Science – A global language
By Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H.
As I walk the halls of Baylor College of Medicine, one factor becomes readily apparent. Science is not the province of a single race, ethnicity or nation. The language of science is universal, and it draws people from many walks of life, from many nations speaking different languages.
At Baylor College of Medicine, we are lucky to have drawn many of these people. Many come to learn, sitting at the feet of brilliant men and women in the College's many laboratories. The deans of BCM's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences can tell you of the brilliance of these students, who often overcome barriers at home and here in the United States as immigration policies are ratcheted up, just to come here and work far more than the usual eight hours a day. The benefit they receive is knowledge and the ability to do science – to make new discoveries and, with luck and perseverance, leave the world a better place than they found it. An education that allows them to accomplish that is a boon, and they will tell you of their appreciation.
Baylor College of Medicine also attracts young scientists from many countries who come to this steamy Bayou City to add to the repertoire of brains that makes this a magnet for the best and brightest in their fields. Three of BCM's major departments – pediatrics, molecular and human genetics and molecular and cellular biology – rank number one in the amount of funds received from the National Institutes of Health. Those dollars mean more than money. They mean that our scientists are proposing some of the best and most powerful science in the nation and that their peers nationally are listening and approving.
The enthusiasm is palpable. In the halls, scientists – young and old – and their students, often distinguishable by their T-shirts and shorts, talk volubly and in a host of languages about where to take their research from here and how. The lights burn late at night as these young experimentalists test their theories in the crucible of biological certainty. The parking lots are never empty. Even on weekends, they are filled with the automobiles of students who cannot and do not leave their labs for 24 hours. The bicycle racks are crowded because many on short budgets cannot afford to drive cars and park in the Texas Medical Center. Yet, no matter what the weather, they are here.
What will come from all of this? At the most fundamental level, we will learn even more about how the cells in our bodies work and why. What makes them go and how do they operate, metabolize and pass on their genetic information? From this information, researchers and physicians will develop better methods of diagnosis and, ultimately, treatments and cures for some of the diseases that have plagued mankind from time immemorial.
Some may make those great leaps. Others may only advance the understanding of science a few steps. For each, the journey is worth it. For the rest of us, we are happy to be here to support, to help, to translate their discoveries into language the rest of the world can understand. It's great to be along on this exhilarating ride.
