Alumni Update, July 2008

It's been an exciting year for former group members. Here are the latest reports I've received from group alumni:

• Brian Jameson has joined Ted Holman's research lab at UC Santa Cruz, and is busy elucidating the mechanism of action of the dap 1 protein. The protein is involved in the regulation of cyt p450. His work to date has been mostly focused on expressing and purifying proteins, work which sounds a lot like Chem 143... He recently moved into his brand new (for him) trailer right near the chemistry department, and reports that "I seem to be fitting in far too well in this city, which is more than a bit disconcerting when I look around"! We enjoy getting to see Brian from time to time, since his nearby residence allows him to make occasional visits to the lab.
• Christian Paquet seemed to enjoy his first year in medical school at USC. At last report, he was performing in the top 10% of his class, while still finding time to enjoy life to the fullest in Hollywood (and Sundance, SF, Tahoe, etc.). I've ended up in LA several times in the past year so we've gotten to touch base occasionally, which has been nice. He spent the past four weeks in El Salvador working at the National Hospital with rotations in pediatrics, ob-gyn, general surgery, and internal medicine. Hopefully he'll contribute some comment about his trip soon. Sadly, his trip meant that he missed the long-awaited opportunity to meet Misbah's cousin at the SCU graduation...!
• Terry O'Brien has had a busy year. Besides spending time with his new son, he was admitted into SF State's NIH-MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) program. The program is designed similarly to our previous REU programs--he's working at SFSU this summer but next summer will likely do an internship through the program at UCSF, UCD, or Stanford. The program also includes a monthly stipend and covers between 60-100% of his tuition! Congratulations!
• Rob Pivec checked in with a rare update in late May. He has finished off year 2 of medical school and is preparing for the national licensing exam. He starts hospital rotations next year and will be at the Lutheran Medical Center in New York City.

Thanks to all of you for keeping us posted with your post-group news!