The power of perseverance
By Tracy Burton, ’02
Deborah Shear credits much of her
success to her mentor and professor Gary Dunbar.
Never, never, never give up.”
Sir Winston Churchill’s famous quote is inscribed on the cover page of Deborah Shear’s dissertation and served as her mantra for completing her doctoral studies at CMU.
“No matter what obstacles you might face, you should never give up on your dreams,” says Shear, ’96 MS ’99 Ph.D. ’07, now a research scientist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. “I also wanted to show my kids the value of perseverance and a good education.”
Today, Shear works at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the largest Department of Defense research institute worldwide, where she studies ways to treat and prevent traumatic brain injury, or TBI, and ultimately improve the quality of life for troops involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About 1.4 million people sustain a TBI every year in the United States, according to the Brain Injury Association of America. Thousands of service members have suffered some form of traumatic brain injury, which has been labeled as one of the most prominent injuries of war.
Shear researches traumatic brain injury using a model designed to reproduce the effects of a bullet or piece of shrapnel twisting its way into the brain at different angles and velocities. She studies ways to protect the brain from injury, as well as treatment strategies aimed at repairing the injured brain.
In the lab, you can only recognize Shear by her blue-green eyes. She has a natural excitement about her as she dresses in her paper-thin lab suit, her voice slightly muffled through a mask covering her mouth.
“This is where our work begins,” she says, while walking briskly toward the Penetrating Ballistic Brain Injury device that produces the effects associated with a penetrating brain injury, including hemorrhage, pressure, disturbances, and cognitive and motor abnormalities.
“We take a very mission-oriented, collaborative approach to our work here, and my own personal goal is to contribute in any way that I can,” Shear explains. “The ultimate goal of our work is to help develop safe and effective therapeutic strategies that can be used to improve functional outcome in soldiers injured on the battlefield.”
The sprawling building itself is pristine, with windows that cast natural light throughout the wide hallways and into this entity that prides itself on more than 100 years of service to the U.S. military and the world in developing cutting-edge technologies, life-saving vaccines, medicine, and more.
American flags hang prominently. World-renowned scientists, physicians, and other staff are pleasant and exchange friendly hellos as they pass by. Many are in Army uniform, a poignant reminder of the importance of the institute’s mission.
Shear has been researching traumatic brain injuries for the past eight years, but working at Walter Reed has brought it to a whole new level.
“Every day that I walk through the doors here I am struck with a feeling of humble patriotism,” she says. “You feel a very deep sense of pride at the military history held within these walls, and at the same time, you feel an even deeper sense of humility and gratitude for the men and women serving our country.
“I truly can’t think of any place I would rather be doing this type of research, at this time in our nation’s history, than here at Walter Reed. It is both an honor and a privilege.”
Outside Shear’s office reads “Dr. Deborah Shear.” She laughs and says she is still getting used to being called “doctor.”
An unconventional start
Shear was 30 and raising three children on her own when she first decided to study psychology at CMU.
The university became her second home for the next 15 years. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she went on to earn a master’s degree and completed a Ph.D. in experimental psychology last summer.
As a CMU student, Shear had extraordinary success. During her first year as a graduate student, she co-authored two scientific papers and a book chapter with CMU psychology professor Gary Dunbar. Since then, she has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and received national and international recognition for her work.
As a graduate student she won a highly competitive three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship – the first one ever awarded at CMU. During the last few years of her doctoral studies, she worked full time as a research scientist, running her own laboratory at the Field Neurosciences Institute, affiliated with St. Mary’s of Michigan Medical Center in Saginaw.
“The number one reason why I’m here at Walter Reed today is the education and experience that I received at Central Michigan University,” Shear says. “It is professors like Dr. Gary Dunbar who believe in their students and inspire them to make a difference in this world that make CMU a great university.”
For Dunbar, it was a privilege to watch Shear grow from someone who started out as an animal caretaker in his lab to one of his top Ph.D. students and now one of the nation’s leading neuroscientists for developing treatments for traumatic brain injury.
“I am very proud of Deb’s accomplishments, and considering the obstacles she has overcome to achieve such a high level of success, it is a wonderful testament to hard work and perseverance,” Dunbar says. “To be an important part of such personal transformations is by far the most rewarding aspect of being a university professor.”
Shear’s story is one in which students, and particularly nontraditional students, should take to heart, Dunbar says.
“When things get you down, and when the obstacles seem insurmountable, you need to dig deep down inside and convince yourself that if you really want to prevail, you have to believe in yourself and make a concerted and focused effort to achieve your dream,” he says. “Deb Shear was able to do that, and I think there are many others who could learn from her.”
Shear is quick to give credit back, claiming that she would not have achieved this level of success without the wisdom, dedication, and guidance she received from Dunbar, whom she describes as the “epitome of what a mentor should be.” She also credits the psychology department faculty at CMU.
“They welcomed me back with open arms when it was time to complete my Ph.D. It was truly just like coming home.”
Perhaps they all shared a similar belief. Or five simple words: never, never, never give up. •
