Under the Microscope | CBS Student Board

Where did you go for undergrad and grad school?

I did my undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. I got my Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, although our lab moved to Seattle in the middle of by grad training, so half of my thesis work was performed at the University of Washington. Which, by the way, has better mountains than central Illinois. I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California – Berkeley and was in the lab, listening to the radio broadcast (remember them?), for “The Play”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCDfJH6eRY&NR=1

Pandemonium broke out in an otherwise quiet and serious laboratory.

What courses do you currently teach?

BioC 3021 – Biochemistry (non-majors course for all CBS students)

BioC 3960 – Topics in Biochemistry (a BMBB required course)

BioC 1010 – A new freshman biochemistry course which I’ll tackle in the Spring.

What is your area of research?

What is the most interesting/exciting thing you did over the summer?

I’m part of a volunteer organization that puts on an annual pro bike race that raises money for the pediatric hospice at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. This is an important charity because hospice care for kids is NOT covered by insurance (which I find scandalous). We had six races over five days, including races in downtown Saint Paul and in Uptown. The women’s winner was Kristin Armstrong, a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and the men’s winner was from Australia

What is the craziest thing a student has ever asked you?

I lift weights at the rec center three times a week. I’m happy to talk to students there, but wish that they wouldn’t call me “Doctor”. I prefer “Dave” or “David” at any time, but we’re all equal in the weight room. Unless, of course, they can lift way more than me, in which case calling me “little fella’” would be more appropriate.

How long have you been at the University?

How do you normally spend a Friday night?

What is your favorite college memory?

Sitting in the ROTC building, waiting for the anti-war protesters to set it on fire. They didn’t. And then getting a really high draft number in the lottery so I could drop out of ROTC.

What is your favorite restaurant on campus?

For daily eats, it’s got to be Chipotle. In and out it a minute and then I can eat my burrito as I walk back to my office. Eating and walking isn’t good manners, so don’t tell my wife.
For sit-down, Bona. I don’t do sit-down much, so I can always order the same thing and not get bored.

If there was a choice, what one hobby of yours could you see yourself committing to forever?

Cycling. It’s fun, healthy and practical. I’m a bicycle commuter, so I can do it every day. And a really cool bike is a tiny fraction the cost of a really cool car. Even though I’m too cheap to buy one. But a guy can dream, can’t he?

Anything else you would like to share with us?

My daughter works at an AIDS hospice in Washington DC. She’s going to make hospice care her life’s work, so she’s back in school to get her nursing degree. I could never do hospice work because I’d get too attached to the patients, but she has a really great personality and tells me that they don’t grieve when a patient dies. They know why he or she is there and, if they can make their last days happier, they’ve been successful.

And my son is an IT maven at Atomic Data Centers, which is HQ’ed in the Warehouse District. I used to fancy myself to be quite the computer expert, but now realize how little I actually know. It’s humbling, but I’m proud of him.

Thank you Dr. LaPorte!