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Who is Sue Barman? From Soap to Soap Operas
Susan M. Barman was born in Joliet, IL on August 28, 1949, a middle child with four siblings. An early sign that she was going to be a scientist was that, at the age of 9, she spent her summer trying to “teach” soap to float. “If Ivory soap can float, other soaps should be able to too” was often heard by those who asked about her “experiments” conducted in the bathtub. Also, she was one of the few students in her class that actually enjoyed the word problems in math. Despite her interest in problem solving, Sue had no plans to be a scientist. Her science training in elementary school was limited to having the teacher write sentences about scientific facts on the board on Monday, and the class was tested on these facts on Friday. “Science” as she knew it was rather boring. Moreover, at the age of 12, Sue said that she wanted to quit school at the age of 16, get married, and have 12 kids! Her family was not going to let her do that, so she knew she would have to go on to high school. In high school, science became more exciting. She really enjoyed the labs in biology, chemistry, and physics classes. Many lab experiments turned out wrong and some just were funny (like the one where she added way too much yeast and the smell of wine penetrated the school hallway!), but she never lost interest in doing them. Still, she didn’t think about becoming a scientist. It was Sue’s high school counselor who “made” her start planning to go to college. She was able to apply and receive several scholarships to pay for her going to college. She even talked about going on to medical school. But her desire to become a doctor was more because she liked the woman doctor on a soap opera than wanting to cure sick people. Sue started college at Loyola University in Chicago in 1967 and decided to study Biology. She became the first person in her family to go to college! Discovering PhysiologyBeing a biology major at Loyola University, Sue learned about how science is “done.” Although she did the lab experiments that the teacher gave her, sometimes she was able to come up with her own experiments. She also had a chance to teach a lab in her last year in college, which she found a lot of fun. There she also got to make up experiments for the students to do. Her favorite classes were “Vertebrate Physiology“ (how different animals work) and “Cell Physiology” (how cells in the body work). She really liked the parts about the nervous system (brain and spinal cord, nerves) and cardiovascular system (heart, arteries and veins). During her Senior year, all of her friends were anxiously trying to get into medical school. Sue really wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted to do. So, she only tried to get into one school but didn’t get in. At the end of the school year, she suddenly panicked. School was ending, and what could she do? She didn’t really want to just get married and have 12 kids anymore. She knew she needed “a career.” She ended up in her teacher’s office in tears saying, “What can I do with a degree in Biology?” He told her, “Sue, you really seem to like Physiology. Why don’t you get a PhD in Physiology?” Dreams Can Come TrueSue started working on her PhD in fall 1971 at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis and later at Loyola University Medical Center. Sue worked on spinal cord control of blood pressure and heart rate. It was very exciting when one of her pictures from an experiment was chosen for a book! After getting her PhD, Dr. Barman was invited to go to Germany to work in a lab there. But, she also wanted to work with a lab at Michigan State University (MSU). She had to chose and ended up going to MSU and working there. Giving a New Meaning to the Term “Temporary”Although Dr. Barman only planned to stay at MSU for two years, she has been there for 27 years! She started out at the lowest position and worked her way up. She was the first woman (and so far the only woman) to become a Professor (the highest position) in her department. Dr. Barman always believed that “Good things come to those who wait.” She feels that hard work, sticking to it, and having a good attitude helped her dreams come true. She still loves to do experiments, tell other people about what she’s doing (students and others), and write about what she does. Besides teaching and doing research, Dr. Barman likes other parts of her career. She has worked with the government groups who pay for her research and helped them chose what other people to also give money. She also works hard for the APS in a lot of different roles. She has helped APS to make Physiology an exciting career for others. Dr. Barman has traveled to many cities in the US but also to places like Germany, England, Finland, Scotland, and the Grand Cayman Islands. These are places she likely would not have visited had she settled for quitting school at 16, getting married, and having 12 kids. And although she was never able to teach soap to float, at least she now understands what makes Ivory soap so special. Outside InterestsDr. Barman loves to exercise. She gets up at 5:00 a.m. daily to do aerobics, and she often does water aerobics in the afternoon. She loves to walk, and does 5K Run/Walks for charity. She visits local schools to talk about a career in science and has worked at local events to talk about science such as “Science Day at the Mall.” She likes doing crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles to relax, as well as reading books. She also loves to spoil her nieces and nephews! Dr. Barman has a dream to someday have a home that looks over Lake Michigan so that when she retires she can walk every day on the sandy beaches.
Advice to Students
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