Dr. Alberto Kousuke De la Herrán-Arita
Have you ever heard about Narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the
brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake transitions. Symptoms
include permanent sleepiness and fatigue, unsynchronized patterns of sleep
along with hallucinations. The United States is the leading country with
patients suffering from narcolepsy Canada follows in second place and Mexico in
third (1,2).
Stanford University has one of the best and well-recognized centers
in the world that investigates and provides treatment to patients with
narcolepsy. The “Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine” was the first
medical clinic ever established to specialize in sleep disorders, and its current
director, Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, who is known internationally for discovering the
cause of narcolepsy, leads one of the biggest research groups in the world.
Here you will find the youngest postdoctoral scholar at Stanford
University, Dr. Alberto
Kousuke De la Herrán-Arita or “Beto” as he prefers to be called by his
friends.
Dr. De la Herrán-Arita was born
and raised in Culiacán, in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. His interest in
science began when he was very young as he explains, “I became interested in science ever since I watched the TV
series ‘Cosmos’. I remember sitting next to my parents, listening to ‘Carl
Sagan’ lucidly explaining different topics like Einstein’s theory of
relativity, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and several other mysteries of
Science.”
While he was growing up, Dr. De la Herrán-Arita encountered a very difficult challenge, the
lack of research opportunities in Mexico. He remembers, “The only difficulty I
encountered during college was getting myself involved in scientific research.
Where I come from (Sinaloa), scientific research was practically unavailable
(at least in the natural sciences). Fortunately, scientific research is
becoming less centralized in Mexico, and several new research facilities are
being created all over the country. However, scientific research is still
underfinanced in Mexico, as less than 1% of the GDP is destined to science.”
As an enthusiastic teenager, Dr. De la Herrán-Arita paved his
way in medicine; at the age of 16 he attended the Universidad Autónoma de
Sinaloa, (Autonomous University of Sinaloa). Being the youngest student of his class, “Beto” never felt intimidated and was
determined to find all the resources available to get involved into scientific
research.
After completing medicine, he interned for a year in the laboratory
of Dr. René Drucker-Colín at the Institute of Cellular Physiology
from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In this laboratory they
study the neurophysiology of sleep, among other neurodegenerative diseases. His
dedication and passion for science, especially his interest in investigating
neurodegenerative diseases such as narcolepsy, lead him to pursue a PhD in
Biomedical Sciences at the same institution.
While he was working in his PhD, he created a transgenic mouse model
that mimics narcolepsy. He found that mice lacking the helix-loop-helix
transcription factor O/E3 results in a
decrease of an essential neurotransmitter called “hypocretin” (a.k.a., orexin)
in the lateral hypothalamus, resulting in a narcoleptic phenotype in mice. This
finding got his research into the cover of the Neuroscience journal.
Nonetheless, this is not his only achievement he also was given honorable mention
for completing his doctoral degree in the shortest amount of time (3 years)
with 8 publications and 2 book chapters. He was granted several awards, amongst
them the “Premio al Mérito
Juvenil 2012“ (Congressional Youth Achievement Award) on Academy, Science
& Technology given by the state of Sinaloa, Mexico.
After completing his doctorate, Dr. De la Herrán-Arita continued
to be fascinated by neurodegenerative diseases and wanted to study the autoimmune
basis of narcolepsy. He shares, “Neurodegeneration
and autoimmunity are [two] fields that are constantly evolving and changing
course, always incorporating knowledge from other different areas.” He we was
able to join the laboratory of Dr. Emmanuel Mignot at Stanford University as he
recalls, “I always fancied joining Dr. Emmanuel Mignot’s group,
they’re the A-team in narcolepsy research and autoimmunity. Working with them
is a really challenging and amusing experience; they work really hard and party
like rock stars!” It is
important to note that although Dr. De la Herrán-Arita has attained a
respectable status in science he enjoys what life offers outside of his
laboratory. Some activities he takes pleasure in are martial arts, hiking,
bouldering, long boarding and paintball, without forgetting his passion for
science all the time.
Now as a postdoctoral scholar, his work just got accepted by one of
the most recognized journals, Science.
His work will be published
in the upcoming months. Due to his dedication, hard work and extensive
knowledge he was awarded the 2013 Dean’s award from Stanford University leading
him to be the “only” Mexican to receive this award in the entire academic
history.
Dr. De la Herrán-Arita’s dream
is to launch an Institute dedicated to neurodegenerative diseases in his
beloved Culiacan, with hopes to investigate, prevent and provide treatment to
patients suffering from such illnesses.
There is no doubt Dr. De la Herrán-Arita is an
inspiration of what can be accomplished through hard work and passion.
Reference
1. What is Narcolepsy, National Institute of Health (NIH).
2. Statistic by Country for Narcolepsy. Right Diagnosis.
