Meeting Scientist Kevin Middleton
It was an absolute pleasure to meet Mizzou scientist Kevin Middleton! Kevin Middleton attended Wake Forest University and attained a B.S. in Biology. He then went on to graduate from Brown University with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Middleton primarily researches the biology of vertebrate animals including their bones, muscles, feathers, and wing membranes.
Dr. Middleton is now conducting research on mice. He is studying their running behaviors. Some of the things he looks at are: the pace at which they run, the distance they run, and how long they run. One thing that I thought was interesting was that the rates and amounts at which they run are all hereditary. Thus, Dr. Middleton is able to breed the mice based on these traits. All I could say was, “wow!” when Dr. Middleton allowed me to see his family tree of mice! Moreover, he is studying their movements and trying to understand how exercise can affect behavior. “Patterns of movements are changing through time and skeletons are changing to adapt to their environments,” he says. Dr. Middleton’s goal is to discover why and how. This research could potentially improve humans understanding of motion. And if the methods are applicable to humans, we can gain knowledge on movement related health issues.
As I sat and talked with Dr. Middleton, we often discussed the path/ journey that life takes us on. He talked about how he first came to college to be a doctor and then slowly, with the help of his advisor, realized that he wanted to be a scientist! He often said that it was weird to think of all the different events in his life that lead him to be where he is today. From a very young age, Dr. Middleton enjoyed building things, creating things, and testing his questions. I was surprised to hear that his parents let him bring all of the extra fetal pigs home from school. It was at this moment that I realized how important parent involvement really is. Without the support of his parents, who knows if Dr. Middleton’s interest in science would have peaked at such a young age?
Besides being intelligent, Dr. Middleton is also a sweet soul. Right before our meeting concluded, he pulled out a letter that a former student wrote to him and allowed me to read it. The letter was a thank you note. As I read the note, I began to notice sniffling sounds. The letter brought Dr. Middleton to tears because it held special value to him. I can only hope that one day, I impact one of my students’ lives like he did.
Thank you very much for meeting with me Dr. Middleton!
It was an absolute pleasure to meet Mizzou scientist Kevin Middleton! Kevin Middleton attended Wake Forest University and attained a B.S. in Biology. He then went on to graduate from Brown University with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Middleton primarily researches the biology of vertebrate animals including their bones, muscles, feathers, and wing membranes.
Dr. Middleton is now conducting research on mice. He is studying their running behaviors. Some of the things he looks at are: the pace at which they run, the distance they run, and how long they run. One thing that I thought was interesting was that the rates and amounts at which they run are all hereditary. Thus, Dr. Middleton is able to breed the mice based on these traits. All I could say was, “wow!” when Dr. Middleton allowed me to see his family tree of mice! Moreover, he is studying their movements and trying to understand how exercise can affect behavior. “Patterns of movements are changing through time and skeletons are changing to adapt to their environments,” he says. Dr. Middleton’s goal is to discover why and how. This research could potentially improve humans understanding of motion. And if the methods are applicable to humans, we can gain knowledge on movement related health issues.
As I sat and talked with Dr. Middleton, we often discussed the path/ journey that life takes us on. He talked about how he first came to college to be a doctor and then slowly, with the help of his advisor, realized that he wanted to be a scientist! He often said that it was weird to think of all the different events in his life that lead him to be where he is today. From a very young age, Dr. Middleton enjoyed building things, creating things, and testing his questions. I was surprised to hear that his parents let him bring all of the extra fetal pigs home from school. It was at this moment that I realized how important parent involvement really is. Without the support of his parents, who knows if Dr. Middleton’s interest in science would have peaked at such a young age?
Besides being intelligent, Dr. Middleton is also a sweet soul. Right before our meeting concluded, he pulled out a letter that a former student wrote to him and allowed me to read it. The letter was a thank you note. As I read the note, I began to notice sniffling sounds. The letter brought Dr. Middleton to tears because it held special value to him. I can only hope that one day, I impact one of my students’ lives like he did.
Thank you very much for meeting with me Dr. Middleton!
Check out this video that two Mizzou students made after working in the lab with Dr. Middleton! |
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