Dr. GPCR Podcast

Xylosine, Fentanyl, and the Fight for Breath with Catherine Demery

1. Strategy: Pivoting from Pharmacy to Purpose-Driven Science

Catherine Demery’s scientific journey did not begin in a research lab; it began in a pharmacy school classroom. Initially set on becoming a pharmacist, Catherine had what she described as an “identity crisis” just weeks before starting pharmacy school. After shadowing professionals in the field, she realized clinical pharmacy wasn’t her calling.

“I just had this identity crisis… I think I realized in that moment that I didn’t want to be a pharmacist,” she said.

Her decision to defer was not taken lightly. What followed was a period of self-reassessment, where she gravitated toward the underlying science of pharmacology, rather than its clinical application. A role at a CRO in Ann Arbor gave her a hands-on understanding of the scientific process, an experience that laid the foundation for everything that came next.

“It wasn’t really with much foresight… I just needed to be back in the lab, using my degree.” – Catherine Demery

This strategic pivot was the first of several calculated decisions that set her on a trajectory toward a research-intensive career.

2. Decision-Making: Following Curiosity Through Industry and Academia

Demery’s next key decision came after two years in industry, when she pursued a master’s in pharmacogenomics at Manchester University. There, she found what she calls her "lightbulb moment", staying up late not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

“I finally understood why people pursued a PhD. I wanted to be that excited about my work every day.” – Catherine Demery

Her review on genetic variations in alcoholism and opioid addiction opened her eyes to both the complexity and urgency of substance abuse research. That passion drove her to the NIH’s perinatology research branch in Detroit, where she tackled the immunological shifts during pregnancy, a topic far outside her intended focus but one that sharpened her technical and conceptual skills.

Demery’s decision-making process was grounded in self-awareness, openness to unfamiliar science, and the long game of research training.

3. Blind Spots: Learning the Systems that Shape Research

One of the most striking aspects of Catherine’s story is how she candidly reflects on her blind spots, both technical and professional. Coming from a CRO background, she had mastered rigorous documentation and deadline-driven execution. But when she transitioned into academic research at the NIH, the contrast was stark.

“I was taking obsessively long protocol notes and they were like, ‘You don’t need to do that.’” – Catherine Demery

She quickly learned to adapt, but retained industry habits that improved the quality of her lab work. Understanding GLP/GMP standards and mass spectrometry didn’t just inform her bench skills; they gave her a systems-level view of how science serves both regulatory and discovery pipelines.

These blind spots became assets in her current PhD work at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr. John Traynor and Dr. Jessica Anand.

4. Failure and Pivoting: When Personal Loss Shapes Scientific Focus

The opioid epidemic is not just an academic topic for Catherine; it’s personal. She lost several friends to opioid overdose, and that loss fuels the urgency of her work.

“I think that it makes me a particularly good person to research this… I understand the people we’re hoping to help.” – Catherine Demery

This emotional connection brings clarity and drive to her scientific work. Her focus: understanding how fentanyl, particularly when adulterated with xylazine, causes respiratory depression.

Using mouse models and techniques like whole-body plethysmography and pulse oximetry, Catherine uncovered nuanced mechanisms of how these two drugs alter respiratory patterns differently. Xylazine doesn’t just sedate—it prolongs exhalation, leading to decreased respiratory rates. Fentanyl, by contrast, slows and shallows inhalation.

Her work is not just academic; it's a response to a public health crisis playing out in real time.

5. Contribution: From Mechanistic Insight to Human-Centered Impact

Catherine’s research now extends to real-world collaborations with organizations like Red Project in Grand Rapids. This partnership provides data on illicit drug samples brought in for testing—data that directly informed her thesis work on xylazine prevalence in fentanyl samples.

“They’ve seen a 30 to 60% increase in xylazine-containing fentanyl samples in the past year alone.” – Catherine Demery

She’s also preparing for her final thesis chapter, where she will use floxed mouse models to study specific downstream signaling mechanisms of opioid-induced respiratory depression in vivo.

Looking ahead, Catherine is planning a sabbatical to work on human studies of polysubstance abuse, with the goal of one day running a lab that bridges preclinical and clinical research.

Her commitment to academic science is rare among her pharmacology peers, but she embraces it fully.

“I want the freedom to study what excites me—and I want to help people with this work.”

Summary made with AI

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Key Takeaway

Catherine Demery’s journey proves that the path to impactful science is rarely linear. Her story is one of recalibration, resilience, and relentless purpose. From pharmacy detours to public health-driven research, she’s not just studying GPCRs—she’s using science to serve people.

Keyword Cloud

GPCR research community, Dr. GPCR ecosystem, GPCR training program, GPCR podcast, opioid pharmacology, xylazine research, mu opioid receptor, pharmacogenomics, fentanyl epidemic, preclinical pharmacology