Three months following my graduation from MSU in May of 1998, I moved to Detroit to complete my medical technology training at the Detroit Medical Center University Laboratories. I spent nearly ten months at the DMC, and I specifically enjoyed coagulation, hematology, and microbiology. After I went through the training, and believe me, phlebotomy was the most serious part so I left it till the end, I moved down to Greenville, North Carolina, which is about 80 miles west of the mid Atlantic Ocean. I started my next educational enterprise at East Carolina University School of Medicine in the Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as a Ph.D. student. A month after I moved in, however, I was greeted by hurricane Floyd and I witnessed what nature's power could do. I took my ASCP Medical Technology exam in April of 2000 and I passed it.

Now, I am in my third year of grad school and I am about to begin my dissertation work. I am interested in studying the procoagulant effects of antiphospholipid antibodies in chronic renal failure and end-stage renal disease patients, who are placed on chronic hemodialysis. Specifically, I intend to elucidate antiphospholipid-platelet interactions and their effects on platelet adhesion to the subendothelium in a perfusion chamber. I am very excited and eager to begin this study, which is an excellent opportunity to work closely with patients and clinicians in the realm of a Ph.D. dissertation research.

My plans after graduating are to do a post-doctorate in a clinical center focusing on some issues in coagulation and hemostasis. That is, according to the classical description of a person with my interests, I will become a CLOTTER. I bet it pleases Drs. Davis and Estry to bring someone new to this field. They are the ones who got me hooked in the first place. And I should say - thanks a lot.

Finally, I really enjoyed going to MSU and I am kind of nostalgic in these days. Despite attending another school, I am still a Spartan and MSU's basketball team is still my team. I hope that we will do better next year. I thank the Medical Technology Department for giving me this opportunity, and I also extend my greeting to all of those who helped me solidify my incentives and motivation during my academic journey; those who belong to the Faculty and Staff of MSU.