidepressant-exposed infants. These experiences paved the way for my own lab here at Wayne State, where we are using an animal model to continue to address similar questions (i.e. how does gestational drug exposure and early adversity affect brain development) in a translational way.
What do you see as a current emerging area of research that you would like to participate in and why?

There are many fascinating emerging techniques in neuroscience: From Crisper gene editing, tissue-clearing techniques and whole brain imaging and mapping, we now have many tools to help answer mechanistic questions. Our lab recently started collaborating with Dr. Justin Kenney’s lab from the Biology Department to use his light-sheet microscope and tissue clearing protocol to visualize brain activity and connectivity in whole brain samples of dams and pups that received an opioid maintenance drug (buprenorphine) throughout gestation and we are very excited about this emerging technique.

Tell us your (one) favorite STEM research paper or book.   Why it is your favorite?
Hm, I honestly don’t think I have ‘one’ favorite paper. As an undergrad I devoured Eric Kandel’s “Principles of Neuroscience” textbook, but I never thought about which paper is my “favorite”. But I may take the opportunity here to suggest the Howard Hughes Medical school hand book on “How to make the right Move” (free copies can be downloaded here: https://www.hhmi.org/science-education/programs/making-right-moves). It is not a research book, but gives advice for post-docs and new faculty how to “survive” in academia and it was probably the most helpful book I have ever read….
Do you have a favorite scientist, engineer or other role model? Who is it and why?
Marie Curie: Only person to ever win two Nobel Prizes in two different science categories. Hard to beat that and she is a woman of course. For a more recent role model: I really admire the career and research of Dr. Tracey Bale, who is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health and Brain Development (CERCH). She has made some amazing discoveries in developmental neuroscience and has recently shown how even the placenta shows epigenetic changes based on the sex of the fetus even before sex differentiation begins in the fetus. Despite her success she is very approachable and always has great advice to share and really cares about her mentees.
What do you do for fun outside of your role as a woman in STEM?
Hah, there is no time for fun right now (it’s a pandemic). Just kidding, there should always be some time for fun to ensure a good work-life balance and to maintain your mental health. I used to play the drums in a gothic rock band during my time in grad school (our band was called “Curious”- which we thought was very appropriate for a band with several aspiring scientist though the name was actually inspired by our history as a “the Cure- cover band”….) but that kind of ‘fun’ got left behind when I moved to Canada for my academic career. While living in Vancouver for my post-doc, I did a lot of hiking and enjoying nature. Nowadays, my fun outside of work centers on spending time with my family (I have two small children) and gardening (I am a biologist after all and I love watching things grow).

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