El Dorado

After arriving somewhat late on account of not finding the room right in front of my eyes, I came to a room filled with other prospectives presided by an associate dean.  The mood was a professional, uncomfortable silence.  We were briefed about the program, the location, the highlights, etc., all the bells and whistles that they had to offer.  With not a minute to spare, I was whisked off to my first meeting by an assistant.

Bartholemeu Dias:  Poofed hair, baggy & slouchy shirt, uni-brow, computer lost in the general clutter of papers and books; general appearance of a person absorbed more into work than in appearances.  She looked to the ceiling when she spoke, as if imagining her thoughts forming above her.  The only time she ever made eye contact with me was when I was answering her questions.  After hearing my spiel about the work that I currently do, she questioned whether I agreed with the ethics of mass genetics testing.  Is it ethical for a company, like mine, to give out genetics results to patients for complex conditions with medical implications?  The ultimate goal for a industry laboratory is revenue.  Yes, patients come first, but money must also follow the patient, or otherwise there is no company.  That said, even though money is the driving force, there are ethical guidelines enforced by the government that all laboratories must follow.  That is the reason for the validation stages that these assays must go through before being tested with actual patient DNA.  That is the reason why there is a medical director presiding over the research and development projects before such tests are advertised to clients.  That is the reason why there is a Quality Control and Assurance department.  Every laboratory worth their salt has no choice but to comply with the prescribed guidelines.  Of course my answer while on the hot seat wasn't so articulate (not to say this is articulate), but I made my point.  After hearing my answer, Bartholomeu half chuckled and said: "Interesting.  I guess I know where you stand."  Good or bad I have no idea.


Francisco Pizarro:  His office was way across campus, in it's own little building, with his own secretary.  When the secretary opened the door to let me in, I felt as though I was reliving Harry Potter's moment when he first stepped into Dumbledore's office.  This place had a quiet grandeur to it with light pouring in from the many windows.  When I commented the nice sofa set he has in his office, Pizarro admitted that his office is "embarrassingly large."  Similar to the way that Dumbledore's reputation precedes him, I felt myself trembling a bit as I sat down in front of Pizarro because I had read and heard so much about him.  Yet, he couldn't have felt more comfortable and relaxed as he propped his feet on the coffee table revealing the ragged sneakers he wore that day.  I, on the other hand, was in a suit sitting at the edge of my seat talking so intensely that I forgot to breathe.  Surely he would grill me on both sides just to see what I was made of... surely so, I thought.  Instead, he was just a most soft-spoken, mild-mannered, world-weary person to whom I talked of my background and experiences and motivations.  We also talked of drunken fruit-flies and college freshmen, but that's another topic for another day...


Hernando Cortez:  Again, a trek and a half across campus to this far-away office.  Prior to my meetings, I prefer to do some research on the person who I'll be talking to.  I do this in the hopes of increasing my chances of saying something intelligent and also reducing my chances of saying something utterly stupid during my meeting.  Cortez does not have any relevant research background or information that I could find on Google, and not being able to find this out prior to meeting Cortez put me at extreme unease.  Stepping into his office, I gathered why information on him was so hard to come by... he is newly appointed to El-Dorado and is just beginning to settle into his position.  Cortez spoke with a thick accent; I'm sure I had my eyebrows scrunched during most of the meeting because I had to concentrate on understanding him.  Background talks aside, we talked of new technologies and advancement in drugs.  He educated me off on a few interesting things such as MDA-7/IL-24, and exedin-3 in diabetes.  I didn't know it at the time, but these things have been published for quite a few years now, and I really should have known more about it while talking to him.  Nearing the end of the meeting, I asked him why he chose the field of cancer genetics.  Cortez smiled as if he had been anticipating my question for a while.  He then pointed to a faded wallet-sized photo at the far corner of his desk.... his father.  From what I can gather, Cortez's father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  I couldn't hear well enough to learn if his father is still living or deceased, and I did not want to prod and make him uncomfortable.  His father is his inspiration.  Even if he could elucidate just a tiny piece of information to add to the knowledge of cancer research, he would make his father proud.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa:  It's funny that man I've heard of and even crossed paths a few times before could make me so nervous.  Maybe it's because we've never had a formal introduction, or that I've found him to be too intimidating that when it came time for me to formally meet him I almost didn't want to do it.  His office moved from where I last knew it, to the dark and gloomy third floor where no one else goes.  Also, his hair changed from when I last saw him (or maybe I just didn't pay that much attention).  Actually his hair very much amused me; it looked like there was a stiff, gray brush in the shape of a fan on his head.  Like Cortez, his accent is very heavy, though not the same accent.  The conversation began somewhat patchy but progressed as I asked him some questions about why he does what he does.  I get the feeling that he is a person that bores easily and is always on the lookout for that new challenge that no one else could figure out.  Once he has figured out something the thrill goes away and he's on to something else.  I also get the distinct impression that his teaching style is very laissez-faire, meaning he is very independent and would work well with someone else who is equally independent.  His thoughts on types of researchers: horizontal and vertical.  Horizontal types learn a new technique/method/assay/technology really well, and then apply the same technique/method/assay/technology to new problems.  Vertical types learn about a problem/issue and figure out different technique/method/assay/technology to solve different aspects of that problem/issue.  Which type is he?  Vertical.

My day on the hot seats was exhausting not only mentally, but physically too from all that trekking around.  At the end of the day I felt like I had been holding my breath all day long.  Yet, I felt good.  I had an unexplainable good feeling about the day.  Good, bad, ugly, I had no idea, but I left all the interviews with a smile on my face.

Next visit: Shangri-La