摘要 : My entrance into a science career did not follow the typical pattern. Although, I have always had a love for science, I gave little thought to the pursuit of a graduate degree in science. I was a pre-medical student as an undergra... 展开 My entrance into a science career did not follow the typical pattern. Although, I have always had a love for science, I gave little thought to the pursuit of a graduate degree in science. I was a pre-medical student as an undergraduate and also an advance ROTC student at Virginia State College in Ettrick, VA. Upon graduation, the cost of medical school caused me to rethink my options and a career as an Army officer appeared rather attractive. I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps. Among my responsibilities in a unit that operated a pharmacy, I was involved in the training of enlisted men who worked in the pharmacy. Thus, I developed an interest in both physiology and pharmacology. Hence, after my four year tour was completed, I left the service and entered graduate school at Purdue Univ. to study physiology. My PhD research centered on the identification of the neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of the Limulus heart. In the course of my studies I became aware of a number of neurotransmitter studies ongoing in the Kravitz laboratory in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. I very much wanted to pursue postdoctoral studies in the Kravitz group. However, by now I had to be concerned with a growing family, a wife and three young children. A mentor of mine at Virginia State College (VSC) who had been following my progress at Purdue, contacted me with an offer as a full time faculty member at VSC. I felt it prudent to accept this faculty offer which paid considerably more than the postdoctoral offers available to me. 收起