From the Lab to the Limelight - Blog version of our #TraineeTuesday Twitter series
Meet Manoela Fogaça, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Picciotto Lab! A winner of both the K99 NIH Grant and NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Fogaça is a rising star in molecular neurobiology research.
Fogaça’s overarching goal is to identify novel therapeutic approaches to treating major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD is a highly debilitating and recurrent illness that affects up to 17% of the US population. However, available antidepressants face certain limitations when treating MDD; these often include low response rates, a time-lag in triggering a therapeutic response, and inadequate effectiveness in cases of treatment resistant depression.
By studying the neurobiological basis of stress-induced behaviors, Fogaça’s research aims to identify specific circuits and synaptic mechanisms involved in these responses. She also studies rapid antidepressant action, and is interested in novel pharmacological approaches, including fast-acting antidepressants such as ketamine and “ketamine-like drugs,” to treat MDD.
Fogaça’s research journey began in Brazil, her home country. After falling in love with neuropsychopharmacology during her undergraduate studies, she decided to dedicate her career to studying the neurobiology of stress and psychiatric disorders. Fogaça completed both her Master’s and PhD in pharmacology at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where her research mentor, Francisco Guimaraes, MD, PhD, engaged her curiosity beyond science, touching on the “cultural aspects of human life,” from the arts to philosophy.
During her doctoral studies, Fogaça earned an exchange fellowship to conduct research abroad. After emailing Ron Duman, PhD, who was then the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neuroscience at Yale, she was on her way to Yale in 2015. A year later, Duman invited her back as a postdoctoral fellow. To her, this experience summarized the courage needed to “create your own opportunities.”
“If I had never sent that email, I probably would not be writing about my K99 experience right now,” Fogaça said. “Ron was an exceptional scientist and human being; he was a model of excellence and humility, which reinforced my goals and integrity as a young scientist.”
However, three years into her postdoctoral fellowship, Duman unexpectedly passed away at the beginning of 2020.
“This sorrowful event has been painful, but also inspired me to keep our work alive,” Fogaça said.
Fogaça continued her research journey in the lab of Marina Picciotto, PhD, the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neuroscience and of Pharmacology. Picciotto has helped Fogaça grow as an independent researcher, serving as the bridge between her scientific training and transition to a faculty position.
Picciotto encouraged Fogaça to apply for grants that would prepare her to be a junior faculty member. With this advice, Fogaça applied for and successfully earned a NARSAD award. But when it came time to apply for her K99, Fogaça was less confident. Her eligibility period was expiring, meaning she would not have the opportunity to revise her application and resubmit if required. Fogaça only had one shot.
When Fogaça tried to back out of applying for fear of missing this shot, Picciotto replied: “This just means you have one shot instead of two. Why would you need to revise?” These words instantly changed Fogaça’s perspective.
She spent the entire COVID-19 lockdown writing her K99 application. In the end, she received her K99, proving “the ghosts” in her head, wrong.
As the brilliant woman [Picciotto] is, she inspires me to keep expanding my perspectives and trying even when I am terrified of failing.
Manoela Fogaça, PhD
Fogaça called her lab colleagues “amazing, self-motivated and risk-taking.” She has also enjoyed cross-talk between labs at Yale, especially within the department of psychiatry. In preparation for her job search, Fogaça has taken advantage of several workshops provided by Yale from training in scientific writing to job talks.
“A great aspect of Yale is that even though it is a long-established, prestigious institution, Yale is very committed to inclusion and diversity,” Fogaça said. “As an immigrant woman, I have received constant support from the Yale community to feel included. Of course there are always individual exceptions, but overall, as a community, I feel very comfortable developing my work and expressing my ideas.”
Fogaça's long-term goal is to become a tenure track assistant professor with a laboratory that investigates the neurobiological basis of stress-induced behavioral changes and antidepressant action. With a love for teaching, her dream role would allow her to teach pharmacology and neuroscience to undergraduate and graduate students.
Update 2/1/2023: Fogaça is now a tenure track assistant professor at University of Rochester!