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My wonderful experience as a visiting professor in Japan

I was privileged enough to be asked to Ritsumeikan University  Shiga, Japan as an invited lecturer asked to give a series of lectures during their concentrated summer program. The theme of the lecture program was “brain pathologies and therapies.” Yes that is a broad topic, but they wanted personal expert presentations focusing on those areas [...]

Chapter 15e. My Future Boss Visits Michigan

The first day and a half for Renee was relatively low stress with just simple chats and lunch talks. During the first research discussion I had with Renee she made it clear that I was very welcome in her lab, that she expected me there in January (18 months from now) and that she had [...]

Chapter 15d. My Future Boss Visits Michigan

There were two pivotal meetings scheduled for Renee that could shape the perception of the success or failure of the trip. One was her talk to the Department of Physiology, and the second was a one-on-one meeting with Ron Myer. Dr. Myer was a known opponent of the compartmentation theory and Dr. Ventura-Clapier was a [...]

Chapter 15c. My Future Boss Visits Michigan

It was important for me to get a grant to support my research because the politics of higher education and research are an amalgam of the altruistic scientist who wants to do the greatest good for humankind and may put his or her life at risk to expand human knowledge, and the empire builder in [...]

Chapter 15b. My Future Boss Visits Michigan

Ann and I had many conversations about my putative plans to go to Paris to do my postdoctoral studies. She felt that she could not spend a whole year out of the country. She was close to her family and did not want to be away from them. Her pilot lessons were also going well [...]

Chapter 15a. My Future Boss Visits Michigan

It is sometimes hard to comprehend all the work that goes on in the scientific community. This is because there are multiple disciplines in science and these can overlap and get complicated. Confusion occurs because sometimes the scientific terms used can be different depending upon which community you talk to. For example, physicists and chemists [...]

Chapter 5b. Research to Help People with Graduate School

I drove my Ford Econoline 150 to the Canadian border from the New York side and entered Canada late one evening. My intention was to drive through the night to get to Michigan. I liked to drive at night because there was less traffic. I was pretty good at staying awake all night based on [...]

Chapter 5a. Research to Help People with Graduate School

 As graduation approached, I started looking into graduate schools to continue my college education. My logic for not trying to get a job right after graduation was simple. First, if I was a trained practitioner in Athletic Training I could work longer term with athletes and help them improve their performance and maybe even achieve [...]

Chapter 4c. Reverse Road Trip

As it grew later and later, I found myself wondering what I was really doing, and what I expected in hooking up with Holly again. I wanted to stay up but was very tired. Jim and I were going to leave tomorrow morning, yet I knew that there was a more in-depth conversation Holly and [...]

Chapter 4b. Reverse Road Trip

The next thing I knew, Holly was standing in front of us with a smile on her face. She and I hugged briefly and she invited us in. With only Jim there, the two of us were able to catch up on each other’s comings and goings over the past few years. Holly worked part [...]