By Wells B. LaRiviere

Perhaps one of the best pieces of advice I have ever been given came during my final year at Reed College. In the midst of a departmental meeting, a professor exhorted the seniors to select a thesis topic that we cared so deeply about that we would work tirelessly on it, even “during the darkest days of February,” to see through its completion.

It helps to have lived in Portland to understand just how deeply he felt about motivation, because it gets really dark in the depths of the Portland winter. Still, even if you have never set foot in Oregon, I think it’s easy to relate to his words. In education, there is a sense that one is constantly trying to catch up; running a gauntlet of never-ending hurdles, each yet higher than the last. Each mistake or misstep seems crushingly disappointing, and often there is the temptation to surrender to self-doubt. No matter how dark February gets in your part of the world, pursuing academics is always an inherently difficult task.

"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual...The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both." – Carl Sagan

Close to 100 scientists and religious community members gathered in Geffen Auditorium this past Monday night to hear evidence from Dr. Fazale “Fuz” Rana describing the logical intimacy of science and religion. Listeners embraced the challenge of identifying their own beliefs and were encouraged to evaluate the framework through which they orientate their lives. Although I cannot do justice to the complexity of arguments in this summary, I hope to mirror the theme of the presentation and challenge all readers with the question, “Are science and religion mutually exclusive?” Intentionally, many of us have discrete answers arising from years of experience reconciling each space. However, I ask you to read the first sentence of this post again and consider your reflexive interpretation of the phrase “scientists and religious community members.” Did you originally perceive this to describe unique individuals in attendance with competing viewpoints, people who identify singularly with science or religion yet inform their worldview with the other, or a single group of people unified in their beliefs. I believe our response is indicative of our current perspective. Much like being a “father and husband” does not preclude one from the other, Dr. Rana proposes being a scientist and believer are entirely complementary foundations granted by God.

Graduate students including Mayo Clinic’s Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Ph.D. candidate, Alfreda Nelson, planned on attending the 2013 NIH National Graduate Student Research Conference, but due to the lapse in government funding, the conference has been canceled. This is just one of the many examples of the lapse in government funding which has and will continue to affect research. The shutdown has cut off access to myriad of electronic resources which many researchers depend. Websites that were not operation include the National Science Foundation the Education Department’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences1. Many sites such as PubMed, a free repository of biomedical and life science research maintained by the National Institutes of Health, are operational but a notice on the site warns users that it would not be updated during the shutdown. Some researchers are setting up mirror websites to keep forms to apply for grants from the National Science Foundation accessible2. This creates the perfect opportunity to ask professors and students how the government shutdown impacts research. How is the government shutdown affecting your work on campus? 

By Carl T. Gustafson

King Solomon, reputed by Biblical lore to be the wisest man that ever lived, once commanded us to “go to the ant…consider her ways and be wise...” This man, the wisest man, knew we had a thing or two to learn, even from ants.

This past summer I took my Written Qualifying Exam, which is, in essence, a tiresomely long and nearly comprehensive test that determines whether I stay in graduate school or not. Every Ph.D. student that ever existed has had to take a test similar to this. During this summer I studied like I have never studied before and was essentially blind to the outside world. When I emerged from the gloomy caverns of dose response curves and receptor binding kinetics, I realized what I had missed. There was conflict in Syria. People were upset about marriage rights. My nephew had learned to walk. I had even missed Shark Week of all things. It had been less than two months since I had even attempted to lend an ear to anything other than research methods and experimental designs, but I was way behind. I had missed a lot and I hadn’t even noticed it when I was missing it. It was too easy to fall behind and so very hard to get caught up. I’m still kinda bummed about Shark Week.

Over Labor Day weekend, I decided to clean my refrigerator. As I took out the various old jars of condiments and containers of leftovers to [...]

By Timothy N. Kruse

On July 31 through August 04, 2013, Andrew Harrison and I attended the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) in Santa Clara, CA. The AAIP is an organization for American Indian and Alaska Native physicians across North America. The Mission of the AAIP is “to pursue excellence in Native American health care by promoting education in the medical disciplines, honoring traditional healing principles and restoring the balance of mind, body, and spirit”.

Association of American Indian Physicians

By Bennett G. Childs and Andrew M. Harrison

After attending the recent College of Medicine “Discussions About Diversity”, I (BGC) was sorely disappointed to miss the Westboro Baptist Church's visit to Mayo Clinic (1, 2). I was drawn to ask the question: what motivation would drive someone to get up at the crack of dawn to preach hate (as I got up even earlier to pursue the answer)? The protest-protesters were dispersing as I arrived, carrying American flags and picket signs. Tapping him on the shoulder, I asked one guy: “Hey, have the crazy people gone?” He gave me a puzzled look and then perked up. “Oh yeah, the gay-bashers are gone. But they're not crazy. That kind of hate takes conscious effort.”

The list of people hated by the Westboro Baptist Church (3) and their God could fill a book. Though, that may have been done already: homosexuals, fornicators, wiccans, women who do not obey their husbands, and atheists. As I walked away, I started to think about the sort of people it takes conscious effort to not hate: bigots, homophobes, AIDS-denialists (4, 5), anti-vaccinationists (6), men who think misandry is a thing, people who say YOLO, people who end lists with etc., etc... Why do I have to fight down this crimson hate every day?

Every year, the Mayo Clinic hosts visiting students in summer research fellowship programs. The Mayo Graduate School welcomes over 100 visiting undergraduate students in a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) that lasts for 10 weeks through the summer. The Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education hosts visiting medical students who are between their 1st and 2nd years of medical school and are looking for training in patient-oriented research. Both programs bring in many students from various backgrounds with diverse research interests and career goals. Here’s what a few of our visiting students had to say about their research experiences and future aspirations:   - Stephanie Nemec -

Network of Early Clinical and Translational Researchers (NECTR) is a resource for early investigators in clinical and translational research. NECTR aims to drive collaborations [...]

By Andrew M. Harrison, Stella P. Hartono, Carl T. Gustafson The Supreme Court case of Fisher v. University of Texas concerns the question of whether the race-based, affirmative action undergraduate admission policies of the University are constitutional. This question was raised by a former undergraduate applicant in the specific context of existing Supreme Court rulings and precedent. On June 24, 2013, in this case, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-1 decision to vacate (make void) and remand (send back) the ruling of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Thus, this case will be returned to the Fifth Circuit Court—which represents parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi—for another decision. Justice Elena Kagan, former US Solicitor General and prior participant in this case, recused herself from participation and vote.

            This week in Washington Post, Phyllis Richman published her reply to a letter from Harvard regarding her graduate school application. In the letter, she was [...]

It is without a doubt that we live in a meritocracy; i.e. a society that has a built in rank and opportunity based on certificates, [...]