Alumnus oversees pipeline of five Trinity grads in research post
by Maura King Scully
Photo by Chris Herder
Taylor Murtaugh ’14 started this past summer as a research coordinator in the clinical research program of William Macaulay, M.D., ’86, P’18, Nas S. Eftekhar Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery and division chief of adult reconstruction at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University.
“Mostly, I look at outcomes based on patient surveys. We are currently comparing alignment and angle data in hip- and knee-replacement patients who had robotic versus non-robotic surgery,” Murtaugh says. It’s a process that involves “coordinating with patients, collecting data, and a lot of number crunching.”
Studies such as these inform the practice of what’s known as evidence-based medicine–using outcomes of well-designed research to guide health care decision making.
“I really like it,” says Murtaugh, six weeks into the job. “I’m interested in going to medical school, and this job exposes you to so much. I feel like I’ve learned a ton already. Dr. Macaulay is a great mentor.”
Murtaugh is actually the fifth consecutive Trinity graduate to hold this coveted position. It’s no accident: it’s a pipeline nurtured by Macaulay and Chemistry Professor and Department Chair Tim Curran, as well as a string of gifted recent graduates.
In the Beginning
Photo by John Atashian
The story starts in 2005 with Richard Yoon, M.D., ’05, who wanted to go to medical school but wasn’t quite ready. Curran was his adviser. “I encouraged him to go to the career center, find Trinity alumni in the sciences, and see if he could line up an opportunity to get some research experience,” Curran explains.
Yoon searched for graduates at academic medical centers in Boston and New York. “I e-mailed five or six that afternoon,” Yoon says. “Bill Macaulay got right back to me.”
The timing was fortuitous: Macaulay’s current research coordinator was leaving for graduate school. After talking by phone, Macaulay invited Yoon down to New York for an interview.
“It was a big job,” Yoon remembers. “Dr. Macaulay needed someone to do data collection, data mining, and budgets, and to coordinate with the institutional review board, which oversees plans for research involving human subjects–basically, manage the entire lab in addition to writing and publishing completed studies.” As a soon-to-be new graduate, Yoon was eager but green. “Dr. Macaulay took a chance hiring me. He asked for a two-year commitment but wanted a trial period, saying, ‘Let’s see how you do in the first six months.’ ”
Macaulay, who also serves as director of the Center for Hip and Knee Replacement and director of the Fellowship Program in Hip and Knee Surgery at Columbia, in addition to chief of orthopedic surgery at New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital, says he was impressed by Yoon’s energy and enthusiasm. “His story reminded me of my story,” he explains. “After Trinity, I didn’t feel quite ready for medical school either. I took two years off and did research at Rockefeller University.”
Yoon told him, “If you give me this opportunity, I will take advantage of it.” And he did. He taught himself statistics, which included auditing a graduate-level course. “Dr. Macaulay’s time was really limited,” Yoon explains. “I found there were several bumps on the road to publishing a paper, waiting for statistics being a major one. If I didn’t figure out how to do something on my own, I’d be waiting for a long time. And I wasn’t going to wait around.”
Yoon’s initiative paid off. He co-authored 15 papers while working with Macaulay. Now a resident in orthopedic surgery at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, Yoon is still collaborating on research studies with his former mentor.
Passing It On
Photo courtesy of University Hospitals Case Medical Center
When Yoon was accepted into medical school, Macaulay asked if he knew anyone at Trinity who would be interested in taking his place. Yoon called Curran, who referred Todd Morrison, M.D., ’07. A biochemistry major, Morrison was part of Trinity Health Fellows, a rigorous program combining course work with 30-hour-per-week internships with physicians at area medical centers.
“I had interned with a clinical researcher at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and loved it,” Morrison says. “I knew that it was exactly what I wanted to do before I went to medical school.” So when Yoon called, Morrison jumped at the chance.
In his two years on the job, Morrison says, he learned much more than science. “It was a lot of creative problem solving and teamwork,” he notes. He also found his specialty: he’s now an orthopedic surgery resident at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. “I saw real patient outcomes in orthopedics–the fact that you could provide relief from pain and restore quality of life. I wanted to see that impact in my own work.”
Morrison passed the baton to Jonathan Nyce ’09, currently between his third and fourth year at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Nyce won’t be following the orthopedic route: his chosen specialty is pediatrics. However, he is currently taking a year to do a clinical research certificate program, which he credits to his time at Columbia. “Like Dr. Macaulay, I want to be able to research questions and then translate those to my own practice,” he says.
With Curran’s help, Nyce recruited David “DJ” Patrick, Jr. ’11, who has the distinction of being the first Trinity graduate to spend three years with Macaulay (something Murtaugh says she plans to do as well). This summer, Patrick joined the Air Force as a second lieutenant and has just started his first year of medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
Common Threads
Trinity College and a love of research are the common threads tying these graduates together. “The hallmark of the sciences at Trinity is that students have the opportunity to do research from early on,” says Curran. “Independent research sets our students apart.”
And research is a game changer for medical school applicants. “Applying to medical school is ultracompetitive,” says Nyce. “Being able to talk with attending physicians about research you’ve been involved in is hugely helpful.”
Macaulay touts research for its ability to teach–himself, as well as aspiring doctors. “It’s why I’m at an academic medical center,” he explains. In addition to practicing medicine, “I’m able to improve upon what we’re offering patients while also teaching the next generation of clinicians.”
And the alumni research coordinators are grateful to Trinity, Curran, and Macaulay for the experience.
“I’m thankful to them all: the Chemistry Department and Dr. Curran for getting me ready, and Dr. Macaulay for jump-starting my career,” says Yoon. “Years from now, when I’m in their shoes, I hope I get the chance to give someone else a shot.”