Profile
A biologist-artist with an excruciatingly abbreviated attention span, I ask many annoying questions, and dabble in pretty much everything except music and math. My addictions include House, MD; The New Yorker; my iPod nano; jogging; insects; watercolors; illustrated books; and rambling conversations with clever people.
On some inarticulate level, I meant to become a Victorian-style naturalist with an extensive library of classics, who sits in the sun drawing insects and leaves, and perhaps writing the occasional sonnet. Unfortunately, I’m also a reductionist with the urge to dissect cellular mechanisms down to genes and proteins. I somehow didn’t realize until well into my PhD that molecular geneticists work not in bucolic fields or quiet libraries with leather armchairs, but in sterile labs with very peculiar odors. They don’t usually draw, and sonnets are right out. Oops.
For the past several years I’ve been teaching anatomy and physiology, developmental biology, genetics, and introductory philosophy of science at a small college in a rural state. Earlier this year, I sold my house and most of my belongings, packed the station wagon, and moved back to civilization (civilization primarily defined as ready access to sushi). I’ve now left the West coast for the East coast, to explore a different side of biology - a side involving neither minipreps nor fly pushing, thank goodness! Ah, there’s nothing like starting one’s career all over at 31.
In the meantime, this is my outlet for random observations and connections about pretty much everything. We’ll always circle back to biology and art, but the trajectory will be roundabout, cephalopods and medievalists lurk in the undergrowth, and you should probably pack a picnic lunch.
Caveat lector.