To the MSTP Graduates

To the 2009 MSTP Graduates: A Farewell Speech by the MSTP Director David Roth, M.D., Ph.D.

It's that time of year again. As a former musician who once aspired to play in a major symphony orchestra, it is with a sense of bittersweet irony that I now receive annual invitations to appear onstage at venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall—but in roles that require me to sit silently in front of a large and appreciative audience who is applauding wildly for someone else... graduating students.

Even though these hours are spent mutely on stage, sweating under the bright lights, dressed in academic regalia that seem specially designed to retain heat and water vapor, I find them fulfilling. Why? Because I am enormously proud of my students. "My students," in this case, refers both to the medical students I teach in their first and second years and to the graduate students I train in my own lab. I'm especially proud of them, those brave individuals who spend long hours in the laboratory delving into the mysteries of DNA repair. Doing graduate research is much like fishing. You search for the best spot, cast your lure into the deep water and, with a lot of luck and even more persistence, reel in bits of knowledge. For my lab, the hope is that we will see how these bits fit together to explain, and perhaps eventually cure, certain forms of cancer.

I'm immensely proud of my graduate students for their accomplishments, but it's easy to observe and appreciate accomplishment. What is too often underappreciated is their commitment. The commitment and self-sacrifice displayed by graduate students (and not just those in the sciences) directly oppose certain cultural forces that have dominated American life for the past decades.

Our students are paid a stipend that is sufficient to sustain life but does not support the kind of consumerism deemed "normal" for Americans. When they graduate, they go on to careers that require drive, passion, intelligence, and a tremendous degree of emotional fortitude.

Those in the sciences must compete for grants, teach students, run their labs, publish or perish, and all on a salary that seems insignificant by the standards of Wall Street. Yet I find that most scientists are happy. They enjoy their work, the academic and intellectual freedom it affords, the excitement of discovery, the joys of teaching (and there are many), and, perhaps most of all, the feeling that they are contributing to something meaningful, that their work has intrinsic value.

Sadly, the skewing of our cultural values toward the pursuit of money over meaning has made it difficult for our students to pursue their true passions. Many a bright graduate student has been either lured to industry by the prospect of more money or driven away from academia by the fear of insufficient money (for research or, perhaps, themselves).

Either way, so-called pragmatic considerations have driven thinking about life goals—but pragmatism can't tell you what you're good at or what makes you happy. I am hopeful that the global financial crisis confronting our culture and our expectations will lessen the dominance of money in students' career decisions. As The New York Times reports ("With finance disgraced, which career will be king?" April 12, 2009):

"The sciences could well rise in the new pecking order of career status. The Obama administration wants to double federal spending in basic research over 10 years and triple the number of graduate fellowships in science. There are already signs of a renewed interest among students in science and technology."

I'm not a lone voice in the wilderness on this point. In her first baccalaureate address last June, Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust told graduates: "If you don't try to do what you love — whether it is painting or biology or finance — if you don't pursue what you think will be most meaningful, you will regret it. Life is long. There is always time for Plan B. But don't begin with it."

I think she's right. Those of you who are crossing the stages this May, who have dedicated your careers to science, medicine, or a combination of both, represent some of the people who have chosen to pursue what you love and to serve the greater good of humankind, rather than simply to make as much money as possible. I salute you for making this decision, and I think you will be well rewarded.

In this spirit, I'd like to echo the words of Barack Obama, who addressed the graduating class at Wesleyan University last year when he was still a candidate for the Presidency:

"And so, should you take the path of service, should you choose to take up one of these causes as your own, know that you'll experience frustrations and failures ... There will certainly be times when friends or family urge you to pursue more sensible endeavors with more tangible rewards. And there will be times when you are tempted to take their advice.

"We will face our share of cynics and doubters. But we always have. I can still remember a conversation I had with an older man all those years ago just before I left for Chicago. He said, ‘Barack, I'll give you a bit of advice. Forget this community organizing business and do something that's gonna make you some money. You can't change the world, and people won't appreciate you trying. But you've got a nice voice, so you should think about going into television broadcasting. I'm telling you, you've got a future.'"