Purpose-Driven Opioid Research: Catherine Demery’s Academic Path

Watch Episode 172

The Bigger Lesson

Purpose-driven science works because it creates resilience. Careers built on prestige, titles, or external pressure can burn out quickly. But careers built on urgency, alignment, and meaning are the ones that last.

That’s what makes Catherine Demery’s path stand out. Her choice to stay in academia isn’t about rejecting industry—it’s about embracing the freedom to chase the questions that keep her up at night. Questions about how opioids impair breathing, why xylazine complicates interventions, and how receptor-level insights can save lives.

Her journey shows that scientific careers aren’t defined by early certainty. They’re defined by the moments when passion and purpose align—and by the courage to follow them.

Why Purpose Matters in Science

For some researchers, science is a job. For others, it’s a calling. For Catherine, it became both—after years of uncertainty, pivots, and practical lab experience that grounded her passion in real-world urgency.

Her story is about more than experiments or data points. It’s about finding purpose through loss, choosing academia when many peers walk away, and designing science that stays connected to public health.

In this episode, Catherine reflects on how her identity as a scientist took shape, why she’s committed to academic research, and how her work on opioids and respiratory depression continues to evolve.

The Moment Science Became Purpose

Catherine didn’t begin her career with a clear plan to pursue a PhD. Like many young scientists, she explored different paths and gained industry experience before realizing she belonged in research.

The turning point came during her master’s program in pharmacogenomics. While writing a literature review on opioid and alcohol addiction susceptibility, something shifted. The work no longer felt like an assignment—it felt like a calling.

“That was kind of a signal to me that maybe I should start thinking about a PhD,” Catherine recalls.

It was the first time late nights in the lab weren’t a burden but a sign of genuine engagement. That alignment between curiosity and urgency set her on the path toward doctoral research.

Why Catherine Chose Academia

At a time when many early-career scientists debate whether to stay in academia or move into industry, Catherine speaks with unusual clarity about her choice.

“I really like academia. I really want the freedom to keep studying what interests me specifically, and I’ve just really enjoyed the flexibility and the focus on learning,” she explains.

For her, academia isn’t about prestige or climbing the career ladder. It’s about having the freedom to pursue questions that matter—questions tied to urgent public health crises like the opioid epidemic. Industry gave her useful skills, but academia gave her purpose.

How Her Experiments Mirror Real Life

What makes Catherine’s work distinctive is how closely it reflects the conditions people face outside the lab. Rather than treating opioid pharmacology as a purely theoretical exercise, she collaborates with harm-reduction groups such as the Red Project in Grand Rapids to ground her models in reality.

“They’ve seen a 30 to 60 percent increase in the number of fentanyl samples that contain xylazine in the past year.”

That kind of street-level data shapes everything: dosing strategies that reflect actual potencies in seized samples, drug combinations that mirror contamination patterns, and experimental designs that evolve with new adulterants.

This approach makes her models not just rigorous, but translational—bridging the gap between receptor pharmacology and public health.

What’s Next in Her Opioid Research

Catherine’s current experiments focus on outcomes such as respiratory rate, tidal volume, and oxygen saturation in mice exposed to fentanyl and xylazine. But she’s preparing to probe deeper into mechanisms.

Her next steps include using floxed mouse models and viral tools to dissect the downstream pathways in opioid-induced respiratory depression. She is especially interested in mu-opioid receptor signaling and how xylazine, as an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, complicates the picture.

For Catherine, this isn’t just scientific curiosity—it’s urgency.

That personal loss transforms complex receptor pharmacology into something immediate and human.

Lessons from Catherine’s Story

Catherine’s career challenges the idea that success requires a straight line. She didn’t have a roadmap at 22. Instead, she followed the signals that kept her engaged and energized.

Industry experience gave her perspective, but purpose came from aligning research with urgent, real-world problems. For her, the opioid crisis isn’t an abstract dataset—it’s a lived experience that informs her drive as a scientist.

Her story is a reminder that clarity often emerges through action, not planning. Real-world data should guide how we build preclinical models. Academic success is less about prestige than about impact. And GPCR pharmacology isn’t just an academic pursuit—it’s essential to understanding and responding to today’s evolving overdose crisis.

Closing Reflection

“I’ve lost friends to overdose. That’s part of what motivates me. It makes the work feel urgent.”

That urgency, more than titles, positions, or prestige, is what sustains a lasting career in science. Catherine’s story shows that when purpose drives research, science becomes more than a job—it becomes a calling.