Hibernation researcher rises and shines

March 12, 2009 by Shane Collins 

UNLV scientist wins 2009 Nevada Regents’ Rising Researcher Award

Hibernation is an activity college students partake in after midterms or at the end of a semester-deep sleep to recover from the chaos of school and work. However, to professor Frank van Breukelen, hibernation is more than a cherished pastime, but the focus of his research.

Brought to UNLV in 2002, van Breukelen has been studying mammalian hibernation and the fundamentals of how animals go in and come out of hibernation.  His research recently garnered recognition from the Nevada System of Higher Education and he was awarded the 2009 Nevada Regents’ Rising Researcher Award.

The Rising Researcher Award is the highest possible honor in Nevada for faculty at an NSHE institution with fewer than 10 years of work.

“Frank has an extremely productive research program, and is working on a topic that has very high relevance to the human enterprise,” Stanley Smith, interim vice president for research, said.  “He has also produced a steady stream of high-quality journal papers and has been an active mentor of graduate and undergraduate students in his lab.”

Smith added that van Breukelen also received a grant from the National Science Foundation, which combines research and teaching in a five year grant.

“It was an honor to be nominated by Stan Hillyard at the dental school,” van Breukelen said.  “It’s a great honor.”
Born in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1967, van Breukelen has been a permanent resident of the U.S. since the year of his birth.  He received his bachelor’s in animal science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1991, and his doctorate from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1999.

Animal hibernation originally fascinated van Breukelen during his undergraduate work, when he assisted in research at Cal Poly, Pomona.

“I’ve always been interested truly in the fundamental research of hibernation,” he said.  “Many people think hibernation is static, but it is really dynamic.”

Van Breukelen uses the golden-mantled ground squirrel in his research, and with state-of-the-art temperature detection devises placed in the squirrel, he has discovered unique hibernation patterns.

“A lot of people think hibernation occurs months at a time,” he said.  “I’ve found that that is partially true.  Rather, through body temperature monitoring devices we can see that the squirrels’ temperature drops, stays low for a few weeks and then increases again in a short period of about three hours.”

He added that this fluctuation continues in a cycle, and that temperatures sometimes drop to negative 2.9 degrees Celsius.  This is because any energy process not needed to survive is shut down within the animal’s body.

“Although he is working specifically on hibernation in ground squirrels, his research group is helping the scientific community redefine how hibernation works and what the trade-offs are for animals that do or do not hibernate,” Smith said.

He added that van Breukelen’s research will lead to practical implications, such as hibernation activity during future deep space flight and the potential for battlefield medical assistance during wartime.

In addition to his relevant research in mammalian hibernation, van Breukelen currently has a grant to research the endangered pup-fish at Ash Meadows in Death Valley National Park.  His research is focused on why these pup-fish are dropping in numbers.
“I definitely do other research,” he said.  “As a scientist, I am evaluated on my ability to get money and my publication record.”
The typical day for van Breukelen consists of an “insane amount” of paperwork, from writing grants to editing research papers of his colleagues, however, his work load depends on the day.

He also teaches subjects ranging from mammalian physiology and cellular physiology, to environmental physiology and bioenergetics.
“I actually don’t get to do a lot of the hands-on research,” he said.  “A typical work week is anywhere between 60 to 70 hours.  Becoming an associate professor was supposed to make things easier, but that’s not the case.”

He praised the work of his undergraduate and graduate assistants and the help they give him.
“You are only as good as the people you work with,” he said.

Although van Breukelen’s research isn’t going unnoticed by NSHE and the UNLV administration, he hopes the future will open more doors for UNLV as a distinguished research institute.

“I get frustrated because state legislators and residents think of University Nevada, Reno as the research institute, but that’s not the case,” he said.  “If you take away their medical school, our research numbers are much higher.”

He added that there is a lack of articulation to the public about the benefits of research in the community and that their support could help in the fight against budget cuts.