My First Paper - Dr Daryl Hodge

Posted on: 6 May 2022 by Daryl Hodge in May 2022 posts

As part of our new initiative across the Faculty, are showcasing research and their researchers across the board engaging with the future generations of researchers. This week we continue our My First Paper campaign with Dr Daryl Hodge from ISMIB, telling us all about their first research paper.

Your name and your area of research

Daryl Hodge, Editorial (Research) Assistant for the Liverpool Drug Interactions Group, in Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

What was the title of your first paper and who was it submitted to?

My first paper was called “Somatostatin receptor 5 and cannabinoid receptor 1 activation inhibit secretion of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide from intestinal K cells in rodents” and it was submitted to Diabetalogia.

How would you explain what this paper was about to your grandparents?

The gut releases hormones which regulate our blood sugar, food intake, and fat storage. We knew this was in response to food, but we didn’t know exactly how they worked. In my paper I used drugs as tools to try and work out what the hormone-releasing cells were doing. The ‘cannabinoid’ part of the title always attracts attention - but this isn’t to do with cannabis I’m afraid! It’s more to do with the ‘feel-good’ factor of eating food and how our body responds to fasting.

What was the most significant thing for you about that paper?

My Grandad passed away just before I started this work and he had type 2 diabetes. I know he would have been so proud if he knew I was doing basic research on diabetes medication. I was very proud of it too - but I have a bittersweet relationship with this paper now. I have since changed my name firstly due to a divorce and then later after I came out as transgender. Despite the journal publisher having a name change policy, I haven’t been able to get it changed. Your publishing record is so important in academia but unless I want to out myself, I’ve lost access to this now. It also feels like this work doesn’t ‘belong’ to me anymore. I would love to see both the name I chose for myself and my Grandad’s surname on this paper. I really think publishers need to do more to help both trans people and women (who are overwhelmingly more likely to change their surnames) own our publishing history. Both groups already face enough discrimination in STEM.

What advice would you give to others about submitting their first paper?

Let your PI know you’re keen to write up your work. Don’t let your results languish in your lab book! In this paper I saw two types of cells acting in different ways and I really had to push for this story, as it was previously believed that they always responded in the same way.