Dr. Bonasera named Gilmore Award recipient

Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Joseph P. Gilmore Distinguished New Investigator Award.

Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Bonasera was honored for his investigations into how the brain ages.

Below, Dr. Bonasera talks with UNMC Today.

What drew you into research?

Even as a 5-year-old, I was completely fascinated by how the different parts of the human body worked together. When I was older, I pestered my parents for the Renwal visible head model for the better part of a year. I still remember the slow process of gluing the spinal nerves in the vertebral bodies, watching the cervical spine slowly take shape.

What advice would you give to someone who just started his or her research career?

Do what you love. Bring your A game in to the lab every day. Trust your instincts, but be skeptical, too. Cultivate a circle of friends who will be happy to call “B.S.” when necessary. Find mentors who have walked the path ahead of you. Expect disappointments. Experiments never work on time. You’ll make every single error in the book. I know I have. Every great hypothesis is just waiting to be shot all to hell by the data. Most of the grant proposals you write won’t be funded. Exercise. Take long walks in the countryside and in the heart of big cities. Do what you love.