Each issue of Graduate Posts will profile one of our successful alumni, with the intent of revealing the broad scope of their backgrounds and activities, as well as the wide range of career paths available to our alumni. In this issue, we spotlight:
- Name: Gary C. Sieck, Ph.D.
- Degree at UNMC: Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics, 1976
- Current Position: Vernon F. and Earline D. Dale Professor & Chair, Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering, Distinguished Investigator, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
How did you become interested in physiology?
I grew up in Seward, Neb. — a small rural town about 80 miles from Omaha, near Lincoln. I graduated from Seward High School in 1967 in a class of about 120 students. I was fortunate to have great friends while growing up who reinforced my natural curiosity and encouraged exploration and discovery. My parents certainly knew the value of a college education, but in our family, my brother and I were the first to attend and graduate from college. Fortunately, my parents encouraged me to pursue this opportunity.
In 1967, I started undergraduate training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and I graduated in 1971 with a degree in zoology. When I graduated, I had no idea about what career I wanted or what I should do next. My father wanted me to go to medical school, but I was not sure that this was right for me. Fortunately, I took the graduate record examination (GRE) in my senior year, and I scored very well. I only sent a graduate school application to one place — UNMC. I was accepted into the program in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, but I really had no idea what this was beyond some comparative physiology I took as an undergraduate. I also had no funding, so I supported myself during my first year by working as a phlebotomist in the hospital. This was a great experience and a great opportunity for me to gain insight into what medicine was about — helping people.
During my first two years of graduate school, I had great teachers, including A. Ross McIntyre, M.D., who had been chair of the department for over 30 years, from 1935 to 1967, and A. Lawrence Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., who was then chair. Both Drs. McIntyre and Bennett were fantastic mentors who believed in preparing students to be self-sufficient scientists. Accordingly, in addition to the medical school basic science courses, the curriculum included all sorts of practical training with classes in advanced engineering mathematics, analog circuit design, computer programming, glass blowing, etc.
In 1973, in my third year of graduate school, after passing my qualifying exam, I had the opportunity to go to UCLA to complete a research project in the Brain Research Institute. Los Angeles sounded great, and I seized this opportunity and made the most of it. It was supposed to be a three-month research project, but I ended up staying in Los Angeles for the next 17 years, seizing every opportunity that came my way.
What research are you currently doing?
Currently, I have a relatively large laboratory with about 30 students, trainees, visiting faculty, collaborators and technologists working together. Many of my research directions have resulted from discussions with my colleagues who present interesting questions and tweak my imagination. Fortunately, I’ve been able to follow up in most cases by writing grants and obtaining funding to pursue these questions.
At the present time, we have three major grants from the National Institutes of Health exploring different aspects of the neural control of respiratory muscles including the diaphragm, which is the major inspiratory muscle, and airway smooth muscle, which line the lung airways and cause an increase in airway resistance. Specifically, our research group examines how the nervous system controls these muscles, how intracellular calcium is regulated to promote coupling between neural excitation and muscle contraction, and how contractile proteins are synthesized and degraded, thereby affecting strength of these muscles. Our basic physiological discoveries relate directly to a number of clinical problems including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, spinal cord injury, mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit, and age-related sarcopenia.
In another ongoing project that resulted from conversations with colleagues at the University of Tromso in Norway (Arctic University of Norway), we are examining the impact of accidental hypothermia and subsequent rewarming. Tromso, Norway, is situated 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle, so like Rochester, Minn., it is a very cold place, and people occasionally are exposed to conditions that result in accidental hypothermia. As part of the largest university above the Arctic Circle, the medical center in Tromso serves as a major trauma center for the Arctic region. The Norwegian government is very interested in our research as it relates to the risk of humans working in the Arctic, and accordingly, the government provides funding for our translational research that is carried out both in Tromso and at Mayo. Together, we formed the Center for Artic Physiology and Medicine, and as part of this collaboration, I hold an appointment as a professor at the University of Tromso, and I travel there on several occasions each year.
What is your best memory of your time at UNMC?
My best memories of my time at UNMC involve the camaraderie that existed among my fellow graduate students in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. We had a very rigorous curriculum that filled almost every waking moment. We shared misery of constant study, but we found time to have fun with each other.
What instructor or mentor at UNMC impacted you the most?
I was fortunate to have several mentors at UNMC, but I particularly have fond memories of Drs. A. Ross McIntyre and A. Lawrence Bennett, when I first became a graduate student. Later in my second and third years, I would not have survived without the exceptional mentoring of Dr. Joseph Gilmore and Judith Ramaley. The direction, guidance and examples provided by these mentors greatly impacted my career.
I firmly believe that as a scientist, I am part of a continuum of scientific knowledge formed by the student-teacher relationship. One of our greatest responsibilities as scientists is to participate both as students and as teachers. By teaching we gain a deeper understanding.
When you left UNMC, what were your goals? Have they changed?
During my graduate training, I discovered that one of the greatest things about our “jobs” as scientists is that we get to spend our entire careers as students pursuing our curiosities, using our imaginations and discovering new and exciting things about life. Throughout my career, my major goals have been to continue exploring my curiosity and maintaining my passion for science. I believe that over 38 years, I have largely accomplished these goals.
With respect to my career as I left UNMC, I mentioned that in my third year of graduate school I went to Los Angeles and the Brain Research Institute at UCLA to complete research projects in neurophysiology. By the time I finished my Ph.D. thesis research, I had very clear professional goals to continue a career in academic medical research and achieve sufficient extramural funding for my research through the NIH. Toward this goal, I initially obtained an individual NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral fellowship for three years (1976-1979). Then in 1979, I was successful in competing for funding as a senior investigator through the American Heart Association. In 1981, I received my first NIH R01 grant, followed by a second NIH R01 grant the following year. Since then, I have been continuously funded by multiple grants from the NIH for 33 years. Just this past year, I received two more NIH grants, so my lab will be funded at least through 2018. This overall goal of financial security through extramural funding has allowed me to achieve all my scientific goals through the years, and this has not changed.
My personal goal was to maintain a work/life balance that included raising a family. Although I married later in life, I now have a loving wife, Joanne, and two fantastic kids. My son, Dylan, is completing his second year of graduate school in Human Physiology at the University of Oregon, and my daughter, Chloe, just graduated from the University of Washington with a joint major in History and Political Science.
What did you enjoy most about the convocation, where you were the keynote speaker?
I particularly enjoyed meeting the graduate students who were completing their training and learning more about their research and their future plans. It also was nice to meet the faculty and to reconnect with old friends.
Three things people don’t know about you are:
- I am a twin. My brother Jerry lives in Lincoln.
- My hobby is reading, particularly political history.
- I performed in three musicals during high school, playing the lead in “The Music Man” during my senior year.