Abstract
This paper describes Randall Sakai's professional career from graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, through postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University, and to being an independent investigator at the University of Cincinnati. He was fortunate in having Alan Epstein, Bruce McEwen, and Eliot Stellar as mentors. Early in Sakai's graduate work, Epstein and Stellar introduced him to Curt Richter, the legendary investigator at Johns Hopkins. This early introduction to Richter and his tradition of research was crucial for Sakai's scientific development. We review Sakai's research with the Visible Burrowing System (VBS) at Cincinnati. This was the most original of Sakai's research interests. His experimental proficiency in the investigation of salt appetite, food intake, and obesity led him to focus on the effect of chronic social stress on food intake, body composition, metabolism, and the distribution of fat. He and his colleagues, many of them his students, were able to demonstrate that chronic social stress produced changes in metabolism and fat distribution that were characteristic of an incipient metabolic syndrome that could lead to obesity. This did not solve the problem, but showed the way to further investigation. This opening up of problems to experimental investigation was a hallmark of Richter's research. Thus, Sakai worked in the mainstream of the research tradition of Richter. He did what he revered.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Physiology and Behavior |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jan 27 2017 |
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Keywords
- Chronic social stress
- Curt Richter
- Fat distribution
- Mentoring
- Metabolic stress
- Research tradition
- Subordinate stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Philosophy
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Cite this
Randall Sakai, chronic social stress, and the research tradition of Curt Richter. / Smith, Gerard P.; Schwartz, Gary J.
In: Physiology and Behavior, 27.01.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Randall Sakai, chronic social stress, and the research tradition of Curt Richter
AU - Smith, Gerard P.
AU - Schwartz, Gary J.
PY - 2017/1/27
Y1 - 2017/1/27
N2 - This paper describes Randall Sakai's professional career from graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, through postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University, and to being an independent investigator at the University of Cincinnati. He was fortunate in having Alan Epstein, Bruce McEwen, and Eliot Stellar as mentors. Early in Sakai's graduate work, Epstein and Stellar introduced him to Curt Richter, the legendary investigator at Johns Hopkins. This early introduction to Richter and his tradition of research was crucial for Sakai's scientific development. We review Sakai's research with the Visible Burrowing System (VBS) at Cincinnati. This was the most original of Sakai's research interests. His experimental proficiency in the investigation of salt appetite, food intake, and obesity led him to focus on the effect of chronic social stress on food intake, body composition, metabolism, and the distribution of fat. He and his colleagues, many of them his students, were able to demonstrate that chronic social stress produced changes in metabolism and fat distribution that were characteristic of an incipient metabolic syndrome that could lead to obesity. This did not solve the problem, but showed the way to further investigation. This opening up of problems to experimental investigation was a hallmark of Richter's research. Thus, Sakai worked in the mainstream of the research tradition of Richter. He did what he revered.
AB - This paper describes Randall Sakai's professional career from graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, through postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University, and to being an independent investigator at the University of Cincinnati. He was fortunate in having Alan Epstein, Bruce McEwen, and Eliot Stellar as mentors. Early in Sakai's graduate work, Epstein and Stellar introduced him to Curt Richter, the legendary investigator at Johns Hopkins. This early introduction to Richter and his tradition of research was crucial for Sakai's scientific development. We review Sakai's research with the Visible Burrowing System (VBS) at Cincinnati. This was the most original of Sakai's research interests. His experimental proficiency in the investigation of salt appetite, food intake, and obesity led him to focus on the effect of chronic social stress on food intake, body composition, metabolism, and the distribution of fat. He and his colleagues, many of them his students, were able to demonstrate that chronic social stress produced changes in metabolism and fat distribution that were characteristic of an incipient metabolic syndrome that could lead to obesity. This did not solve the problem, but showed the way to further investigation. This opening up of problems to experimental investigation was a hallmark of Richter's research. Thus, Sakai worked in the mainstream of the research tradition of Richter. He did what he revered.
KW - Chronic social stress
KW - Curt Richter
KW - Fat distribution
KW - Mentoring
KW - Metabolic stress
KW - Research tradition
KW - Subordinate stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014670834&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85014670834&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.02.033
DO - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.02.033
M3 - Article
JO - Physiology and Behavior
JF - Physiology and Behavior
SN - 0031-9384
ER -