It鈥檚 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 mother鈥檚 house in Dartmouth, he got the life-changing phone call from the Rhodes Trust 鈥� but had to take it twice because of all the excitement.
鈥淭he only place I could think to get quiet, because the house was kind of noisy, was the front lawn,鈥� says Michael. 鈥淪o I ran outside and I鈥檓 on the front step, talking on the phone and [the Rhodes secretary] is telling me all this information and I don鈥檛 remember anything he said. So I started shouting, my mom caught on and started shouting, and finally he said, 鈥楬ow about I call you back in a bit?鈥� It was an exciting moment.鈥�
Michael then had to keep the news secret until Monday鈥檚 announcement in the Globe and Mail: 鈥淚 hid in my room,鈥� he laughs. Once the story went live online, he started making early-morning calls to his friends, extended family and colleagues.
鈥淭heir first question was often, 鈥榃hy are you calling so early?鈥� Then they started screaming once I shared the news.鈥欌��
An opportunity for discovery
It鈥檚 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 鈥� 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 Dal鈥檚 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 it鈥檚 about 鈥減roblem solving 鈥� sort of like detective work.鈥� When asked what he鈥檚 looking forward to in his Rhodes experience, he says he hopes to join a broader scholarly discussion about genetic ethics and society.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot of research and work to be done in those areas, and at an institution like Oxford that鈥檚 so international and interdisciplinary 鈥� where you鈥檙e interacting with scientists, history majors, philosophers, social scientists 鈥� that I鈥檒l really benefit from being able to absorb those points of view.鈥�
Proud accomplishments
Michael鈥檚 honours supervisor, Dr. Karen Bedard of the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 Department of Pathology, couldn鈥檛 be happier for him.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all pretty excited here in the lab,鈥� she says. They knew he was a finalist, but it wasn鈥檛 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 鈥渙rphan鈥� diseases 鈥� rare inherited diseases 鈥� and develop new drug treatments for them. Michael was interested in the gene discovery side of IGNITE鈥檚 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 it鈥檚 his positive attitude that truly sets him apart.
鈥淚n 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. It鈥檚 what鈥檚 made him such a great part of our lab.鈥�
Hands-on research opportunities
Given his litany of accomplishments during his Biology studies 鈥� Dean鈥檚 Lists, a Faye Sobey Undergrad Research Award, published papers, and multiple major scholarships including Dalhousie鈥檚 largest, the Chancellor鈥檚 Scholarship 鈥� it鈥檚 surprising to learn that Michael never took a single Biology class before coming to Dal.
鈥淚t was in my first year that I discovered genetics,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭here was just something about that section of the intro course that really clicked. I was sort of taken with it right away.鈥�
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.
鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky enough to get to experience different types of research at Dal,鈥� Michael explains. 鈥淚nstead of just having one research project, I鈥檝e been able to work through different labs and learn what I like and what I don鈥檛 like. I鈥檝e also been able to benefit from a lot of mentorship and one-on-one leadership from supervisors, professors, co-workers in these lab environments. They鈥檙e the ones who encouraged me to apply for this, and are probably why I鈥檓 where I am today.鈥�
A well-rounded experience
The Rhodes isn鈥檛 awarded on scholarship alone, however, and candidates must show 鈥渋ntellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service.鈥�
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 鈥淚鈥檓 high energy, and they鈥檙e high energy, and we kind of feed off each other that way.鈥�
His other big passion is music. A classically trained pianist, he鈥檚 been able to make music part of his life at Dal by joining several campus musical groups as a vocalist and musician.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be able to do everything else I do without making time for music. For me, it鈥檚 a good outlet, but there鈥檚 also such an intersection between the humanities and medical research. They鈥檙e both really an application of basic principles, there鈥檚 a therapeutic effect to both and, ultimately, they鈥檙e each about benefitting others.鈥�
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 he鈥檚 already thinking ahead to what happens after his time at Oxford.
鈥淚 do think I鈥檇 like to come back to the Maritimes. There鈥檚 amazing research going on here that I鈥檇 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.鈥�