Westmont Magazine Let the Science Do the Talking

When God presented unique opportunities, psychology professor Ronald See took advantage of them. Twice he served as a professor and psychopharmacology consultant at Kuwait University in Kuwait City (1996-1997; 2002-2003). He later spent three years (2013-2015) as professor of neurosciences in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. In addition to teaching Saudi medical students, he served as director of faculty training and development for biomedical research.

He decided to teach in the Middle East after becoming interested in the Muslim world. He lived in regions with few Christians and built relationships with the people he met and worked with. “God allowed my wife and I to use our skills and training to deeply know and love Muslims,” See says. His wife, Diane, an optometrist, taught ophthalmology and vision science in Saudi Arabia.

See has conducted neuropsychopharmacology research for 37 years, primarily in the neurobiology and treatment of drug addiction. He enjoys teaching across a wide variety of topics in neuroscience and psychology, and he has mentored and trained hundreds of students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty. His specialties include behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology, and he has published widely on topics in drug addiction, schizophrenia treatment, and biomarkers of depression.

From 1989 to 1998, See taught and conducted research in the psychology department and the neuroscience program Washington State University. For the next 14 years, he directed a large neuropsychopharmacology research group at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, working on major grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and other funding agencies with a staff of a dozen research technicians, students and postdoctoral fellows.

He graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a degree in psychology, and he also studied at Georg August University in Germany. He completed a master’s degree and doctorate in psychobiology at UCLA. When he interviewed for a position at Westmont in 1988, he received a job offer. “But God didn’t give my wife and me a sense of peace about coming to Westmont at that time,” he says. Decades later, he applied again, and God graciously opened the door at the right time. He joined the psychology faculty in 2015.

“I’m grateful to be at a place where Christ is central to everything and I can integrate faith with my academic pursuits in deeper and more meaningful ways,” See says. “It’s been rewarding to engage with students.”

He has returned to a focus on undergraduate teaching at Westmont and conducts research on a more limited scale. He recruits a student to choose and pursue a research project each summer. “I love their excitement as they learn a new field in neuroscience and build on their scientific ideas,” See says.

Last summer, Tiffany Gong ’23, a behavioral neuroscience student, studied how caffeine affects cortisol and melatonin by collecting saliva samples from herself after drinking coffee. Gong, who rarely drinks coffee, recorded her salivary cortisol and melatonin levels six times a day after drinking coffee with or without caffeine. “We can monitor the cortisol-melatonin cycles and analyze what the caffeine did to disrupt the pattern or cycle of activity,” See says. “We’re assessing working memory and sleep patterns over time. I’m interested in how the cortisol-melatonin cycle fluctuates in the presence of stimulant drugs such as caffeine.”

Several years ago, See and another student researcher, Brianna Gilman ’21, measured both hormones while the student shifted her sleep patterns. “The melatonin levels remained stable, but the cortisol began shifting, so the ratio between the two hormones altered over time,” he says. “That result got us interested in the interaction between cortisol and melatonin, which are typically not studied together because these hormones are released by different parts of the nervous system. Researchers are beginning to better recognize their potential interactions.”

See has also examined recent research on cannabis: how it works in the brain, the potential benefits and its detrimental effects. While it may offer effective treatment for some conditions (such as seizure disorders), the evidence also points to potential damage to the brain and mental health, particularly in young people, whose brains are going through critical neural development stages. He presented an update on the state of cannabis research at a Westmont Downtown lecture in October. “I let the science do the talking,” he says.

During his sabbatical next year, See will deliver lectures at a Christian college in Lithuania. He’s pursuing a Fulbright Fellowship to teach and conduct research at a medical university in Oman (he received a similar Fulbright award in Slovenia in 2010). He’ll also visit colleagues at the Medical University of South Carolina and give guest lectures.

“I’m enjoying this teaching phase of my career,” See says. “I get to explore a variety of topics with my students — and I’m teaching lab courses and working with student researchers. It’s the right mix for me, and I am grateful that the Lord has provided this stage of my academic life.”