Air date: September 5, 2010

Host: David Crabb, MD

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Interview: David Stocum, PhD, professor of biology
Director, Indiana University Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine

Nothing beats a great teacher.

Just think of all the times you’ve heard a high achiever accepting an award, and he or she takes time to thank that one special teacher or mentor who made a profound and lifelong impact.

Dr. David Stocum is one of those mentors for budding scientists.

You’ve heard Dr. Stocum on Sound Medicine in the past, discussing how some animals can regenerate body parts.

He’s a developmental biologist at the School of Science at IUPUI, the joint campus of Indiana University and Purdue University, in Indianapolis.

Dr. Stocum tells Sound Medicine’s Dr. David Crabb that his work in limb regeneration has prompted phone calls from students around the country, which led him to think more deeply about the importance of being a mentor as well as a teacher.

We also chat with 10th grader Elana Forman, one of the students Dr. Slocum mentored.

Elana attends the Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck, New Jersey. She hopes to attend medical school.

The project that Dr. Stocum worked on with Elana and two other high school students won second prize out of 1,800 entries. It’s titled REGENX: Human Limb Regenerative Protein Cocktail Injections.

Additional Resources:

• Read more about Dr. Stocum, the high school students he mentored, and their award-winning science project.
• Read more about Dr. David Stocum's research foci.
• Visit the Indiana University Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine