Itās been a whirlwind 72 hours for Michael Mackley.
Saturday morning, the award-winning Biology honours student was in New Brunswick, having been granted the opportunity to interview for a Rhodes Scholarship. That night, at his motherās house in Dartmouth, he got the life-changing phone call from the Rhodes Trust ā but had to take it twice because of all the excitement.
āThe only place I could think to get quiet, because the house was kind of noisy, was the front lawn,ā says Michael. āSo I ran outside and Iām on the front step, talking on the phone and [the Rhodes secretary] is telling me all this information and I donāt remember anything he said. So I started shouting, my mom caught on and started shouting, and finally he said, āHow about I call you back in a bit?ā It was an exciting moment.ā
Michael then had to keep the news secret until Mondayās announcement in the Globe and Mail: āI hid in my room,ā he laughs. Once the story went live online, he started making early-morning calls to his friends, extended family and colleagues.
āTheir first question was often, āWhy are you calling so early?ā Then they started screaming once I shared the news.āā
An opportunity for discovery
Itās no wonder Michael and company are so excited: the Rhodes is one of the most prestigious scholarship programs in the world. The award provides full expenses to travel to, and study at, the University of Oxford for two years, with an option for a third ā a total value in excess of $100,000.
Michael is one of 11 Canadians to receive a Rhodes Scholarship for 2014, and with it becomes the 88th Rhodes Scholar in Dalās history.
His research passion is genetics, with an honours project focusing on improving prognostication for cancers with a common mutation in a gene called BRAF. He says he loves his work because itās about āproblem solving ā sort of like detective work.ā When asked what heās looking forward to in his Rhodes experience, he says he hopes to join a broader scholarly discussion about genetic ethics and society.
āI think thereās a lot of research and work to be done in those areas, and at an institution like Oxford thatās so international and interdisciplinary ā where youāre interacting with scientists, history majors, philosophers, social scientists ā that Iāll really benefit from being able to absorb those points of view.ā
Proud accomplishments
Michaelās honours supervisor, Dr. Karen Bedard of the Faculty of Medicineās Department of Pathology, couldnāt be happier for him.
āWeāre all pretty excited here in the lab,ā she says. They knew he was a finalist, but it wasnāt until Monday morning that Michael was able to contact them and share the great news.
Michael came to work with Dr. Bedard after he approached the team at IGNITE, a Genome Canada-funded initiative led by Drs. Christopher McMaster and Conrad Fernandez at Dal and the IWK Health Centre respectively. IGNITE seeks to discover novel genes for so-called āorphanā diseases ā rare inherited diseases ā and develop new drug treatments for them. Michael was interested in the gene discovery side of IGNITEās work and ended up working with Dr. Bedard as a research student and, subsequently, on his honours project alongside Dr. Weei Huang at Capital Health.
Dr. Bedard says Michael is bright and hard working, but itās his positive attitude that truly sets him apart.
āIn research, like many other endeavours, you have to cope with failure and frustration sometimes. It requires patience, problem solving, and he approaches these with such positivity and enthusiasm. Itās whatās made him such a great part of our lab.ā
Hands-on research opportunities
Given his litany of accomplishments during his Biology studies ā Deanās Lists, a Faye Sobey Undergrad Research Award, published papers, and multiple major scholarships including Dalhousieās largest, the Chancellorās Scholarship ā itās surprising to learn that Michael never took a single Biology class before coming to Dal.
āIt was in my first year that I discovered genetics,ā he explains. āThere was just something about that section of the intro course that really clicked. I was sort of taken with it right away.ā
His first detailed work in genetics was actually in marine conversation, working in the lab of Biology Professor Paul Bentzen. There, he gained the basic skills he would later apply in his human genetics research.
āIāve been lucky enough to get to experience different types of research at Dal,ā Michael explains. āInstead of just having one research project, Iāve been able to work through different labs and learn what I like and what I donāt like. Iāve also been able to benefit from a lot of mentorship and one-on-one leadership from supervisors, professors, co-workers in these lab environments. Theyāre the ones who encouraged me to apply for this, and are probably why Iām where I am today.ā
A well-rounded experience
The Rhodes isnāt awarded on scholarship alone, however, and candidates must show āintellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service.ā
An active community volunteer, Michael is a flag football coach with Football Nova Scotia and spends time helping out at Ronald MacDonald House Atlantic. He says he loves working with kids because āIām high energy, and theyāre high energy, and we kind of feed off each other that way.ā
His other big passion is music. A classically trained pianist, heās been able to make music part of his life at Dal by joining several campus musical groups as a vocalist and musician.
āI donāt think Iād be able to do everything else I do without making time for music. For me, itās a good outlet, but thereās also such an intersection between the humanities and medical research. Theyāre both really an application of basic principles, thereās a therapeutic effect to both and, ultimately, theyāre each about benefitting others.ā
Right now, Michael is still caught up in the Rhodes whirlwind, though he had some sense of what to expect should it happen. (He was coached by Jenny Baechler from the Faculty of Management during the application process.) But heās already thinking ahead to what happens after his time at Oxford.
āI do think Iād like to come back to the Maritimes. Thereās amazing research going on here that Iād love to be part of. I see myself being a clinician, eventually, going to medical school at some point so I can bridge the gap between research, policy and clinical work, putting the research into practice.ā