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AROUND THE QUADS
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
AROUND THE QUADS
Frances Champagne is an
associate professor in the
Department of Psychology
focusing on behavioral neurosciences,
maternal behavior
and epigenetics. Born and
raised in Canada, Champagne
earned her undergraduate
degree at Queen’s University,
and her master’s in psychiatry
and Ph.D. in neuroscience
at McGill University. She has
been at Columbia since 2006
and runs the Champagne Lab
in psychobiology and neuroscience
in addition to her
professorial responsibilities.
What drew you to
psychology
I always had an interest
in it, probably more clinically
oriented; I did a master’s in
psychiatry to explore that
interest. I was interested
in schizophrenia and did a
master’s project looking at
genetic and environmental
factors and how they influence
symptoms in schizophrenic
individuals. I liked it
but found I couldn’t ask the
kind of mechanistic questions
I was interested in; it was fine
that these individuals had
had these early experiences
or traumas but I wanted to
know more, in terms of how
these experiences could lead
to abnormal behaviors.
How would you describe
epigenetics to a layperson
Epigenetics refers to the control
of gene activity. We have
our DNA but it has to do
something, it has to produce
something, to affect our biology.
Epigenetics refers to the
factors that can control that;
the factors around DNA
that can serve as kind
of an on/off switch to
gene activity. And then
that gets laid into our
biology and can last
across the lifespan and
lead to variations in
stress reactivity, social
behavior and reproductive
behavior. … This work
shows how the interplay between
genes and the environment
works. It brings people
past the dichotomy of nature
and nurture and moves them
into something new.
And what’s your interest
within epigenetics
I’m most interested in how
early life experiences shape
the brain, shape our behavior.
For example, how toxins in
the environment affect our
behavior and might increase
risk of psychopathology or
health problems; how stress
does the same thing; how
mother-infant interactions can
promote well-being or inhibit
well-being. And then, what
the long-term and multigenerational
consequences are —
meaning, the experiences you
have during your life span
shape you but they can also be
passed along generations.
What sort of work can undergraduates
get involved with
in your lab
Quite a lot: For example, because
we study mother/infant
interactions, we have undergrads
help with characterizing
the mother/infant interactions
in mice and rats. It’s hard to
fit research around a class
schedule, and that’s something
they can come in and
do for an hour and then leave.
We also have students looking
at gene expression, taking
brain tissue and analyzing
what genes are increased and
decreased in their activity.
We have students looking at
different protein levels in the
brain.
What do you think students
get out of working in a lab
Five Minutes with ... Frances Champagne
It’s fine to read about findings
in papers but it’s quite
another to be involved in the
research and see how it’s actually
done. I think it’s quite
shocking at first — it’s a lot
of work and it’s not always
the most exciting work all the
time. But it’s about the process
of science. So I think they
learn a lot.
What do you teach
I teach a big lecture course,
“The Developing Brain,” and
also two undergraduate seminars.
I’ve been on maternity
leave, though, and I just got
back this past semester.
What’s the most valuable
thing a professor can do for
his or her students
Get them to appreciate how
complex the process of science
and the process of discovery
is. You read textbooks
and everything sounds so
final and understood and
clear — and something that’s
hard to do in a lecture class
but that I can do in my
seminar classes, where I
can interact with the students
a bit more, is get
them to critique the science
that’s out there and
realize that nothing’s
perfect. That’s why we
keep going with it, because
we don’t have any final answers;
there’s always something
more to do or something
that we can do better.
So, I think in terms of pursuing
a career in academia,
that’s invaluable. Knowing
that there are these weaknesses
in all the work that’s done
but that we can actually deal
with that and do better.
What’s your favorite place
to be
I go to York in Yorkshire, England,
quite a lot; that’s where
my husband [Assistant
Professor of Psychology
James Curley] is from.
We met in Cambridge,
actually, but York is an old
city with so much history
that you don’t get in North
America.
What’s a talent that you’d
like to have
To play the violin.
If you weren’t a professor
and a scientist, what would
you like to do
Probably run a small bookstore.
It’d be nice to be
somewhere surrounded by
literature.
What’s on your nightstand
Baby books.
How about your DVR Any
guilty pleasures
Game of Thrones, which I can’t
really watch right now because
of the baby. Too violent.
You said she’s your first
Yes, Isabelle. She’s 14 months.
So, does that mean you’ve
started thinking about your
research in relation to your
own life
Well, to some degree [laughs].
But I also think there’s a risk
of knowing too much and
worrying too much. That’s
one thing I know from work
— it’s best not to be stressed.
Interview: Alexis Tonti ’11 Arts
Photo: Lynn Saville
College Fetes
Lit Hum at
75 Years
On April 26, alumni, parents
and students gathered in
Low Rotunda to celebrate
“#LitHum75: Dialogues
on the 75th Anniversary
of Literature Humanities,” an event
dedicated to the late Jacques Barzun ’27,
’32 GSAS. The conversation began in
Low Rotunda with introductions by
Roosevelt Montás ’95, director of the
Center for the Core Curriculum and
associate dean of academic affairs, and
Dean James J. Valentini, followed by a
panel moderated by Gareth Williams,
the Violin Family Professor of Classics
and chair of Literature Humanities.
The panel featured Core faculty members
James V. Mirollo ’61 GSAS, the
Parr Professor Emeritus of English and
Comparative Literature; Julie Crawford,
associate professor of English and comparative
literature; and Jessamyn Conrad,
a Ph.D. candidate in the Department
of Art History and Archaeology; as well
as Huilong Han ’15 and Jacqueline Bryk
’13. The dialogue focused on the way Lit
Hum has changed and its current relationship
to the digital age.
Immediately afterward, alumni and
parents were invited to join students in
classrooms across campus for seminarstyle
discussion groups where attendees
discussed either preselected works from
the Lit Hum curriculum or their opinions
about what they considered to be
the most important part of the Core. This
was followed by a reception featuring
remarks by Valentini and Edward Tayler,
the Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities
Emeritus, held in the Faculty
Room in Low Library.
Throughout the evening participants
near and far were invited to join the conversation
live and share Lit Hum memories
by tweeting to #LitHum75.
To explore the evening’s tweets, visit twitter.
com/searchq=%23lithum75; to join the
conversation, share your own memories by
tweeting to #LitHum75.
For more information about Literature
Humanities’ 75 years at Columbia, visit
college.columbia.edu/core/lithum.
Four Alumni Honored with John Jay Awards
PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO
Four accomplished alumni — Thomas
Cornacchia ’85; Katori Hall ’03; Mike
Schmidtberger ’82, ’85L; and Dr.
George Yancopoulos ’80, ’86 GSAS, ’87
P&S — were presented with 2013 John
Jay Awards for distinguished professional
achievement on March 6 at Cipriani 42nd
Street. Proceeds from the annual John
Jay Awards Dinner benefit the John Jay
National Scholars Program, which aims
to enhance academic and extracurricular
experiences for outstanding first-year
College students. This year’s dinner raised
$1.4 million.
Above, Dean James J. Valentini (far left)
joins the John Jay Scholars who presented
the honorees with their awards, and the
honorees, at the dinner. Left to right: Bryan
Terrazas ’13; Cornacchia; Ethan Kogan ’13;
Hall; Ariana Lott ’13; Schmidtberger; Yancopoulos;
and Tehreem Rehman ’13.
To read more about the dinner, see a
Facebook photo album and view a video,
visit college.columbia.edu/news/archive/
2012-13.
We’ve got you covered.
Through Columbia Alumni Association,
Group Term Life Insurance is available in
amounts up to $1,000,000, underwritten
by New York Life Insurance Company
(NY, NY 10010), on Policy Form GMR.
For details including features, costs, eligibility,
renewability, limitations and exclusions, please
visit alumni.columbia.edu/alumni-discounts or
call the plan administrator at 800-223-1147.
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