Having so many brilliant people come and talk to us about their current research, career paths, and anything in between has been an amazing part of the BSURF program. Although they were all very interesting and valuable in many ways, the talk that I have chosen to reflect upon because of its level of interest to me is Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz’s talk. His presentation titled “A Tale of Two Callings: Physician vs Scientist,” encompassed how he went from solely being interested in being a physician after having graduated from Columbia University to how he got involved in research and went on to win a Nobel Prize. The event that made him get involved in research was actually the Vietnam War, which he did not want to be a part of and instead became a part a large group of physicians that received training in research from the NIH. He said that although he did not like the feeling of failing so frequently in the lab with projects and experiments, it kept him interested and enthusiastic especially since he said he excelled at most other things in his life that he set his mind on. Even though I know this is one of the most frustrating parts of research, I must agree with Dr. Lefkowitz that it’s exciting because it keeps you on your toes and makes you be more creative to figure out how to address the problem you are working on.
Right now, I am at a crossroads in terms of whether I want to pursue al MD or an MD, PhD because I aspire to one day be a physician, but I have started culminating this love of research as well. With its endless possibilities in terms of what there is to explore, discover, and improve in the world, it makes the perfect environment for someone who always craves to learn more as I know that I do. In any case, the biggest piece of advice that I am left with after Dr. Lefkowitz’s talk is to eat 70% or greater dark chocolate of any brand—he currently buys the brand Chocolove—just in case I decide I want to earn a Nobel Prize in the future just as he did.
