William Greenleaf has never let the traditional boundaries of scientific disciplines define his approach to research questions. “Maybe I have ‘scientific ADD’ or something, but I like the idea of trying new things and seeing where your way of approaching things can make contributions,” he says. Throughout his training, Greenleaf…
Rebecca Seal was majoring in chemistry and psychology at the University of Oregon and planning to go to medical school when she spent a summer working in a neuroscience lab at the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. At the time, she saw herself one day treating patients.
Michael Boyce’s scientific journey began where the human cell’s life cycle ends. Cell death captivated him from the start of his graduate work. “The idea that there are genetic programs that cells use to die upon the right stimulus or the right timing was a really interesting concept,” he says.
Since 2009, the Rita Allen Foundation has provided a special award for early-career leaders in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain. The Foundation has awarded annually two grants or more in the amount of $150,000 over three…
Physician-scientists are the bridge between bench and bedside. What they observe in their patients becomes the subject of lab research, and what they learn from their lab research ideally translates into improved patient care. Stanford pain specialist Vivianne Tawfik, M.D., Ph.D., is a prime example of a physician-scientist whose robust…
2012 Rita Allen Scholar Sreekanth Chalasani first became interested in science as a child growing up in India. He was keenly aware of the world around him—when it would rain, he would wait for the earthworms and critters that come out after the storms to emerge,…
Xin Liu‘s science and math education began early. His parents would often quiz him with simple addition and subtraction questions, which Liu would happily work out by writing directly on the kitchen wall. Despite keeping an otherwise clean and tidy home, his parents were very tolerant…
“It was a memorable time for me,” remembers Agata Smogorzewska. “I was in the chemistry department. I don’t remember what I was doing there. I saw an advertisement on the wall to apply for a research semester at one of the Department of Energy laboratories. After learning…
Dorothea Fiedler grew up in Germany and had the opportunity to attend a British boarding school as an exchange student for one year. It was around this time that she found herself enchanted by chemistry. “Our chemistry classroom was a little bit like potions class, like…
“The parts I love about science are the opportunities to discover and mentor. The biggest highlight for a scientist is when we can combine the two—working with trainees who make discoveries,” explains Sarah Ross as she reflects on her accomplishments as a pain researcher. Ross…