Female mentors have always been uncommon, especially in the sciences. That was certainly the case when Dr. Lucile Smith was my mentor or supervisor during my two years of post-doctoral research at Dartmouth Med. Lucile, with only one “L,” was an international expert in a field called “electron transport.” This process was associated with the mitochondria of every cell that used it to transform the biochemical energy found in glucose into usable energy needed by all living cells. Structural elements, consisting mostly of protein-particles called cytochromes, assisted in the production of a biochemical energy form: ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The particular enzyme Lucile and I studied was cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme isolated from fresh beef hearts.
Every few weeks I made a trip to a slaughter house located in a village about an hour’s drive from Hanover. Although the butchers were accustomed to my request to have a freshly obtained cow heart placed in a bucket of ice, they still were puzzled by why I would want one. Legend has it that other butchers were equally puzzled when Lucile made similar requests during her own graduate work in Rochester, New York. Her undergraduate studies had occurred at Sophie Newcomb, the woman’s college of Tulane University in New Orleans. When she moved to Rochester, she, too, had to go to the local abattoir in search of what she needed: “pig hearts.” Unfortunately, the New York butcher presented her with a large, iced container of “pig hocks,” the result of her Louisiana accent. When I went to my New Hampshire abattoir for beef hearts, I brought back, inexpensive fresh steaks! They were excellent for grilling – even on the porch during mid-winter.
Lucile never lost her southern charm, although her accent did become more “yankeefied.” She did retain, most pleasantly, a southern taste for coffee. Every afternoon, she boiled a pot. The rich ground coffee beans were placed in a kettle along with egg shells and the water brought to a boil, followed by a long simmer. The mixture was poured through a paper filter suspended in a large laboratory-funnel and consumed as hot as possible in lab beakers. The potion made conversation among all of those from adjoining labs to be a very pleasant afternoon interlude.
Another southern habit made Lucile different from all of the male biochemists I knew. Every Friday afternoon she was scheduled for a hair appointment at a local beauty salon. Other than that, there was no professional difference in my having a female mentor. During our two years working together, we published three scientific articles in the “Journal of Biological Chemistry” and in “Biochemistry.”
As my second year was drawing to a close, I had to choose the next step in the development of my academic career. Dr. Noda, the Chairman of our department, was willing to keep me on as an Instructor, but I was not sure this was a “good” idea. Having served as a post-doctoral fellow, I might continue not to appear as a “real” faculty member. I thought it would be better for me to move and, perhaps, to return to Dartmouth Med later in my career.
Lucile encouraged me to join the laboratory of Dr. E.C. Slater, who was the Chair of the Biochemistry Department at the Medical School for the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. They were close friends and she was willing to sponsor me with him. I seriously considered the possibility; even if I did not speak Dutch. Karen and I would have had an entirely different future than the one we actually shared, if I had decided to go. The only thing that stopped me was my mother, who was sure she would die if I moved to Europe. She also thought I would be in danger; and this was long before the time of terrorists.
Lucile had another friend, Dr. Tsoo E. King, who was a Professor in the Science Research Institute of the Oregon State University. In an interview with him, he assured me of a faculty position as a Research Assistant Professor in the University. I accepted. Corvallis, Oregon was 2,500 miles from Niles, Ohio; but they were, at least, on the same continent.