We are very pleased to announce an impressive interview conducted with Prof. Linda L. Chao, who has recently published an outstanding article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH, ISSN: 1660-4601). In this interview, we delve into the latest advancements and challenges in and future directions of her research.

Published Paper:
“PON1 Status in Relation to Gulf War Illness: Evidence of Gene–Exposure Interactions from a Multisite Case–Control Study of 1990–1991 Gulf War Veterans”
by Lea Steele, Clement E. Furlong, Rebecca J. Richter, Judit Marsillach, Patricia A. Janulewicz, Maxine H. Krengel, Nancy G. Klimas, Kimberly Sullivan and Linda L. Chao
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(8), 964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21080964
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/8/964

The following is an interview with Prof. Linda Chao:

1. Could you please give us a brief introduction of yourself and your current research topic to our readers?
My name is Linda Chao and I’m a professor of radiology and psychiatry at UCSF. I’m also a research career scientist at the San Francisco VA. I’m a cognitive neuroscientist by training, and my research examines normal aging neurodegenerative processes and how exposures to things like stress and neurotoxins affect the brain and cognition. I also study the effects of nonpharmacological interventions for conditions like mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Gulf War illness (GWI).

2. What inspired you to pursue this field of research?
Well, I’ve always been interested in the brain and how the mind works, particularly memory, and why some people have good memories and other people can’t seem to remember anything at all. When I took my first cognitive psychology class in college and the professor broke memory down into three processes—encoding, storage, and retrieval—I found out that people were doing research to find out which parts of the brain were responsible for different parts of cognition. I thought, “That’s what I want to do”.

3. Can you tell us about any research you’re currently undertaking that is related to the paper?
GWI has been a major focus of my research for the past 25 years. I currently have a study looking at veterans who were exposed to large amounts of pesticides during the Gulf War, and I’m studying whether they’re at increased risk for Parkinson’s disease. I have another study looking at whether deployed Gulf War veterans have higher than expected rates of mild cognitive impairment, which is considered a prodromal or early stage of dementia. Finally, I have a clinical trial looking at whether we can improve symptoms of GWI by treating veterans with GWI, insomnia, and undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea with behavioral sleep therapy and a positive airway pressure (PAP) device.

4. What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?
For the longest time, Gulf War illness was this mystery illness, and no one could figure out why the soldiers who returned from a very brief conflict in the Persian Gulf region were getting so sick. We now know that Gulf War veterans were exposed to a lot of different types of chemicals, some of which are neurotoxins, but it’s long been a mystery why certain soldiers became so sick while others, who appeared to have similar deployment-related exposures, didn't get sick.
Dr. Lea Steele, our study’s first author, had some preliminary findings early on suggesting that genetic factors may have played a role in the development of Gulf War illness. Dr. Robert Haley also published some early studies suggesting that veterans with the RR genotype PON1 enzyme, which detoxifies toxic chemicals, may be more susceptible to the adverse effects of nerve agents.
I think what’s unique about our study is that we considered all deployment-related exposures, not just chemical nerve agents. By doing so we are seeing just how complicated the etiology of Gulf War illness likely is. Our results suggest that veterans who have QQ or QR types of the PON1 enzyme, which is much more common among the Gulf War veteran population than the RR type of PON1 enzyme, were likely more susceptible to the adverse effects of skin pesticides, which nearly every Gulf War veteran used during deployment. Furthermore, our findings hint at possible interactions between Pyridostigmine bromide (PB), which was used to protect the troops against possible nerve agent exposure, and nerve agents and skin pesticides that were used during deployment. In other words, the PB pills that many soldiers were ordered to take to protect them against nerve agents may actually have made things worse. We also saw hints that being a regular smoker during deployment may have also exacerbated the effects of exposure to skin pesticides.

5. What is your impression of your publishing experience with the journal IJERPH?
I was really impressed by the fast turnaround time from submission to publication. There aren’t that many Gulf War illness researchers in the field, and sometimes journals can have a hard time finding referees with the appropriate expertise who are willing to review Gulf War illness-related papers. So, we’re appreciative of the fast turnaround time from submission to publication. I also appreciate this opportunity to talk to you about our work.

6. We are an open access journal. How do you think open access impacts authors?
I think open access journals are great, and in particular, open access makes our work and our research more visible and available to the general public, journalists, and policymakers because they can access our papers without needing a subscription to the journals, which is nice.

7. What advice would you give to young investigators who aspire to be where you are now?
If there’s a topic that interests you, pursue it with passion, even if it’s not currently a hot or trendy topic. What’s trendy in research tends to have a cyclical nature, and if you’re studying something that you’re genuinely interested in, it’ll be easy for you to put in the number of hours that’s necessary to become successful. So, don’t worry if the rest of the world doesn’t think what you’re studying is cool or interesting because they’ll eventually catch up.