Barry Kappel

Barry Kappel is a 2006 graduate of the Pharmacology program, and a 2001 recipient of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship.

In a September, 2003 interview, Barry discussed the importance of the mentoring relationship, the translational science advantage, and life in "the greatest city in the world".

The Mentoring Relationship

The best thing about being here is having access to top scientists in their fields. Our faculty is very approachable. They understand what it means to be starting a career in biomedicine and how important mentoring is for young scientists. It's not unusual for faculty to come right into the lab, sit down on the bench with you, and literally break down a protocol to see where it went wrong. And when you go to write your first article, they're right there, taking you through the process. I mean, these are people who are published in all the great journals. This is the best hands-on experience you can get.

Bench to Bedside

Barry bowling at a Grad School social event

A number of schools I considered attending had excellent basic science programs. Many are working intra-cellularly and on specific protein folds, which is great. But they don't have translation science because they don't have a medical school. That's something I really wanted. At Cornell Medical School and Sloan-Kettering Institute, I'm learning firsthand how discoveries in the lab make their way to patients as new treatments.

Living in the City

Graduate students have great housing at Cornell. My apartment is two blocks from the lab, something that's key to being a successful graduate student. You need to be able to put in as much lab time as you can. What's terrific, though, is that when you leave the lab, you step into the streets of the greatest city in the world. Walk just two blocks, and you've passed four different restaurants and a bar. Plus, you get to know the people in your neighborhood. Before you know it, you're a part of a community. What more could you ask for? A great city, a great group of people, and a great school.