ECR Spotlight – Ciaran Shaughnessy Free

Ciaran Shaughnessy

How did you become interested in biology?

For the longest time, I wouldn't have considered myself interested in biology. It was my least favorite subject in school, and I remember trying to avoid taking biology classes in college. I did have a deep love for the natural environment, especially water. I grew up outside Portland, Maine, USA, and spent summers as a sea kayak guide and camp counselor. I spent much of my free time in and around the tributaries and falls of the Presumpscot River – a heavily dammed waterway which my family has been deeply involved in restoring fish passage to. When I began researching freshwater and marine organisms, the context – the waters, rivers, estuaries and bays – felt very familiar. It was only after working with fishes and studying their physiology that I began to appreciate other aspects of biology. I now have a rich interest in many aspects of biology, like histology, cellular and molecular biology, and pharmacology. These are topics I could not have imagined having an interest in until they were presented to me in the context of something I was passionate about, comparative physiology.

Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus

My scientific journey started outside science and took a scenic route. I earned a scholarship to study architecture, for which I think I had both passion and promise. I enjoyed design but I learned early on that architecture wasn't the right career for me. I finished college with a degree in chemistry. Still, I had little passion or promise to be a chemist. I was somewhat lost but enjoying the search for a career path that suited me. What I found was a series of mentors who would shape my life in ways I couldn't have imagined.

John Terschak, an undergraduate mentor, invited me to study the chemical pheromones released by octopuses used as avoidance cues by crabs. In this, I discovered scientific research. With endless challenges and an abundance of failures, I had again found something for which I had both passion and promise.

I met Jason Bystriansky presenting at an undergraduate research symposium. As my master's adviser, Jason introduced me to comparative physiology, the joy of research collaboration, and to so many folks in our field. He also introduced me to Steve McCormick, my future doctoral advisor. Working with Steve, I matured as a scientist, developed a niche for studying endocrinology and ionoregulation in ancient fishes, and gained confidence and independence.

My partner's (non-academic) career took us to a new city, and I hit send on an email to a PI working on CFTR that I was sure would go unnoticed. Despite my own internal imposter syndrome, Pam Zeitlin recognized my potential to translate experience in comparative physiology to productivity in biomedical research. Pam became an important mentor. I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the NIH.

Seeking to return to comparative research, I was awarded an NSF postdoctoral fellowship to work with Bob Dores. Bob was the right mentor at the right time, and we interacted more as colleagues and collaborators. I adopted new research tools, expanded my network in comparative endocrinology, taught courses and mentored students. I was ready to start my own research lab and lucky enough to get an opportunity to do just that.

How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?

The ocean is a salty place. For fish to survive in such high salt concentrations requires specific adaptive physiologies – an ability only about half of all fish species possess. Freshwater fishes cannot survive in the ocean because they lack these adaptations. For decades, we've known that marine fishes survive by secreting excess salt through their gills. Until now, every marine fish studied has used the same molecular mechanism for this essential process. This consistency led scientists to assume this salt-secretion method was universal among all seawater-adapted fishes. Our research reveals, for the first time, a marine fish that uses a different molecular mechanism. This discovery challenges the assumed universality of salt secretion in marine fishes and suggests other species might also have evolved alternative approaches. Importantly, we made this observation in the sea lamprey, a member of the jawless fishes – the most ancient lineage of vertebrate animals. This finding invites us to reconsider how the common ancestor of all fishes might have originally adapted to life in the sea, potentially reshaping our understanding of vertebrate evolution in marine environments.

Why did you choose JEB to publish your paper?

Like many comparative physiologists, I consider JEB the home of our community. It publishes interesting, hypothesis-driven, convention-challenging research from across many sub-disciplines of comparative physiology. JEB serves as a meeting place for our work, much as conferences bring researchers together in person. Beyond publishing, JEB actively supports and stewards our community by funding student initiatives, facilitating gatherings, and publishing guiding commentaries.

I have personally benefited from JEB's stewardship. During my first year of master's training, I received a JEB Travelling Fellowship that proved invaluable to my development, offering me a sense of belonging and building my confidence as a young researcher. Years later, at the end of my postdoctoral training, I was awarded another JEB Travelling Fellowship that helped establish collaborative relationships and research directions that continue to shape my independent career. JEB is a wonderful journal in multiple dimensions, and I'm always grateful to participate in the research conversations it fosters.

What do you enjoy most about research, and why?

I most enjoy the collaborative relationships and friendships that are formed with colleagues and with students. Through my research, I have made life-long friends from around the world. These collaborative relationships keep me motivated, passionate and productive. In a way, it is like I am exploring how way the world works with a big group of friends, and I'm helping younger folks find what aspects of the world they are interested in learning about. That is a wonderful way to spend a career.

Do you have a top tip for others just starting out at your career stage?

For this, I'd like to share two quotes that have guided me in this early phase of my career, and one that I've come up with myself as a new assistant professor.

‘Never stop writing.’ This one came from a colleague and friend in the field (and one of the best writers I know). Research isn't complete until it's shared, and to share we must write. I have a lot of fun doing the research, but I find it even more fun to take part in the conversations.

‘You have to spend money to make money.’ From a mentor. This reminds me that its ok to take risks both in research and career paths. The most rewarding opportunities often come with uncertainty.

‘If you're not barely fitting research into your schedule, then you are not fitting it in at all.’ This one is mine. Academic life is busy with teaching and service, but this reminds me to prioritize research progress even when it means squeezing it into small pockets of time.