Interviews with Scientists: Daniel Almeida
Daniel Almeida is a PhD candidate at McGill University, with research based out of the Douglas Research Centre. Daniel’s research utilizes post-mortem human brain samples, coupled with detailed psychological autopsies, to study the molecular impacts of severe childhood abuse on the brain.
As an emerging mental health researcher, Daniel is passionate about knowledge translation. He is a mental health advocate and educator who teaches freely accessible workshops on understanding mental illness and psychological well being. In December 2019, Daniel was selected by Forbes magazine to appear on their prestigious 30 under 30 list for the category of science.
We were very excited to speak to Daniel about his research, his passion for science, and more.
Thanks so much for speaking with us, Daniel! Firstly, please tell us more about your current research...
It's estimated that approximately 30% of adult mental illnesses may be due in part to a history of severe childhood abuse. A major question, then, is how exactly does abuse in childhood result in psychopathology in adulthood? The goal of my doctoral research is to identify cell-type-specific transcriptomic and neuroepigenomic differences in postmortem brain samples of individuals with a history of severe childhood abuse as compared to controls. The methods that I typically use in the lab include; Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM), RNA-sequencing, Fluorescence-Activated Nuclei Sorting (FANS), Enzymatic Based Whole Methylome Sequencing, and Histology.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your research?
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of my research is at a standstill. I’m grateful, however, to have plenty of writing to do while in quarantine.
Did you always want to be a scientist when you were younger, and why?
When I was younger, I most definitely wanted to be a scientist. As a child, I had this unsatisfiable curiosity about insects and plants. Growing up, my family lived near a creek that I’d often visit to observe all of the organisms that lived there. I originally started my undergraduate training wanting to major in ecology but went through a life experience that left me captivated by neuroscience.
What advice would you give those just starting out in their science career?
Approach your training as if it’s a journey instead of a race. There will be times where experiments don’t work out, but it’s in those failures that you end up learning a lot.
What's the most important lesson you have learned in your PhD so far?
The most important lesson I’ve learned during my PhD is to appreciate the failures as much as the successes. Working with post mortem human brain samples can be tricky since most methods require a lot of optimizing. It was during the optimization stage of my PhD (when I experienced a lot of failure) that I learned the most.
What’s your biggest achievement in your career to date?
In December 2019, I was selected by Forbes magazine to appear on their prestigious 30 under 30 list for the category of science. I was proud to represent The Douglas Research Centre and all of the groundbreaking mental health research being conducted in Canada.
What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing life scientists and their work?
I think that a lot of scientists are struggling with some of the unknowns associated with the current pandemic. Some projects have had to abruptly stop and will need to restart once research begins to ramp back up. I’m sure that many graduate students, including myself, are also stressed about the effect that COVID-19 is having on their progress. It can sometimes be difficult to motivate yourself to write or analyze data when those are the only things that you can do. I know for me personally, I miss having a mix of lab and non-lab work to do.
What does a typical day in the lab look like for you?
I spend most of my days planning experiments, optimizing new methods for post-mortem human brain samples, data analysis and writing. My favorite days are when I have the time to train a few of the undergraduate students working on my project.
What does your typical day look like at the moment, while your lab is closed?
Now that the lab is closed I’ve mostly been focusing on data analysis and writing. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began our lab has been running lab meetings and journal clubs on Zoom, which has been a nice way to remain socially connected.
Outside of your research and any related work, what do you enjoy doing most?
I’m extremely passionate about mental health education, so most of my work outside of the lab revolves around mental health advocacy. The immediate impact that this work has on society is satisfying and helps to reduce the stigma associated with living with a mental illness.
If you weren’t a scientist, what do you think you’d be doing now?
If I weren’t a scientist, I’d likely have gone into a career that allowed me to work more closely with individuals living with a mental illness. I think that pursuing graduate training in clinical psychology, as opposed to neuroscience, would have been different but equally fulfilling.
What is it about your field of research that gets you most excited?
An area that I’m absolutely captivated by is understanding the molecular neurobiology underlying susceptibility and resilience. While my work does focus more on the susceptibility side of things, I’m equally excited about resilience. Understanding why it is that some individuals respond negatively to adverse early life experiences, while others do not, is a mystery that I’d like to continue to explore throughout my career.
Which fellow scientists working today do you most admire, and why?
Given that my training is taking place at McGill, I most definitely have to cite Dr Brenda Milner as a scientist that I admire and who has contributed extensively to the field of Clinical Neuropsychology. This year, Dr Milner will be turning 102 years old and is still actively involved in the scientific community. When I first started graduate school, I was able to hear her speak about her work and was captivated by her continued passion for neuroscience research.
What’s your favorite science quote?
“The problem of neurology is to understand man himself.” – Dr Wilder Penfield
What do you think is the greatest scientific discovery of all time?
When I first read this question, I thought for a moment that I’d cite a discovery in neuroscience or genetics. Having a sister who has been a type 1 diabetic for most of her life, I’d have to say that the discovery of insulin is to me, one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.
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Thank you so much for speaking to us, Daniel! We wish you the very best with your ongoing research.
Daniel Almeida is a member of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) and his research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through a Vanier Scholars Fellowship.
You can connect with Daniel on social media in the following places:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmichaelalmeida/
- Instagram: @postmortemphd
- Twitter: @postmortemphd
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