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MD/PhD grads thrive under mentorship by Cindy Abole Public Relations Kevin Becker and Ben Pettus love a challenge—especially a scientific one that deals with basic science and biomedical investigation.   Both are exemplary models of this year’s outstanding class of Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) graduates.   Not only will they share in today’s celebration as part of this program’s largest-ever graduating class, they also recognize a rare experience working in the same research laboratory that helped each of them become the strong, independent researchers and competent physicians they are today.   Graduates Drs. Ben Pettus, left, and Kevin Becker, right, join their mentor Dr. Yusuf Hannun. “It’s been a great, challenging time for me,” said Becker, a New York native who’s been with the program since 1998. “Usually, when a potential student evaluates these programs, they narrow their selections based on a school’s research programs and faculty/scientists present an institution. That method wasn’t for me. I looked at the whole spectrum from the program’s curriculum design to Charleston as a location. I was happy with my decision.”      During their first two years, Becker and Pettus completed the basic science and clinical medicine curriculum of medical school. They also began to explore graduate research laboratories, choosing a department specialty and selecting an appropriate mentor to guide them in their dissertation research. Both Becker and Pettus were drawn to the research advances made by Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Chairman Yusuf Hannun, M.D.   In 2003, Hannun and principal investigator Lina Obeid, M.D., won a multi-year $10.9 million Center for Biological Research Excellence (COBRE) grant to create an MUSC Center in Lipidomics and Pathobiology to support research in those areas. This was in addition to their numerous NIH and VA grants support.    Becker was already familiar with Hannun’s reputation as a world-class and respected researcher in the area of lipids and protein kinase C. As an undergrad at State University of New York—Stonybrook, he assisted in research studying the effects of lipid signaling. He also knew of Hannun’s reputation as an excellent mentor.   “Dr. Hannun has a unique approach to working with students and is what one would expect from a world-class scientist and high-powered lab,” Becker said, of Hannun’s disciplined, methodical and independent style. “For him, it’s all about the mentorship. He promotes a lot of student interaction and involvement, while advancing our responsibility at every level.”   Pettus wanted to study the importance of cell signaling intermediates and how its formation of signaling molecules would impact cellular decisions in cancer and other diseases. He specifically wanted to use mass spectrometry as a tool in a lab like Hannun’s to dissect and analyze the complexities of sphingolipid signaling pathways.      “If a researcher and student connect with each other, one should be very grateful for the opportunity to work with these students,” said Hannun, who values qualities like sincerity, hard-working and scientific honesty among student researchers. “If I see that any of the MSTP students can work well with me, shows an interest in what my lab is doing and displays a harmonious presence with lab staff, there’s always a chance to develop a deep student-mentor relationship. For the student, the experience can help shape a large part of his or her career. In contrast, it also makes an impact on the mentor and some of the research they conduct. It’s a reciprocal commitment.”   For the first two months, Becker and Pettus spent their time reading papers, talking to people and becoming familiar with the lab’s activities and projects. The time helped them decide on  specific research interests and thesis topics. Because of Hannun’s collaborative research capabilities, students could turn to a variety of research resources from texts and journals to discussions with more than 30 scientific experts from affiliated labs.   Beyond their third year, the pair were well into their specific research and scientific work in Hannun’s lab. Becker focused his research on glycerolipids, while Pettus chose to study prostoglandins and the role of sphingolipids on the production of inflammatory mediators by Cox 2 and cPLA2 enzymes.    Throughout their graduate study, they wrote papers, grants, book chapters, journal reviews—all writing requirements encouraged by their mentor. They organized and conducted experiments, presented posters and communicated their research results to professional audiences both locally, nationally and internationally. Between them, they published approximately 20 research papers and manuscripts within the past eight years.   “With every single interaction, Dr. Hannun is teaching students or helping them to advance their skills,” Becker said. “He’s so respected among his peers because he is so giving of his time and knowledge. He’s very calculated, philosophical and nurturing when it comes to teaching students and helping them develop to become independent researchers.”   Combining the research experiences, graduate and medical school course work helped enhance each student’s clinical care and patient experiences.   “The graduate research foundation was completely invaluable to me during my training,” said Pettus. “Without the funding, infrastructure and resources made available to us, a graduate student could not complete his or her training due to the financial and time constraints during this course of study.”   “Both Kevin and Ben have blossomed in their research experience working under Dr. Yusuf Hannun,” said Perry Halushka, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies and MSTP director. “Yusuf is a great mentor and scientist who possesses an extraordinary ability to extract the maximum potential from each of the students he works with.”   So what’s next for these first-class physician-scientists?   By July, Becker will begin his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital starting with a yearlong preliminary in internal medicine followed by a three-year neurology residency. Pettus will complete a one-year transitional at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Va. before embarking on a prestigious diagnostic radiology-research track residency at Washington University of St. Louis Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.    “It was an intense experience, but you get what you want out of it,” Becker said. “If one wants to learn how to be a very strong independent thinker, research leader and scientist, Dr. Hannun’s lab is the place to be.”   For Pettus, he was able to see his initial mass spectrometry research developments advance through to NIH grant funding and develop to a shared resource facility for the mass spectrometric analysis of various lipids. He also saw the advent of new technology and discovery of a role for sphingolipids in the regulation of inflammatory processes in disease.   “The MSTP program is so special,” Hannun said. “It is the reason the nation invests in this program and to create a group of unique physician-scientists who can look at a patient’s problems and ask questions. They are a unique group of physicians that can help our nation move forward in medical research and practice.” Friday, May 20, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. 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