What makes an addiction so addictive? And could eating junk food light up the same reward pathways in the brain that jump into action when a person takes cocaine or falls in love?
Those are some of the questions that burn in Dublin native Paul Kenny’s brain. And at the Scripps Institute in Florida he is building a solid reputation in his field.
“My lab works to understand the neurobiology of psychiatric illnesses, particularly drug addiction and schizophrenia, and we also work on obesity and, more recently, on neurodevelopmental disorders like autism,” says Kenny, who is a tenured associate professor in the departments of molecular therapeutics and neuroscience at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida.
Among other experiments, he has looked at what happens to the brains of rats when they are let loose on junk food. The results are pretty startling. In particular, he found that the gorging animals displayed chemical changes in their brains that would be considered a hallmark of addiction.
Development of addiction
Kenny has continued his studies on addiction's mechanics in the brain.
“Currently, I am most excited about some recent and unpublished findings from the lab where we have discovered a very small population of previously unidentified brain cells that control the motivation to use addictive drugs,” he says.
“I have now focused much of our efforts on understanding how these cells work and whether alterations in their activity drives the development of addiction.”
Kenny recalls first becoming interested in science when his father would read a science/ nature compendium at bedtime when Kenny junior was growing up.
“Since then I have always loved science, neurobiology in particular, and it was my earliest ambition to become a scientist,” he says.
That led to a biochemistry degree at Trinity College Dublin and a PhD in neuropharmacology at King’s College London before Kenny moved to the US, where he became established at Scripps.
He now enjoys the “egalitarian and merit-based” system that operates in US science.
“The opportunities are simply amazing,” he says. “If you work hard and do good work, then it seems that you are limited only by your own imagination.
“For example, my lab has an ongoing collaboration with a Nobel Prize winner, and I have the opportunity to regularly interact with some of the most respected neurobiologists in the world. I think it would be very difficult to have similar opportunities anywhere else.”
He also appreciates the infrastructure on offer through Scripps.
"We have the capacity to develop new drugs to treat diseases much like the pharmaceutical industry. Much of my time is spent trying to develop new medications to treat drug addiction. Access to such infrastructure is relatively unique in an academic setting."
Irish links
While he has spent several years away from Ireland, Kenny still has family here, as does his wife Dympna, who is also Irish. He has seen "dramatic changes" in the time he has been away.
“I left just when the economy was beginning to boom and, as I returned each year for vacation, it was great to see how the country, and all my family and friends, were doing so well,” he says.
“That made it very difficult to see so many people, again including family and friends, so negatively impacted by the downturn in the economy. I hope that things will quickly improve.”
And for people who are studying or starting out in science at the moment, Kenny’s general advice is to work hard and persist.
“It is a tough time right now, but if you are committed, it is still possible to have a successful and rewarding career in science,” he says.
“Also, don’t be afraid to take risks. Pursue your ideas and don’t be afraid to be wrong, as sometimes being wrong can still point you in the right direction.”
