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From Science to Science, BCM Grad Finds the Connectionby Lori Williams 
BCM alumna Dr. Katrina Kelner is now a deputy editor at the journal Science. In between research jobs, Dr. Katrina Kelner wanted to find work in the Washington, D.C. area. She had just left the National Institutes of Health and her soon-to-be husband had just moved to Georgetown. With no positions in her field of neuroscience readily available, she answered an advertisement for a position at Science magazine. "Of course, I knew that I would never do anything like that, but I thought I'd go see what it was like." They offered her the job. "It sounded intriguing so I decided I'd try it for a year. What's the worst that could happen?" Within a few weeks, she found the best that could happen. "I loved it." That was 20 years ago. Kelner is now deputy editor of life sciences for Science, a top position in one of the nation's most highly regarded journals. She has overseen the publication of hundreds of important discoveries and worked with the world's leading scientists. "I was never one of those people who loved doing experiments. I was never wedded to the bench. What I really loved was learning about science." Kelner earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Reed College in Portland, Ore. She made her first trip to Texas when Baylor College of Medicine fell on her short list for doctoral programs. The research program Dr. Bert O'Malley, professor and chair of molecular and cellular biology, had established at BCM was a significant draw. She received her graduate degree from BCM in 1981 in cell biology and neuroscience, training under Dr. Ernest Peck, Jr. While at BCM, she met a post doc training in neurology-—Dr. Norman Hershkowitz. She followed him to UTMB in Galveston when he went there for medical school, and he followed her to Washington when she went there on a fellowship for the NIH. Soon after they married, she began her new career at Science. Kelner loves science. She loves reading about science, making the connections, exploring the research data. "I was never one of those people who loved doing experiments. I was never wedded to the bench. What I really loved was learning about science. I was really happy that everyone else was doing the experiments, and I was reading about it," she said. As it turned out, editing a research publication called on her to do just that. "There's a certain amount of tedium in that what you're actually doing is processing paper, but it isn't boring," said Kelner. "Every single paper has new science in it. Nothing else I could do would expose me to this kind of discovery." Dr. Scott Basinger, associate dean for extramural affairs at BCM's Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences, said, "Katrina was a leader in taking her Ph.D. and going to a non-traditional field where she has risen to the top. She is highly respected worldwide as an editor of one of the most important science publications." With a weekly publication, Kelner's schedule is busy. She and her husband live in Arlington, Va.—he now works for the Food and Drug Administration. Son Cole just started college at Oberlin and Ellis is in eighth grade. "I have a wonderful job. Science is quite misunderstood. In a small way, I try to help the public understand." |
Patient CareHealthy Living for a Thousand, Alex ResearchFighting Obesity one Molecule at a Time Doctors are from Jupiter, Patients are from Saturn EducationA Lot's Changed in 40 Years... Sort Of Community ServiceAlumni & DevelopmentBuilding BCM and Biochemistry History Following Father's Bedside Manner More than a Street Sign: Advocates for Medicine College NewsAn Artist in the Medical Arena
Educating the Next Generation of Leaders
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Volume 2, Issue 3, Fall 2006 |
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| Last modified: December 27, 2006 |