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A lineage of young neuroscientists from diverse backgrounds draws its scientific roots from a "laboratory of fear" in Puerto Rico, backed by the National Institutes of Health for two decades. A crucible for studies on the extinction of fear, the laboratory has so far published 80 articles, some of which are the first in Puerto Rico, which generate more than 2,000 citations a year. 90% of the 130 young people trained in the laboratory are from Puerto Rico and Latin America and half are women.
"Like most labs, the key has been to foster intellectual growth through journal clubs, lab meetings, one-on-one meetings, and retreats in the philosophy of science," said Gregory Quirk, founding director of the lab. , Ph.D. "Performed correctly, these four activities develop skills of logic, communication and intellectual curiosity among trainees, while strengthening the group's cohesion."
After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of New York, led by well-known researcher Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., Quirk launched the lab in 1997 at the Ponce Health Science University in Ponce, Puerto Rico. A decade later, he was transferred to his current premises at the University of Puerto Rico's School of Medicine in San Juan, adding studies on both human and non-human primates.
Quirk gives advice on his approach to promoting discovery and mentoring "off the beaten track" in an article published Jan. 30, 2018 in the Journal of Neuroscience. It has been almost two decades since the first publication of the laboratory in this journal showed that the ventral medial prefrontal cortex was necessary for the consolidation of the memory in the process of extinction (loss of fear) in rodents.
Shortly after, the group announced that he had discovered in Nature that he had discovered in the infralimbic cortex the equivalent of a "clear" signal in the brain, which, when imitated by electrical stimulation, suppressed conditioned fear in the rat. Since then, the lab has been at the forefront of translational studies, broadening perspectives ranging from extinction learning experiences to mental disorders.
For example, in 2015, they reported in Nature a discovery about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a memory of old fear is recalled by a brain pathway distinct from that originally used to recall it when she was recent.
"More recently, my lab has explored active avoidance circuits, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and frustration using deep brain stimulation, optogenetics, and CRISPR-Cas9 techniques," Quirk added.
He believes that the support of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) NIH is one of the keys to the success of the laboratory. For example, a FIRST award from NIMH has been renewed four times. The laboratory was also the first in Puerto Rico to receive a presidential award for early career and a MERIT award.
"The other first grants for Puerto Rico were a sub-CONTE grant P50 Center, a Pathway to Independence Award (K99-R00) for my postdoc, and end-of-thesis scholarships (R36) for my graduate students – all funded by NIMH, "said Oddry.
Quirk's report includes comments from former interns, which he collected at a recent meeting celebrating the lab's 20th anniversary. For example, "after years of JClubs, you're never satisfied with your mediocre efforts," said a former doctoral student about the lab's mandatory reading clubs.
Weekly lab meetings started with guided meditation and "appreciations" set the tone for a culture of cooperation, Quirk said. The rotating presentations of trainees ensure that everyone knows what each person is doing / thinking in the lab and can help guide them.
"It was awesome to see a member of Quirk Lab present the poster of another member without being part of the study: the lab meetings turned every member into a champion of the projects. others, "observed a former student.
Members of the lab are encouraged to overcome their inclinations for social courtesy and to ask questions boldly, said Quirk. The same high level is expected in written communication. A "rule of six eyes" dictates that manuscripts be criticized by three outside readers before being submitted to a newspaper.
"You write for a brain that does not belong to you," he said.
The idea of having what Quirk affectionately calls "Face Time" (individual encounters) was born with the students. "It was a firm deadline to make my data presentable and remind Greg of the importance of my project," said a post-doc in progress.
Every winter, for three days, the lab uses the university funds to lead the mountain as part of a retreat of philosophy of science. "Rather than discussing data, the idea of retreats is to look at the philosophical issues that define us as scientists and underpin our approach to scientific issues," Quirk says.
"The retirement has given me the security of being able to count on other people in the lab," said an undergraduate student. Each graduate student or postdoctoral fellow guides two to four undergraduate students.
In a recent message from the NIMH director highlighting fear laboratory trainees at last year's meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Joshua A Gordon, director of NIMH, wrote: "Dr. Quirk is a long-term beneficiary As an effective mentor NIMH, he has trained many undergraduate and graduate students who have embarked on remarkable careers in neuroscience. "
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