Who is Caroline Sussman?
From Dancing to Research
Caroline Sussman was born in New York, NY on December
24, 1966. She has been fascinated with animals for as long as she can
remember. As a child she had numerous pets – as many as her parents would
allow, including fish, hamsters, cats, and a snake. Later as a teenager,
her interest in things natural was expanded when she discovered that
spending time in a nature reserve near her house provided immense relief
from the emotional trials and tribulations of adolescence.
Dancing Turns Into Biology
Caroline never actually liked science in high school.
So when it came time to choose a college, she selected Connecticut College
because of their dance program (modern and ballet). She majored in dance
and decided to become a physical therapist. Majoring in physical therapy
meant she was required to take General Biology, and that’s the only reason
she took it. However, once she did, she was immediately fascinated with
the subject. She especially remembers dissecting many different kinds of
small animals (for example, worms, crayfish, sea stars, clams) and being
amazed at the incredible complexity of even these small, relatively simple
animals.
It was then that Caroline decided to study biology,
because she is in constant awe of the beauty and intricacy of plants and
animals and really enjoyed understanding how they work. Her favorite class
was Cell Physiology. Dr. Stephen Loomis taught it and he did a great job
of making a cell come alive. You could just picture all those busy little
molecules racing around inside the cell doing their jobs that keep an
animal or plant alive. She thought it was especially amazing because you
would never know about all that important activity unless you looked for
it with a microscope. It is like magic, you can’t see it (with the naked
eye, anyway), yet it is always there and without it there is no life.
Caroline graduated from Connecticut College with a
B.A. in 1988. She continued her education at the University of Connecticut
and graduated with a Ph.D. in Physiology in 1997.
Research Career
Dr. Sussman is employed as a Research Associate. She
obtained this position due to the research experience she gained in
graduate school. Her job allows her to design and carry out experiments,
write grants proposing the experiments she wants to do and justify why
those experiments are important and why she should be given money to do
them, write papers describing the experiments she has done and why the
results are important and how they can be used, and give talks about her
research at Universities and at national meetings. She chose to focus on
research because of the excitement involved in discovering new information
about how animals work. She is especially interested in the embryonic
development of animals and how transcription factors specify the
development of different cell types.
Her specific research focuses on the embryonic
development of the brain and spinal cord. With a few exceptions all the
cells of the body have the same genetic information. Different types of
cells arise because that information is used differently in different
cells. Dr. Sussman is trying to determine how cells know to use their
genetic information to become the three primary cell types of the brain
and spinal cord: neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Specifically
she is working to identify genes that are critical for this process. It is
her hope that her research will help contribute to treating disease and
helping people.
Family and Fun
Outside of work Dr. Sussman focuses on spending time
with friends and family. She is married to another physiologist (see
Dr. Michael Romero) and has 3 small
children who take up most of her free time. The family’s fun activities
are limited for now to things they can do together, like going to the
beach, zoo, playground or museum. She also likes reading and playing the
guitar. As soon as the kids get big enough she hopes to resume some of her
old hobbies with them, like horseback riding, hiking, camping, bicycle
riding, and taking dance classes.
Advice for a Graduate Student
Stay as broad as you can for as long as you can.. It
will give you a better perspective on whatever you specialize in. There
are many things you can do with a Ph.D. in physiology. Find out what your
options are so you don’t pursue a path out of ignorance. Get teaching
experience if you can.
Publications
1.
Sussman-Turner, C.,
and J.L. Renfro. Heat-shock-stimulated transepithelial daunomycin
secretion by flounder renal proximal tubule primary cultures.
Am. J.
Physiol. Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 268: F135-F144, 1995.
2.
Sussman, C.R.
and J.L. Renfro. Heat shock-induced protection and enhancement of Na+-glucose
cotransport by LLC-PK1 monolayers.
Am
J. Physiol. Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 273: F530-F537, 1997.
3. Miller, D.S., C.R. Sussman, and
J.L. Renfro. Protein kinase C regulation of p-Glycoprotein-mediated
xenobiotic secretion in renal proximal tubule.
Am. J. Physiol. Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 275: F785-F795, 1998.
4. Miller, R. H., J.E. Hayes, K.L. Dyer, and
C.R. Sussman. Mechanisms of oligodendrocyte commitment in the
vertebrate CNS. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. 17: 753-763, 1999.
5.
Sussman, C. R.,
K.L. Dyer, M. Marchionni, and R.H. Miller. Local control of
oligodendrocyte development in isolated dorsal mouse spinal cord. J.
Neurosci. Res. 59: 413-420, 2000.
6.
Sussman, C.R.,
J.E. Davies, and R.H. Miller. Extracellular and intracellular regulation
of Oligodendrocyte development: Roles of Sonic Hedgehog and expression of
E proteins. Glia 40: 55-64, 2002.
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