Dr. Carl Lupica
Carl R. Lupica, Ph.D.
Dr. Carl Lupica is a PI and Chief of the Electrophysiology Research Section here at NIDA! His work includes studying the long-term adaptations of THC exposure on the brain using in vivo, and ex vivo electrophysiology. Additionally, his lab is interested in understanding the effects of abused drugs on cognition and drug craving. Read below to get an in-depth perspective on one of NIDA’s esteemed scientists!
PI Interview Questions:
1. Why did you decide to pursue a PhD?
“I think I chose to get a PhD for the right reasons. I was premed, thinking I was going to be a physician, but also majoring in psychology – which is how you majored in neuroscience back in those days. You chose an area that was related to neurobiology in some peripheral way and then you got training in premedical sciences. Then, it came time to start seriously thinking about applying to medical school. I took the MCAT, spent time shadowing physicians, and kind of realized I didn’t want to be a physician. I realized I was more interested in research because of the work I was doing with a couple of behavioral neuroscientists. Additionally, I had taken courses in graduate neurophysiology and neuroanatomy which is what convinced me I really wanted to be a neuroscientist and not a physician. I never regretted that decision.”
2. What was it that first drew you to neuroscience?
“I had taken many psychology courses and to me it felt like there was not really a lot of hard science. I had problems with the measurement of human behavioral variables because they were always so fraught with problems. Then, I took a course in physiological psychology, and that was the first time I realized that there was this whole world of neuroscience out there with variables that you could measure. This was when the field of neuroscience was just starting to take hold as an undergraduate discipline at that time. I became much more interested in the application of what I considered “hard science” to behavior including neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neuropharmacology.”
3. What struggles did you face in pursuing your PhD?
“Graduate school was a struggle, and remaining focused over that period of time was sometimes difficult. You see your friends graduating from other programs, getting jobs, making money, and starting their families which is all is delayed if you are pursuing a PhD. There are obviously students who do not delay that, but most people do. But, I really couldn’t see myself doing anything else because I liked every aspect of research.”
4. If you weren’t doing this job, what else would you be doing?
“I often think about that and I really don’t know. I have other interests, but I don’t think any of them would pay the bills! I also don’t think I‘d be as good at any of them as I think I am at this job. I have thought about other career paths, but really all of them are related of what I do now.”
5. Did you know you wanted to study drug abuse / illicit drugs when you were first introduced to neuroscience?
“No. Originally, I was studying neurodegenerative diseases, developmental disorders, and learning and memory. The addiction aspect didn’t become more important to me until I started my postdoc. I worked with Dr. Tom Dunwidde at the University of Colorado who had funding from NIDA and NIAAA, so my postdoc was funded by NIDA. Through him, I became interested in the neurobiology of addiction and drug abuse. As I matured as a postdoc, I became more interested in the societal toll of addiction and have been funded by NIDA ever since.
I also learned that the study of the mechanisms of how drugs affect the CNS really provides a window into how the nervous system works. I think all drugs that are consumed by man are interesting because of this. Why is that drug pleasurable? Why do people want to continue to take that drug? Answers to these questions provide insight into the reward system, but also help us think about why reward systems are there in the first place- to think about how they helped preserve the species.”
6. What is something that you could talk for hours and hours about, but usually don’t because you don’t want to annoy anyone?
“I could talk about history, mountaineering, bicycles, and cycling! I am a cyclist and have been 45 years. I think I could really annoy people with that!”
7. Was there ever a time you felt that you weren’t cut out for neuroscience research?
“I don’t think I wasn’t “cut out” for it, but rather, thought the amount of effort wasn’t worth it at times. Sometimes it was difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are plenty of times where I thought, “Maybe I should’ve gone to medical school. I could’ve been done with my residency by now, making real money.” But, I got through those times and realized that what I was doing was exactly what I wanted to do. I think that ultimately, it’s important to pursue what you perceive to be a good idea. It’s important to be tenacious. If you think you have a good idea, and think it’s something you want to pursue, then go for it!”
8. What is something that you value/cherish in your postbac scientists?
“Open mindedness and adaptability. You have to be able to adapt to changing circumstances, and data from your studies that may not be in line with what you initially expected. I think a lot of scientists tend to be dogmatic – which is the opposite of open mindedness. You have to be able to accept information that is not consistent with your view of the world and change your view of the world based on that new information. As scientists, we live in a rational realm and we have to use our skills of reason and deduction to change the way we think. You can’t hold onto a hypothesis in the face of evidence that does not support it. I also value tenacity, resiliency, and the desire to work hard!”
9. What do you think is the single best advice you could give to postbacs about a career in neuroscience?
“Don’t get discouraged. It is a long road and requires a lot of effort. It also requires a tremendous ability to delay gratification. I don’t know anybody that wants to be a neuroscientist that isn’t working as a neuroscientist. There are jobs for everyone. Everyone I know that has wanted to do this is successfully and gainfully employed and, for the most part, are pretty happy with their career choice. I think when people do get discouraged, it is with a lack of funding. Funding goes through cyclical phases and you have to be able to ride that out. Perseverance, aligning yourself with successful people, and finding phenomenal role models and mentors is the best route to go.”
10. Is there an experiment that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? If so, why haven’t you done it?
“No, I have been able to do all of my dream projects! There is no single dream project that I haven’t been able to pursue. My dream projects are projects that involve a lot of interactions with my colleagues, and I have been really fortunate to have collaborations with, for example, Dr. Morales and Dr. Schoenbaum. In fact, right now we also have a really cool collaborative project with Dr. Tsung-Ping Su investigating how endocannabinoids are released!” (See more info down below)
11. What is the nature of the brain?
“The brain represents a chaotic system with rules, that we do not yet understand, governing the behavior of that system. At first glance, there are patterns of activity that seem chaotic. There are rules there, but we just don’t see them yet. Chaos theory states that there are convergent points for disparate forms of activity that we have to pull out to understand the chaotic data, and if you can’t pull it out, it is because you aren’t understanding the system well enough. That’s how I view the brain.”
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Carl Lupica’s research, check out his recent publication on endocannabinoids!
“Cannabinoid disruption of learning mechanisms involved in reward processing.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30115765
Message to postbacs:
I proposed the idea that the newsletter should include interviews from scientists that were titans in the field of addiction to serve as an informative reference for all of the postbacs to benefit from. This can be a written record that exposes you to career and personal advice from successful PI’s.
-Holly Hake
If you would like to request for the newsletter to interview a specific PI, you can submit your requests to holly.hake@nih.gov
