Research Lab Highlight: Carle Dugan quantifying NSAIDs in fish    

Texas A&M University’s College of Marine Science and Maritime Studies is home to a wide variety of research labs. In this recurring series, we will be giving some personal overviews of the different labs from across the campus.

To begin this edition of our research lab highlight series, we introduce PhD student Carle Dugan, Florida State University class of 2019, who is working on the quantification of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in fish.

Carle actually got her undergraduate degree at Florida State University and majored in chemistry, a stark difference from her PhD in marine biology.

Despite having a degree in chemistry, Carle has been interested in marine biology for a long time and worked in a marine biology lab before, only increasing her interest in the field. She even worked at the Fort Pierce branch of the Smithsonian!

When asked about what inspired her to start this PhD journey with NSAIDs, she said that it went back to her undergraduate school,, where she learned, “NSAIDs are one of the most common drugs that people take … [so she] was interested in starting a project.”

The Blue Economy is concerned not only with financial gains but also with the roles of government and public health. Thus, Texas A&M’s creation of the Oceans and One Health major.

NSAID’s may possibly have “impacts on reproduction of fish” and the same NSAIDs in the fish “could be eaten by humans” too, Carle went on to say.

Governments and companies worldwide must ensure that fish and other marine animals, which are critical to coastal economies and communities, remain healthy. This includes not only their role as food sources but also their contribution to the fisheries that support local communities and economies.

Carle’s research focuses on using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy to quantify the NSAID’s and their metabolites in fish. A preliminary study showed that certain RNA sequences are important for a healthy reproductive system and may be affected by NSAID’s. 

The PhD and research process for each school and field of study is different, Carle said. She had been talking to Dr. Hala for 2 years prior to becoming a PhD student at Texas A&M University and officially starting the project, something that you may have to do if you are thinking about graduate school; the earlier prospective students start, the better.

When asked about how to get more involved with research and labs Carle advised contacting lab teaching assistants for classes you are already taking or professors researching topics you may be interested in and simply reaching out. Gaining lab experience is one of the best ways to learn as much as possible about a topic, and I can’t help but encourage you to get involved in a lab!

To learn more about research being done on campus and to find something that piques your interest, make sure to read our next edition which features another research highlight.