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Who is Sue Barman? From Soap to Soap Operas
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 the initial plan was to stay at MSU for two years, Dr. Barman has been there for 35 years and still counting. She rose from the rank of Research Associate through all the faculty levels until she became a Professor in 1995. She was the first woman promoted to this rank in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at MSU. Her position was initially in the non-tenure track, which at MSU was referred to as “Temporary Appointment.” Although offers were made to get a tenure-track (permanent) position at other institutions, the excitement, benefits, and satisfaction of her productive collaboration with Jerry Gebber meant more to her than moving away from MSU to get tenure at another university. Dr. Barman has always been a believer in the expression “Good things come to those who wait.” She credits hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude with eventually having her dreams come true. In 1995, her research on “how the brain controls blood pressure” led to the receipt of a prestigious MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award from the NIH. And three years later her “temporary” faculty position became a tenured faculty position at MSU. A few other Awards have also come her way. Dr. Barman was the recipient of the 2003 Outstanding University Woman faculty Award presented by the Faculty Professional Women’s Association of MSU. In 2009 she received the MSU College of Human Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award based on exceptional scholarship, teaching, and service. Even after so many years of being an integrative physiologist, Dr. Barman still gets delight out of designing and doing new experiments, having her research results published in major scientific journals, and having the opportunity to talk about her research to other scientists or anyone who will listen! As new technology develops to study the role of the brain in blood pressure regulation, She can try to answer more difficult questions. The fundamental aim of her work is to determine how the brain controls the activity in nerves to blood vessels and the heart and thereby determine the level of blood pressure and heart rate. In addition to her duties of teaching medical, graduate, and undergraduate students at MSU and maintaining a funded research program, Dr. Barman enjoys many of the other aspects of her career. She has served on several NIH Study Sections and on editorial boards of major scientific journals, including the American Journal of Physiology. Such duties give her the opportunity to review work of other scientists and help make sure that good science gets rewarded. She is an active member of the APS, including having been Chair of the Women in Physiology Committee, Central Nervous System Section Steering Committee, and Section Advisory Committee. She also was elected to serve on the APS Council. With these activities, she has been able to work with the Society to help make Physiology a career of choice for others. Dr. Barman is also a co-author on the 23rd edition of Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology, one of the pre-eminent medical physiology textbooks. Among the fringe benefits of being a research scientist, one is given opportunities to travel to present research findings to other scientists. Dr. Barman has traveled not only 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.
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