Going the distance with Joseph Schrader
Dr. Joseph Schrader (SURF ’10) started out as an undergraduate student in 2008 studying Pharmaceutical Science and Pharmacology and crossed the finish line with a Ph.D. in 2017! Originally an electrical engineering major and musician, he changed his academic course when he was the first student enrolled in the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) program in 2008. Joe joined the RI-INBRE SURF program in 2010 and was mentored by Dr. Matthew Stoner (URI) and graduated from the BSPS program in 2012. He worked as a Researcher Ph.D. student in Dr. Abe Kovoor’s lab while he worked toward his Doctor of Philosophy and Ph.D. in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. After earning his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology at URI, he was a visiting Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Salve Regina University. He then returned to URI as a postdoc in the Van Nostrand lab, where his research focus transitioned to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders. Dr. Schrader is now a Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at URI and the Ryan Institute and explores Alzheimer’s disease related disorders disease mechanisms using mass spectroscopy proteomics.
What was your path to becoming a researcher?
“In my freshman year of undergrad I had pretty much decided that engineering wasn’t for me. At the same time Dr. Matt Stoner, who I went to church
with, knew I was looking for a job, and offered me a position as a tech in his lab. I think he originally said, ‘You can just come wash the dishes, or you can actually do some research if you want.’ I told him I was game to do experiments, and that’s how I got started. I instantly fell in love with bench science, and the excitement of attempting to discover something new every day on the job. That led to me enrolling in the BSPS program, and the courses there really helped me navigate to what most interested me, drug action, and specifically drug action in the brain and central nervous system. One of the things I love about the work I do now is trying to discover targets so that we can define a strategy for drug design in treating different types of dementias. The potential for higher-level impact for so many suffering from things like AD and other dementias really helps to stay motivated.”
“… a critical point of development… changed everything for me”
When Joe completed his work at Salve, his career as a researcher was at a bit of a crossroads, since he hadn’t produced much research in that time since graduating, and there were more questions than answers about his career trajectory. He said, “In doing my postdoctoral work with Dr. Van Nostrand, I was able to transition my research focus to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, primarily vascular dementias, and developed proficiency in protein mass spectroscopy. That allowed me to reinvent myself as a research scientist, and totally changed the trajectory of my career. I’m not sure if that’s an accomplishment so much as it is a critical point of development, but it changed everything for me.’
When asked, what challenges have you faced in your academic career? he said, “In graduate school there was a period of a few months where experiments were just not working out. I was in my 3rd year, and at that point you start to question if you’re ever going to finish, will things ever work again, or will I ever graduate. How you respond in those moments will determine everything about your success in research. You have to be able to find motivation and determination that aren’t results based, so that when it feels like you’re just running into a wall you can wake up the next day with just as much energy to slam into it again until it falls down. And eventually they do, it just requires persistence.”
What makes a career in science exciting?
Dr. Schrader said, “I really do love the chance to discover something new with every single experiment. There’s always adventure in exploring the unknown. If you layer on top of that how much there is still unknown about the human brain, the excitement grows further. And as I said before, the potential to make life-changing discoveries for patients who are suffering from devastating diseases is incredible motivation. That’s how you find the persistence when the walls come up. I’m also a man of faith in addition to a man of science and peering into the intricacies of God’s creation has always filled me with awe and wonder.”
Advice to students interested in pursuing a career in science
Joe has two pieces of advice: First, get experience as early as possible. Find out if you like research and “try a few labs and see what specifically within research will really grabs your interest. I think students don’t always understand that researchers love to inspire and train up the next generation and are excited when students want to come work with them.”
“The second thing I tell people is to look for their ‘reason why.’ What is the reason you’re doing the work that you are? What keeps you motivated to attack a problem over and over again even when results aren’t coming as quickly as you want? What reason do you have to get out of bed and into the lab with the same tenacity day in and day out? Research is hard, and I think every aspiring researcher should take the time to answer those questions for themselves if they want to be successful.”