I want to give everyone a chance to read a message from Michael. I have not heard from him in a couple of months. It is unlike him not to communicate. He did send me this message to use when I do go on vacation so that we all would share the newest information about our heroes. He wrote this installment in the early spring. Enjoy but worry about Michael.
Hey there! I am Michael Townsend, director of the Wilson Center for Genetic Research at the University of Montana. I want to thank Whit for allowing me to share a few thoughts about what I am doing out here in Missoula and a little bit of our connection.
People wonder why I would leave the center of the genetics universe to move to Montana. I answer, “Have you ever seen the majesty of the Northern Rockies?” Ninety-five percent say no; the other five percent eat at restaurants every night.
I came here because of a massive anonymous grant to build a research center to my specifications from scratch. My mentor in Boston, Ed Hatcher, worked behind the scenes and worked with his friend, Dennis Bender at the University of Montana, to create the perfect conditions to achieve my research goals and find genetic solutions to advance humankind. I have all the resources imaginable for any study of mammalian biology. The Wilson Center has an electron microscope as powerful as the instrument at the University of California, Berkley, and enough bandwidth capacity to handle any computer functionality. Other researchers are but a Zoom call away to anywhere in the world. Many fly here to envy our facility. My colleague and fellow Post-doc, Dr. Robin Grandy, enjoys her time away from the hectic day-to-day I escaped. Most of all, I have found my greatest scientific inspiration in the vastness of the mountainous wilderness.
The five percenters say, “Your taste buds have changed since you moved out West.” Fair point. That means I need the city less. Also, they have coffee shops for when I want to sleep too much in the winter. Others say, “It is so cold in the winter.” I have a warm coat for that now. Also, I can enjoy the warmth of a roaring fire with my wife Anne most of the year.
I want to point out that in this modern world, we are all connected and have all we need with the help of an Amazon delivery truck. These are the most incredible times in human history. As long as someone doesn’t push a nuclear button and leave their neighbors alone, the world will be better. I will continue to do my part to solve genetic riddles for the betterment of humankind.
I met Whit in a pharmacy in South Carolina. After he filled a prescription, he came down to the window and asked me a couple of clinical questions. The conversation began a friendship that continues to this day. I tease him about giving up golf because of his shoulder surgery, and he teases me about losing my deftness with an oyster knife after stabbing myself in the hand. He took me to the emergency room to receive four stitches for my clumsiness. That was the most embarrassing night in this Charlestonian’s life.
Given all the optimistic things about life now, I realized that life does not always go your way. I hate to say this, but I have not felt that good lately. The doctor says my joints are deteriorating. It is some strange auto-immune disorder or some undiscovered genetic condition. The best-equipped facility globally, the Wilson Center, will be the best place to discover a cure.
Anne’s and my move to Montana has been the best event of our lives. The Wilson Center’s research is already bearing fruit. Montana has been good to me. When I feel better, I will get Whit Haney and bring him out here for a visit. Also, if anyone wants to contact me, go to whithaney.com and drop me a line.
