SPRC Spotlight: Vanessa Muhl
By: Gabby Wetwiski
This week, we are highlighting the SPRC 1st Place Post-Doctoral Winner, Vanessa Muhl! Congratulations to Vanessa on this outstanding achievement.
What is your research model?
I’m a Research Scientist and Lab Manager in the lab of Dr. Jeff Jones, where we study circadian (~24 hour) neuroscience. In the Jones Lab, we’re aiming to understand how outputs from the central circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), are encoded by downstream neurons to ultimately generate diverse behavioral and physiological rhythms.
In your own words, tell us about your research.
My work aims to identify the neural and molecular basis of circadian rhythms in the biological clock of the diurnal African striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio, in comparison to the nocturnal laboratory mouse, Mus musculus. I’m studying the interaction between firing rate rhythms and the molecular clock in the SCN of diurnal mice using viral ex vivo transfections. We can measure bioluminescence continuously over multiple days to identify molecular clock rhythms in the striped mouse SCN. We can also observe how these molecular clock rhythms change after we use optogenetics to manipulate the firing rate of the SCN. I also use time-lapse confocal imaging to detect daily rhythms neuronal activity in individual neurons in the striped mouse SCN following ex vivo transfection with an AAV-encoded calcium indicator.
What career advice would you give to current graduate students?
Be open minded towards research and career options. Sometimes it can be easy to know which career opportunity might be best for you, but at other times, it’s quite difficult. Also, it’s all right to have or not have a set plan for your future career. In fact, plans can change easily due to newly published research or different research fields you may encounter during your time as a grad student. Remain open minded to these changes, they can help you make better professional decisions, teaching you to cooperate and learn.
Make connections with other professionals in the field of your research; this may open doors to career opportunities and/or internships and will allow you to get a better understanding of different career paths.
Don’t worry too much about finding the “perfect” job opportunity right away. You may feel pressured to know your exact career path after grad school. However, take the time to find the right path by experiencing different career options. After I figured out the general direction I wanted to head, I made it my goal to work in each potential field of interest. It took me a few years, but it was undoubtedly worth the time investment. It allowed me to gain marketable skills and experience, and ultimately, I was also able to find the right career path for myself.
