Page 35 - Buzz Magazine - Issue No 2 Winter 2021 | University of Rochester

Photo by J. Adam Fenster I V E R S I

N
U
GOOD
Y
THINGS FOR T

R ALUMNI AND O
E
FRIENDS F
WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? T O C H E S R
Usually, possibilities come to me at night. It excites me to think about
all the ways we can leverage the University’s vast areas of strength.
What we do together can have a far-ranging effect on those we
serve. Right now, for example, our Wilmot Cancer Institute, URMC’s
Division of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, and the Eastman School Buzz Magazine
of Music are developing a pilot project that will explore whether a Winter 2021
music intervention can help treat the cognitive effects of cancer
chemotherapy. Having a world class music school, or a unique national
resource like the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, under our University THOMAS FARRELL ’88, ’90W (MS)
umbrella provides collaborative opportunities that just aren’t possible Senior Vice President
elsewhere. for University Advancement

KAREN CHANCE MERCURIUS
OVER THE ARC OF TIME, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR
FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB? Associate Vice President
The answer for most researchers, and certainly for me, is the students. for Alumni and Constituent Relations
Although we—the faculty and staff—get older every year, our incoming
ERIN MARTIN KANE
students are forever young. They are smart, idealistic, and infused
Executive Editor
with the desire to make the world better. I’m grateful to play a role in
their lives and careers. I’m also particularly thankful for opportunities
MICHELLE HILDRETH
to work with groups that have been excluded from the research Creative Director + Designer
community. For example, we have a program designed to create
academic career paths for Deaf and hard of hearing researchers. I’m
KRISTINE KAPPEL THOMPSON
honored to be the joint principal investigator on this, along with Gerry
Editorial Director + Writer
Buckley, the president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf
at Rochester Institute of Technology. MARGARET BOGUMIL ’00
Writer
HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE YOUR TO-DO LIST?
I tend to focus on people-related activities first. Also, I try to remember
that although I must do what needs to get done, it’s also vital to do
something every day that brings me joy. Sometimes that means Additional Staff Contributors
choosing to go to a meeting that I might not need to go to, but that HENRY BERNARDIN
I want to attend. Or it could mean starting up an artist-in-residence MARY BONOMO
program at the Medical Center. Or it could simply translate into sitting JEANETTE PEREZ COLBY
MIKE DAY
in my office, surrounded by beautiful art works, listening to music while
JOANNA HACKETT
I write. I also run to work every day—usually while listening to audio
EMILY HOTALING
books. I love fiction and, right now, I’m deep into The Love Songs of
MORSAL SAHAR
W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. We all must find ways to
KRISTIN WITHALL
feed and nurture ourselves so that we can nurture and support others. NANCY ZAWACKI

Stephen Dewhurst also serves as the Albert and Phyllis Ritterson Professor
of microbiology and immunology. His research focuses on RNA viruses, including
HIV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2.