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Helping People by Doing Research on New Drugs
Maggie loved her biology and chemistry classes when she was in high school. So she decided that she could help sick people by working in a hospital lab running the tests that help doctors figure out what is wrong with someone. Discovering ResearchMaggie chose to go to college at the school in her home town and study chemistry, biology, and pharmacy (study of drugs). She went to the University of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. As she was going to college, she got to work for a time at a hospital running tests just like she would do in a real job. That was when Maggie found out that this type of work was not for her. Having to do the very same thing every single day was not exciting for her. So, when she finished college, Maggie got a job instead working in a lab in the Department of Physiology in the local medical school in her home town. In that job she was doing basic research on the kidneys and how they work. That was when she found out that she loved doing research. Wanting to Learn MoreAfter working for 3 years in the lab, Maggie wanted to learn more so that she could understand the experiments she was asked to do. She thought about going to school in Mexico to study drugs and their actions in the body (called pharmacology). When she talked to her boss, he told her that she should move to the US where she could get the best education in physiology. He also told her that she should aim high and apply to the best schools in the US that taught physiology of the heart and blood vessels (called cardiovascular physiology) and physiology of the kidneys (called renal physiology), since that’s what she had been doing in the lab. So Maggie took his advice and applied to some very good schools in the US. She was very excited when the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS, asked her to come there to study. She was thrilled also because the man in charge of the department was Dr. Arthur Guyton, one of the best and most well-known physiologists and scientists of all times. Dr. Guyton inspired her, but it was her teacher, Dr. John Hall, and the other teachers in that department who showed her the exciting world of physiology. Her research was on mechanisms of obesity-induced hypertension. Maggie finished her studies and got her PhD degree in 1995. Taking Advantage of OpportunitiesAfter getting her degree, Dr. Alonso-Galicia went to the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI, to get more training. During her last year there, one of the teachers told her she should apply for a job doing research at a drug company called Merck Research Laboratories. So she did and, after going to see them twice and giving them a talk on her research, she got offered the job. Dr. Alonso-Galicia had always thought she would end up teaching and doing research at a college. She had never thought that she would end up working at a drug company. The job offer was a great chance for her. She could not turn it down because she knew the company had a great name and did basic research to help find new drugs for diseases. This was how she would be able to help people who were sick.
Working for a Drug Company
Dr. Alonso-Galicia loves to travel and meet people from all over the world. She also likes designing and decorating her house, going to the movies, reading, listening to music, aerobics classes, and spending time with her husband and two kittens. She’s thinking about helping out at her local animal shelter to take care of animals that have been found or rescued.
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