Northwestern is a fantastic place to do a postdoc.”
Sema Quadir (she/her)
Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Sema Quadir is a postdoctoral scholar in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine. In the Patel Lab, she studies the impact of alcohol on the brain, aiming to create treatments for withdrawal that help prevent relapse.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience?
Broadly, I study the effects of alcohol consumption on the brain with the goal of developing novel therapeutic targets to treat alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Alcohol use disorders are often conceptualized as repeated cycles of drinking (which feels good), withdrawal (which feels bad), and anticipation of subsequent drinking (which then leads to more drinking). My goal is to develop treatments for the withdrawal stage, which would then decrease the motivation to drink and ultimately reduce future alcohol consumption.
What is a mistake you have learned from in your career?
My first project in grad school, I had a 4.5-month long project where I was looking at the effects of injecting a virus in a specific part of the brain. It was my first time doing viral injections so I didn't understand that the volume I was injecting was too high. Thus, my viral injections spread throughout the brain, rendering none of the data usable. Now, I always do pilot experiments first before dedicating time and resources to big projects.
Why Northwestern?
Northwestern is a fantastic place to do a postdoc. My primary motivation was to come and work in the lab of my mentor, Sachin Patel. In addition, the lab is full of folks with different neuroscience backgrounds that I learn from every day. Finally, I love Chicago as a city – it’s beautiful, relatively affordable, and full of things to do.
How do you unwind after a long day?
After a long day at work, I like grabbing dinner with friends or watching Netflix with my two cats Luna and Tuna.
What books are on your bedside table?
I really like learning about random things so right now it is Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky.
How would your closest friends describe you?
I asked my friends and they said friendly, extremely hardworking and committed to work, bubbly, thoughtful, and critical about rigorous science.
Tell us about a current achievement or something you're working on that excites you.
Increased pain sensitivity is a common but underappreciated effect of alcohol withdrawal, and we currently don't have any treatments for it. I am excited about my work on the brain endocannabinoid system, which thus far seems like a promising target!
Publish Date: March 4, 2024
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