Informational Interview

This week, as another reflection assignment for the Internship Transcript Notation Program, I interviewed my mentor, Boss. Boss in the director of the Laboratory of Developmental Behavioral Psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. McLean Hospital is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. I decided that the best way for this discussion to assist my career path exploration would be to ask questions related to the specific responsibilities and expectations of the position. In this way, I will gain a more complete sense of my own interest in the field.

Boss began by outlining her current research projects. She has hypothesized a model by which she predicts that abnormal serotonin levels in the brain at specific periods of development lead to a significantly higher risk of depression later in the child’s life. Boss is convinced that a circuit within the brain involving the Prefrontal Cortex, Dorsal Raphe Nucleus (serotonin release), and Basal Lateral Amygdala (anxiety mediation) may be the key to the development of depression. She has designed several modes by which to test this proposal, including behavioral as well as neurobiological procedures. Boss is hoping to establish a specific “sensitive period” to abuse during which children are most likely to develop depression, the onset of which is about nine years. With this knowledge, at-risk children can begin a regimen of medications before their symptoms even surface. I was impressed that Boss keeps future applications of her research in mind as she builds her theories.

I was surprised by the amount of writing, paperwork, and collaboration required for this field. Boss spends hours of every day preparing and reviewing grant applications. In order for her proposals to be accepted, she must conduct hours of preliminary research, ensuring that her ideas are concrete and worthwhile. With the funding she receives, Boss completes research to later be published in accredited journals such as Science and Developmental Neuroscience. Each paper must undergo the scrutiny of editors and reviewers, with many rewrites. Often, they request that Boss conduct additional research to augment her findings. I believe that the general public does not understand or appreciate the number of hours dedicated to publications outside the laboratory.

Though the interview did not stay exactly on-point with my predetermined questions, I found the ensuing conversation far more informative and motivational than I could have predicted. Boss has agreed to more frequent, informal, meetings of this kind. I am still undecided as to whether or not this is the career path that most suits me, but this interview clarified many questions I held regarding the responsibilities of the field.