Erin M. Gibson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erin M. Gibson
Born	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater	BS Duke University, PhD University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral work Stanford University
Known for	Circadian disruptions lead to decreases in hippocampal cell proliferation
Scientific career
Fields	Glial biology, circadian biology
Institutions	Stanford University

Dr. Erin M. Gibson is a scientist who studies special brain cells called glial cells and how our body's natural clock, the circadian rhythm, affects them. She is a professor at Stanford University, where she teaches and does research on how these cells help build brain connections and how our sleep-wake cycle influences brain health.

Early Life and Learning

Dr. Gibson grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She went to Whitfield School for her high school education. She became interested in how the brain works after doing a research project at Washington University in St. Louis. Her biology teacher encouraged her to explore this field.

College Studies

After high school, Dr. Gibson went to Duke University in 2001. She studied psychology and neuroscience, which is the study of the brain. At Duke, she worked with Professor Christina Williams. They looked at how food and hormones affect brain development and behavior.

Dr. Gibson earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Duke in 2005. Her work helped show that a nutrient called choline, given before birth, can help prevent memory problems in older rats. This research was published in a science journal in 2007.

In 2006, Dr. Gibson moved to California for her advanced studies. She joined a research lab at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she began to study how the body's internal clock, the circadian system, controls different body processes.

How Our Body Clock Affects Reproduction

Early in her graduate studies, Dr. Gibson published research about how the brain's clock affects the female reproductive cycle. She studied a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This area helps control the release of a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH), which is important for ovulation.

She found a new protein that helps stop the release of LH for most of the cycle. Her research showed how the SCN helps control when this hormone is released. This was a new discovery about how our body clock affects reproduction.

How Our Body Clock Affects Brain Health

In 2010, Dr. Gibson published important research about how "jet lag" affects the brain. She wanted to see how changes to our body clock impact new brain cell growth and thinking skills. She used hamsters and changed their light and dark cycles, similar to what happens when people travel across time zones.

She found that this "jet lag" caused fewer new brain cells to grow in the hippocampus. This part of the brain is important for learning and memory. The hamsters also had trouble with learning and remembering things. These negative effects on the brain lasted a long time, even after the "jet lag" stopped. Her work showed how important our body clock is for brain health. This research was featured in news outlets like ABC Science, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Time.

Postdoctoral Research

After finishing her PhD in 2011, Dr. Gibson went to Stanford University. She worked in Dr. Michelle Monje's lab. There, she studied how brain activity affects myelin. Myelin is a protective layer around nerve cells, like insulation on a wire.

Cancer Treatment and Thinking Problems

Some cancer treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy, can cause problems with memory and focus. Dr. Gibson wanted to understand how chemotherapy affects the brain. She focused on glial cells, especially those that make myelin.

In 2014, she published a paper in Science. She showed that increasing brain activity could lead to more cells that make myelin. This suggests a way to help treat diseases where myelin is damaged.

In 2019, Dr. Gibson published more research in Cell. She studied how chemotherapy affects glial cells. She found that a chemotherapy drug called methotrexate caused problems with certain glial cells. This led to inflammation in the brain. By stopping this inflammation, she could help restore these important cells. This research suggests new ways to help cancer patients with thinking problems.

Career and Research

In 2020, Dr. Gibson started her own research lab at Stanford University. She is an assistant professor in several departments, including Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her lab studies how glial cells work in the brain. She is especially interested in how our body's internal clock affects these cells.

Helping Others

Dr. Gibson is a strong supporter of women in science, especially mothers. She is part of a group that works to make it easier for mothers to attend science conferences. They have written articles in journals like Nature Jobs and Nature Careers about this issue.

In 2020, Dr. Gibson also wrote an article in Science. She talked about the importance of allowing scientists to explain personal challenges that might affect their careers. This helps review committees understand any gaps in a scientist's work history.

Selected Publications

• Gibson EM, Nagaraja S, Ocampo A, Tam L, Wood LS, Pallegar PN, Greene JJ, Geraghty AC, Goldstein AK, Ni L, Woo PJ, Barres BA, Liddelow SA, Vogel H, & Monje M (2019). Methotrexate chemotherapy induces persistent tri-glial dysregulation that underlies chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment. Cell, 176, 43–55.
• Gibson EM & Monje M. Emerging mechanistic underpinnings and therapeutic targets for chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (2019). Current Opinion in Oncology.
• Geraghty AC, Gibson EM, Ghanem RA, Greene JJ, Ocampo A, Goldstein AK, Ni L, Yang T, Marton RM, Pasca SP, Greenberg ME, Longo FM, & Monje M (2019). Loss of adaptive myelination contributes to methotrexate chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment Neuron, 103, 2, 250–265.
• Gibson EM, Geraghty AC, & Monje M (2017). Bad Wrap: Myelin and Myelin Plasticity in Health and Disease. Developmental Neurobiology, 78, 2, 123–135.
• Purger D, Gibson EM, & Monje M (2016). Myelin plasticity in the central nervous system. Neuropharmacology, 110(Pt B), 563–573.
• Venkatesh HS, Johung TB, Caretti V, Noll A, Tang Y, Nagaraja S, Gibson EM, Mount CW, Polepalli J, Mitra SS, Woo PJ, Malenka RC, Vogel H, Bredel M, Mallick P, & Monje M (2015). Neuronal activity-regulated secretion of neuroligin-3 promotes glioma growth. Cell, 161, 803–816.
• Gibson EM, Purger D, Mount CW, Goldstein AK, Lin GL, Wood LS, Inema I, Miller SE, Bieri G, Zuchero JB, Barres BA, Woo PJ, Vogel H, & Monje M (2014). Neuronal activity promotes oligodendrogenesis and adaptive myelination in the mammalian brain. Science, 2014; 344 (6183): 487-?
• Gibson E & Monje M (2012). Effect of cancer therapy on neural stem cells: implications for cognitive function. Current Opinion in Oncology, 24,6.
• Gibson EM, Wang C, Tjho S, Khattar N & Kriegsfeld LJ (2010). Experimental 'jet lag' inhibits adult neurogenesis and produces long-term cognitive deficits in female hamsters. PLOS One, 5,12.
• Gibson EM, Williams WP, & Kriegsfeld LJ (2009). Aging in the circadian system: Considerations for health, disease prevention, and longevity. Experimental Gerontology, 44, 1–2, 51–56.
• Gibson EM, Humber SA, Jain S, Williams WP, Zhao S, Bentley GE, Tsutsui K, & Kriegsfeld LJ (2008). Alterations in RFamide-related peptide expression are coordinated with the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge. Endocrinology, 149, 10, 4958–4969.