Graduate school is a lot more than school. Yes, there are classes, and yes a degree is involved and there is most definitely tuition being paid for class credit. But graduate school is most definitely work—it is a full time job. It involves deadlines, duties, bosses and a small subsistence stipend, which is aptly named. I loved what I was doing, and It was starting to produce real data and become very interesting. Despite the great few days Ann and I had in the UP, I was looking forward to getting back to the usual grind.

My thesis showed that creatine kinase was very important in vascular smooth muscle function and metabolism. Without it the artery did not work very well. Dr. Dillon and I scheduled an experiment in the NMR lab to examine creatine kinase when in the presence of another protein called pyruvate kinase. Pyruvate kinase is a metabolic enzyme and we wanted to see how the two of them worked when mixed together. This was a small practice experiment so we purchased the two proteins, which was good for me because I did not need to purify anything.

We especially wanted to see if the two proteins would do their enzyme reaction at the same time in the same solution. This could be seen with the NMR machine. I prepared the solutions for the experiment, which like all scientific experiments required control (or non reactive) solutions and then the real ones for the experiment. We expected to see two reactions occurring at once. There was a possibility that only one or the other of the proteins would react and we did indeed see one reaction. But it was not the reaction of one or the other protein.

“Oh no,” I said when we first saw it, “it didn’t work!”

“I think we are seeing that both proteins are now combined and working as one in a separate reaction,” Dr. Dillon said.

I looked carefully at the computer screen and saw what he saw. A completely new reaction was occurring, that could be a combination of both proteins together.

“Ok, if that is correct, we should be able to see the same exact thing in reverse.” I countered.

Dr. Dillon instantly agreed and we quickly changed things to confirm our new hypothesis by running the whole experiment in reverse. Our second experiment did indeed show that the reaction worked in reverse. This was a true discovery. Two proteins mixed together were acting in a new way by combining and doing their two reactions together to effectively form a new reaction. While this was exciting, it would take a lot of work to completely confirm what we thought we are seeing. We needed to repeat the same experiment on different days with fresh solutions. We also needed to confirm that the two proteins could interact that way. A bunch of calculations would be needed to prove that our observations were consistent with mathematical theory. A lot of things needed to be done, which all seemed to sound like a lot of fun.

All these exciting experiments were not directly relevant to my Ph.D. thesis, however. This was a point of confusion for me. Was I being presented with a new path or a diversion away from my road to my career goals? Every second spent doing experiments that would not go into my thesis was a delay in my graduation. I was directly involved in a brand-new discovery in science, but the clear path to finishing my thesis did not include this new research pathway.

I finally made the very hard choice to keep my research focused on my thesis and only very briefly participated on the work concerning the discovery of the link between creatine kinase and pyruvate kinase[1]. My thesis work took priority, so the discovery was taken over by Dr. Dillon. I had a job to do and needed to avoid diversions, no matter how interesting or potentially important. A difficult decision, but not one I have ever regretted; I concentrated on the prize of my Ph.D.

Ann sensed that I was pumped up about the discovery and understood my decision to focus on the thesis. We were becoming a family of Ann, Joe and Ellie. Ann and I always talked about our plans for each day and how things were going at work. There was great comfort in our routine. Ellie was always anxious to play with us and I suggested that she needed a playmate. When Ann reminded me that the apartment complex did not allow two dogs, I pointed out that a dog and a cat was allowed. I grew up with cats and loved kitties. Ann was not opposed to cats, but should we get a cat as a playmate for Ellie we would need to find one who got along with dogs. But for our burgeoning family a little furry addition was agreed to quickly.

One of the physicians in Ann’s office was moving and had a female cat that needed a new home. He brought the cat in and Ann fell in love with her. The cat’s name was “Miss Baby Mittens” and Ann called me and described a very pretty and affectionate longhaired tabby, with white feet (like mittens) and some white on her chest. Miss Baby Mittens soon became the fourth member of our family. She had a hard time getting used to Ellie, and Ellie was unsure at first about Miss Baby Mittens, but everyone eventually got along. Miss Baby Mittens loved sleeping in the bed with us and could often be found sleeping in the sun somewhere. If the sun was out, she was asleep and being warmed by its rays. I loved cats and this one was easy to like. She loved to be held, was a good-tempered and gentle, had all of her claws and loved to play like a kitten. She was not neutered, and we couldn’t afford to get her “fixed” so on occasion she would come into season and be meowing all through the apartment with neighboring cats answering her call. Being on the third floor, we did not have too many problems, but one particularly ambitious tomcat ended up in our balcony and we couldn’t imagine how he climbed up a brick wall to there, but he did.

“‘A’ for effort, but you are still not going for a roll in the hay with Miss Baby Mittens,” Ann told him. Fortunately he was friendly, so we picked him up and put him back outside. He did not repeat his feat, and no other toms in the neighborhood figured out how to get to our balcony, so we were not too bothered by the serenades of the throngs of fans Miss Baby Mittens had accumulated.

Miss Baby Mittens was a greeter cat, which meant that when we got home at the end of the day she was at the door waiting to say hello to us. But when she was in heat she would be waiting at the door to get out, so we had to be extra careful. The apartment door opened into the building, but the main apartment door downstairs was often open and we did not want her getting out. One day, however, she did get out. She was down the steps and out of sight before I knew it. I threw my stuff into the house and ran after her. My main concern was her getting hit by a car or simply getting completely lost. Getting pregnant by some tom would be bad, but far less serious. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw that the apartment complex door was closed, so it was doubtful that she got outside. The door to an apartment nearby was ajar, however. It belonged to someone I didn’t know, but I knocked on the door and called into the apartment. A young Asian looking male answered the door and I asked if he had seen our cat.

“No, I have no pets,” he said.

“What I mean is, we lost our cat and she may have come in your apartment through the open door,” I said, noticing that he seemed to have been bringing in groceries, based on the bags on the floor. This explained the open door, but it also might mean that Miss Baby Mittens escaped out of the complex as the groceries were coming in.

“May I look inside to see if our cat is in there?” I asked. He was about to answer when I saw Miss Baby Mittens run from one room to another behind him.

“There she is!” I shouted.

He turned quickly enough to see her scurry into the kitchen. He stepped aside and let me pass.

Miss Baby Mittens cowered on the floor with her tail all puffed up, clearly revealing just how afraid she was, but she let me pick her up and bring her home. I thanked the guy and brought her upstairs. I told Ann about the “great escape” and she scolded Miss Baby Mittens. After this, Miss Baby Mittens continued to greet us when we got home, but stopped trying to escape.

[1] This work was published with the following reference. P.F. Dillon and J.F. Clark. The Theory of Diazymes and functional Coupling of Pyruvate Kinase and Creatine Kinase. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 143; 275-284, 1990.