universityofminnesota
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U Sweatshirt
You are viewing stuff tagged with universityofminnesota.
I was leaving the rec center yesterday, and I heard the radio edit of Rihanna’s song “S&M” echoing from a few blocks down frat row. (Or, as the City of Minneapolis calls it “Greek Letter Chapter House Historic District”.)
The University Recreation Center supplies the facilities for a variety of sporting events throughout the year. This past weekend, it hosted the 2010 USA Racquetball Junior Olympic Racquetball Championships. So, it’s not unusual to run into scampering quorums of teenagers who aren’t quite old enough for college. I had an encounter with one such group when leaving the Rec Center on Sunday.
The patent for Abacavir (ABC) (trade name Ziagen), a reverse transcriptase inhibitor (RTI) effective against some resistant strains of HIV, expires this December. Incidentally, a guest lecturer in microbiology came to us to speak about HIV. Here’s where it gets interesting:
Using public funds, researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed primary literature and hypothesized a novel RTI. After testing revealed its efficacy, Abacavir was patented. GlaxoSmithKline then sold the drug as Ziagen… without proper rights to do so. Mark Yudof, president of the University in the late 90s (and a lawyer), decided to sue for royalties. Settlement: 400 million dollars. This is the largest intellectual property case in the U of M’s history.
Today marks my first day of dental school classes, a day that I am sure will be indelibly imprinted on my memory for the rest of my life. I’ve been prepping for today for the past 5 years and suddenly, as if from nowhere… here I am. In anticipation of The First Day, I have worked on:
Like this sticker.
A gift from Katy.
This is just about the only t-shirt I ever wear these days — it’s kinda silly, but it makes me happy.
Consider it part of my down payment on an education at the U of M.
Nine months ago, I received some rather bad news: a rejection from the U of M School of Dentistry. Never one who enjoys having to zig when I intended to zag, I nevertheless tried to learn how to accept change. I signed off last February with a statement that seemed confident but was riddled with holes of doubt and trouble. Only work and time could resolve those issues. And today, I got some news. So… finally… years of planning, a biochemistry degree, research, summer classes, dental observations, dental conventions, a dental coop class, taking the DAT, applying, getting rejected, taking a DAT class, more observations, re-applying, and endless months of waiting for news, it is official — I start dental school next fall at the University of Minnesota!
The comments of support, advice, and sympathy in the days following my dental news made me smile with gratitude at having such friends. Communicating with people, both online and offline showed me the good side of so many folks … it seems that there is nothing you can’t get through if you are blessed with friends and family. Rewind to Friday afternoon and I was barely getting by; every free moment my mind had was spent contemplating my situation, wondering what was next, alternating between disgust with myself for not getting in and a quiet calm looking forward to a year of planning, freedom, and waiting.
I was going to think about this post for a long time, attempt to be as eloquent as possible, and then type up a long tale recounting the events that have transpired since my application to dental school. Perhaps that post will still be written, but this post is not that one. I didn’t make the cut for the University of Minnesota class of 2011 dental school. This Tuesday, the rejection notice came in the mail. No wait list for me. No dental school this September.
We have the Little Brown Jug this year. A somewhat rare occurance. More info about the jug.
That building on the right - might be going to school there in two years. This was taken at the beginning of the long drive up to Doctor Ippoliti’s cabin.