“What was your #gatewaytoscience?”

This month’s question is inspired by a Twitter hashtag that researchers have been using to share what inspired them to become a scientist – it might be a book, a person, a television show, a science fair project or something else. Whatever inspired you to choose your career path, we’d love to hear about it. Share your story with us by leaving a comment below or use the hashtag #gatewaytoscience on Twitter and tag @BWHResearch.

“My #gatewaytoscience was wading into a north Louisiana lake with my father, chemistry set in hand, to measure dissolved oxygen concentrations for a middle school science project on fish health. That went so swimmingly that the next year, believe it or not, I convinced my mother to let me keep a family of maze-running mice in the laundry room for another project on visual cues and spatial memory. Thanks, Mom!”

Douglas A. Mata, MD, MPH, resident physician, Department of Pathology

“A chemistry set by age 7, Alexander Luria’s ‘Romantic Science’ by 17, trying to understand the world all along. Together with smart, caring, and generous peers and mentors, who fueled my curiosity and encouraged me to think outside the box, I believe science is one way to make the world a better place.”

Celine Vetter, PhD, associate epidemiologist, Channing Division of Network Medicine

“I was blown away in freshman biology by the processes of DNA replication, DNA-to-RNA transcription and RNA-to-protein translation. It seemed incredibly fundamental and elegant.”

Jeffrey Linder, MD, internist and primary care clinician-investigator,  Department of Medicine

“My mom. She was a medical technologist in a clinical microbiology lab, and she had me looking down the microscope when I was in elementary school. Now I make diagnoses at the microscopic and genetic level every day in my clinical practice.”

Lynette Sholl, MD, pathologist, Department of Pathology

“My father, who is now a retired head and neck surgeon, was my inspiration to become a surgeon and scientist and always supported my efforts to become a surgeon researcher. For a brief time before that, I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but when I built a pinewood derby car for Cub Scouts and came in second to last, I knew that was out and medicine was in!”

Mehra Golshan, MD, distinguished chair in Surgical Oncology at BWH and medical director of international oncology programs at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center