Designing research with undergraduates in mind
Working closely with students in his laboratory, Douglas Roossien, Mount Holyoke College’s new assistant professor of biological sciences, studies fruit flies to understand how the human brain works.
Students are not an afterthought in Douglas Roossien’s research — far from it. The developmental neurobiologist, now the newest assistant professor of biological sciences at Mount Holyoke College, has spent years studying fruit flies to understand how specific cells and systems (such as serotonin) relate to function and behaviors. His research program is currently supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. And students have long been instrumental in his work.
“The biggest piece of success in my research has been how I’ve been able to design my projects with undergraduates in mind,” said Roossien, who moved to Massachusetts from Indiana over the summer. Before that, he had spent six years in Ball State University’s Department of Biology.
Roossien is excited to be living in New England for the first time and working at a liberal arts institution with a dual focus on teaching and research. He’s also excited about what’s not changing in his work: close collaboration with students in his lab to deepen his understanding of Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly that scientists have long considered a highly useful model for studying developmental genetics.
“We use the fruit fly because we’re able to use a lot of really powerful genetic tools,” Roossien said. Fruit flies “allow us to mutate genes. They allow us to disrupt developmental processes and cellular processes.” His research team observes the effects of mutations in brain neurons and circuits and in behavior to understand how structure determines function.
“In Drosophila, we have these really nice, convenient systems that allow us to look at simple structures and learn how specific mutations change the function of the brain,” Roossien said. “It’s my beloved model system.”
Part of the reason he loves studying the fruit fly is that it’s a highly accessible way for students to try hands-on science for the first time. Undergraduates with a wide range of skill levels can walk into Roossien’s lab and help to conduct experiments.
“They may have never touched a pipette before or never even been in a lab before,” he said. “But within a week or two, they can start doing projects with supervision.” By the end of a semester, many students in his lab will have worked on genetic crosses to create new Drosophila generations with specific mutations and learned techniques including growing neurons in cultures and microscopy. Students who stay on for a second semester get the chance to do an experiment on the mutant generation they created.
“It’s a nice, encapsulated process that takes a lot of students through the scientific practice, from learning the techniques to designing and executing the experiments to finding answers through data analysis,” Roossien said.
The starting point is getting students interested in some of the questions Roossien and his academic collaborators are trying to answer and then assigning them to an experiment that aligns with what they find the most intriguing.
Right now, Roossien’s team is focused on this overarching question: How did the serotonin system develop? The answers are potentially significant because serotonin is an important molecule that helps to regulate people’s sleep, moods and appetite. Most antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications involve serotonin, Roossien said.
As it turns out, fruit flies and humans have plenty in common when it comes to serotonin. “Fruit flies make the exact same serotonin that humans do, and their five serotonin receptors are in our brain,” Roossien said. Of course, the human brain is more complex than a fruit fly’s, but there’s still plenty to learn from the latter.
“My favorite analogy for what we’re doing in my lab is we’re taking apart a motorcycle to understand how a car works,” he said.
Roossien spent the summer settling into western Massachusetts with his family. They appreciate the region’s mountains and hiking trails after living in the Midwest for many years. Now, he is ready to kick off his first semester at the College. “I’m just champing at the bit to have some students in the lab and to be in the classroom. The energy, the vibe here is very exciting to me,” he said.
