I’ll give you a current example – the outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China. Foundational science asks: Where did this virus come from? How does it relate to the other viruses we already know about? Within weeks, the scientific community sequenced the entire genome of the novel strain and determined its relatedness to other coronaviruses.
In May 2019, Grant Haley graduated from Colorado State with a bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular neuroscience and a fierce longing to be part of something bigger than himself. His long-term goals included medical school and a career in oncology or psychiatry, but he wanted to do something unforgettable with his last summer in Colorado.
We polled a cross-section of our graduating students about their hopes and dreams, and even though the coronavirus pandemic has changed commencement plans, their futures look bright!
"Walk in beauty" is a Navajo phrase that I heard a lot growing up. When you walk in beauty, you are in harmony with yourself and with everything around you. You are doing the best you can. I am trying to do the best I can as a Navajo woman and a scientist, to strive for harmony and balance in my work, but the journey is long, complicated, and full of difficult questions.
My journey started in 1969, as I – and the whole world – stood still and watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. Fast forward 50 years, and Christina Koch and Scott Kelly spend nearly a year in space on board the International Space Station. These out-of-this-world events bring my own, very earthly path into perspective.
Traditional knowledge and current experience demonstrate that bison are a keystone species with a critical role in ecosystem health. They know how to manage the land and continue to do so once they are reintroduced to the landscape.
“From the farm where you produce your food to whoever is going to eat it, microbes play an essential role. It’s a holistic – and necessary – way of looking at things. And now we have the tools to finally look at this bigger picture.” -Zaid Abdo
“Our students have worked for most of their lives to get here. We tell them they can relax a bit now, but they’ve never done that. There’s a lot of support for them here... In Healer’s Art, students get to learn about and see each other in a way that is not offered anywhere else in the curriculum.” -Laurie Fonken
For many aspiring rural veterinarians, “living the dream” may look like a James Herriot tale: The only veterinarian in the county cares for all creatures great and small. They run a mixed-animal practice from a brick-and-mortar clinic on Main Street, and have plenty of time for house and farm calls.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded grants to two faculty members – Brent Myers and Dan Regan – working to improve human health through translational science.