ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Michael Meece is an author on ‘ Assessing recovery of Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptors with different wavelengths of red and infrared light’, published in JEB. Michael is a PhD student in the lab of Elke K. Buschbeck at the University of Cincinnati, USA, investigating retinal degeneration, photoreceptor physiology and photobiomodulation.
Michael Meece
How did you become interested in biology?
From a young age I was interested in understanding how we perceive the world around us and was fortunate enough to have a family that encouraged me to continue learning. In school, I was quite fond of my science coursework and particularly enjoyed biology and anatomy, igniting my interest in better understanding how life works at a mechanistic level. I later enrolled in the neuroscience undergraduate program at the University of Cincinnati, where I further developed my interest in sensory systems.
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
My scientific journey began in earnest while I was pursuing my bachelor's degree when I became involved in undergraduate research. Initially, I started off by screening Drosophila mutants with electroretinography, eventually working on my own undergraduate project. I also conducted electroretinography on cut knockdown mutant Drosophila to assist in uncovering the role of support cells in eye development. After graduating, I stayed in the same lab for graduate school where I had the opportunity to perform electrophysiological work on several arthropods such as jumping spiders, wolf spiders and crickets. Other than lab work, I have also had the privilege to teach an electrophysiology lab to undergraduate neuroscience students as well as serve as a mentor to several undergraduate researchers. Currently, my research is focused on shedding light on the effects of photobiomodulation on damaged retinae, particularly across different levels of light, which involved gaining experience in measuring light and building my own light arrays for my experiments.
How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?
My paper makes use of the already established effects of infrared light exposure – namely, that it can have therapeutic effects on injured tissue – and directly compares different wavelengths of light to assess their efficacy on the recovery of damaged eyes in fruit flies. We found that when calibrated to equal intensity there does appear to be a wavelength-dependent effect of light exposure on the recovery of damaged retinae. In addition, we found that at the most effective wavelength, light-treated flies had an increased concentration of ATP, suggesting that the cellular metabolism of these flies was more active.
What do you enjoy most about research, and why?
My favorite part about research is that ‘aha’ moment when things just click into place and make sense. Whether in the throes of troubleshooting an experiment or finding just the right way to phrase something in a manuscript, I think that moment of sudden realization can be so incredibly motivating, especially when so much trying and failing is involved in research. I think many people get discouraged early on when things don't work right away and that ‘aha’ moment helps us learn and stay enthusiastic.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my spare time I enjoy walking outside, painting and playing bluegrass music; I think these hobbies can be quite meditative, which I find to be particularly helpful when dealing with stress. I typically make it a point to spend some time each day doing something creative. Additionally, when the weather is nice, I like to go fishing and hiking. Generally, I find pastimes to be great for staying motivated at work and reconnecting with myself while recharging my energy.
Michael Meece's contact details: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]
