CLOSE UP Dr. Seeman was honoured at the 2011 IMS Scientific Day for her leadership, compassion, patience, dedication, insight, and generosity. Together with IMS Associate Director Dr. Karen Davis, it was Dr. Seeman’s initiative and exceptional writing skills that led to the inception of the IMS Graduate Student Oath. Although her term as Graduate Co-ordinator has come to an end, Dr. Seeman will always be recognized for her significant contributions to the Institute of Medical Science, to the University of Toronto, and to the scientific and medical communities at large.
“Some of our patients stayed with us a long time and I became very attached to them. When I left the city, I kept writing to them and continued to do so until very recently. “
Q
How did you become involved in the field of psychiatry, and schizophrenia in particular?
A
I read a lot of fiction growing up and I was always intrigued by the motivation behind the characters’ behaviours; this helped me decide early on to be a psychiatrist. I spent my psychiatry residency in New York City working at a research ward where all the patients were women with schizophrenia. There was a basic laboratory attached to the ward where my lab mates did biochemical experiments (except for me – I wasn’t allowed near a pipette due to my clumsiness!). Our research team was one of the first groups in North America to run clinical trials on the effects of haloperidol, an antipsychotic. We also gave our patients LSD and mescaline to see if these drugs improved their symptoms, but unfortunately, the drugs made them much worse – as did many of our treatments at the time. Some of our patients stayed with us a long time and I became very attached to them. When I left the city, I kept writing to them and continued to do so until very recently. Needless to say, I became very interested in schizophrenia: its causes, treatments, and outcomes.
Q
How have your research interests evolved from those early days?
A
I started working at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, Toronto) in 1975 in a schizophrenia outpatient setting. It was there I realized the stark differences between male and female schizophrenia patients: the men were grubbier, harder to talk to, more dependent on their families, and very prone to suicide. I found the suicides very hard to handle emotionally, so after 10 years, I moved to Mount Sinai Hospital and joined the IMS. When I returned to CAMH several years later, to my surprise, the men I had left behind seemed to be doing very well. They looked better, smiled and chatted, made jokes, and lived independently. The women who had previously been doing well, however, were in and out of hospital, looked bedraggled and suicidal. This observation led to a series of studies to try to sort out the reason why. Specifically, why do women (who get ill with schizophrenia later in life than men) seem more ill with time, whereas the men improve? There are no easy answers to this question, and individual differences are usually more important than whether one is a man or a woman. But over the years, it has been fascinating to trace the role of hormones, family entanglements, drug side effects, and therapeutic relationships in the course of schizophrenia.
“But over the years, it has been fascinating to trace the role of hormones, family entanglements, drug side effects, and therapeutic relationships in the course of schizophrenia.“
Q Since your research examines differences between men and women, what are your thoughts on the research controversy of male mice being used to study diseases that affect women? (See pages 33-34 for an in-depth discussion of female mice in scientific research.)
A
Research has traditionally used males because of the changes involved in female reproductive cycles. In humans, there is the
additional fear of harming a potential fetus (who does not have the opportunity to consent). In the end, it is not so important that men and women differ with respect to schizophrenia, but that we are all unique. Guidelines developed for a population are not necessarily apt for an individual.
Q
How do you think societal perceptions of psychotic disorders have changed over recent decades?
A
It has become permissible to publicly declare depression, bipolar disorder, or psychosis secondary to drug abuse. I am not so sure that the public perception of schizophrenia has changed very much. It has always been considered the worst form of madness and this attitude may remain until causes and cures are found.
Q
Given your career success, what advice would you give to an Assistant Professor just starting out in his/her field?
A
Times change and it is very presumptuous for one generation to advise another. Working on one’s own was more or less acceptable in my day, but now this is not the case. Collaboration is important and, of course, doing what you most enjoy. If I could go back in time and change something, I would probably be more collaborative and work in teams.
In addition to her prolific career, Dr. Seeman enjoys interacting with her grandchildren: Ahron, who is a volleyball pro; Geoff, a Latin dancer; Ciara, a star of Sound and Music; Davey, a budding mathematician; Ronan, an inventor, and Dori, a pastry chef. Her husband, Dr. Phil Seeman – whom she met on the first day of medical school at McGill University – is a renowned neuroscientist. They are both Officers of the Order of Canada, an outstanding honour reserved for Canadian citizens who have made an exceptional difference to this country.
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