With apologies to Lyle Lovett. I suppose I should say “Howdy”, rather than “Hello”, since I really am from Texas, in the sense that I have lived here most of my life. I’ve lived in three of the major Texas cities – Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio – and I’m currently on the faculty at a health science center in the latter of those three. I was trained as a developmental neurobiologist, but have since morphed into a cancer biologist, if publications are any indication. I spend most of my professional time teaching anatomical sciences (gross anatomy, embryology, and neuroscience) to medical and dental students, and was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy that part of my job.
To be honest, I haven’t branched very far from my roots in developmental neurobiology, as most of my recent research involves mouse models for an inherited cancer syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1, which primarily affects cells derived from the neural crest. I still do a lot of primary neuronal and Schwann cell culture work, with an emphasis on assays for apoptosis, DNA damage, and DNA repair. Because my teaching responsibilities are intense and extremely time-consuming, I’m very happy to collaborate with colleagues on projects involving my transgenic mice and Schwann cell tumor lines.
My blog here at NN will focus on environmental issues and natural history on the Third Coast, which, in spite of what people from the Great Lakes region may tell you, actually refers to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Since I live and work near the Border, I’ll include Mexico as part of the Third Coast, and there are some important environmental and wildlife issues that affect both Texas and Mexico (one such issue made landfall at Brownsville and Matamoros earlier today). I hope to post a few interviews with friends here in the Hill Country who are involved with environmental issues in the region, and who are reviving native habitat for threatened species, such as the Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler. And I’ll probably throw in a few posts on developments in cancer and DNA damage/repair research, as well as a bit of lab and academic science “culture”.
I’m fixin’ to go start this blog now….
I like Texas. I feel that it’s a place that’s big enough for me. Once I was visiting friends at UT Austin and we drove out into the country past all these ranches with good ol’ Texan names like Bar X and Lazy H. You could tell the ranches owned by expatriate Californians because they had wussy names like Whispering Canyon. My guests asked me what name I’d give a ranch. I said that I couldn’t do such a thing until I retired, after which the name would have to be ‘Lazy G’.
But I’m dying to know — which kind of cowboy boots do you favor? Ropers, or the ones with heels?
You could tell the ranches owned by expatriate Californians because they had wussy names like Whispering Canyon.
Funny you should mention that, because the ranch where I keep my horses has a wussy name, and it’s owned by my friends, who are expatriate Californians. Several years ago, I was visiting some grad school littermates at their home in Northern California, and their young son was fascinated with all the dangerous/poisonous/sharp-and-pointy things I encountered in Texas. I drew most of them for him: fire ants, tornadoes, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, Gila monsters, centipedes, scorpions, cacti, mesquite thorns….
I favor ropers-they’re comfortable to ride in, and not horrible to walk in, if you part company with your not-so-trusty steed.
A very nice introductory post: I look forward to reading more!