On Saturday, 195 graduates of the School of Medicine sat under a large white tent on the Alumni Green pondering the next chapter in their medical training. Many of them hadn't been sure if they would make it to this milestone and, for some, the future seemed uncertain. But the message from Lucy Shapiro, PhD, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, was clear, "Step out of your comfort zone and follow your intuition,” she said. “Don’t be afraid of taking chances. Ask, ‘How can I change what’s wrong?'"
Shapiro told the Class of 2015 how she spent years performing solitary work in the laboratory before she "launched a one-woman attack" to influence health policy and battle the growing threat of infectious disease on the global stage. My colleague Tracie White captures Shapiro's powerful speech in a story today about the commencement ceremony:
Her attack began with taking any speaking engagement she could get to educate the public about antibiotic resistance; she walked the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., lobbying politicians about the dangers of emerging infectious diseases; and she used discoveries from her lab on the single-celled Caulobacter bacterium to develop new, effective disease-fighting drugs.
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Her lab at Stanford made breakthroughs in understanding the genetic circuitry of simple cells, setting the stage for the development of new antibiotics. Shapiro told the audience that over the 25 years that she has worked at the School of Medicine, she has seen a major shift in the connection between those who conduct research in labs and those who care for patients in clinics.
“We have finally learned to talk to each other,” said Shapiro, a professor of developmental biology. “I’ve watched the convergence of basic research and clinical applications without the loss of curiosity-driven research in the lab or patient-focused care in the clinic.”
Shapiro went on to tell the audience that bridging the gap between the lab and the clinic "can make the world a better place." Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, agreed with these sentiments and told graduates that there has never been a better time for connecting advances in basic research with breakthroughs in clinical care. "You are beginning your careers at an unprecedented time of opportunities for biomedical science and for human health,” he said.
The 2015 graduating class included 78 students who earned PhDs, 78 who earned medical degrees, and 39 who earned master’s degrees. Among them was Katharina Sophia Volz, the first-ever graduate of the Interdepartmental Program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. “Everybody here is reaching for the stars. We can do the best work here of anywhere,” she said.
Previously: Stanford Medicine’s commencement, in pictures, Abraham Verghese urges Stanford grads to always remember the heritage and rituals of medicine, Stanford Medicine honors its newest graduates, National Medal of Science winner Lucy Shapiro: "It's the most exciting thing in the world to be a scientist" and Stanford’s Lucy Shapiro receives National Medal of Science
Photo by Norbert von der Groeben
