In love with biology
"I've loved every biology class I've taken here," Weiskopf proudly proclaimed. Yet he was still able to pick out a few favorites, including Molecular Genetics with Professor of Biology David Ratner and especially Genetic Analysis with Professor of Biology Caroline Goutte.
While Weiskopf enjoyed the class, Goutte enjoyed having him as a student. "Perhaps one of the greatest treats for a professor is when a student continues on in the conceptual approaches and subjects that a course introduces long after the course is over," she said. "Months after Genetic Analysis was over, Kipp continued to stop by to chat about new findings in the area of yeast mating. His level of engagement and genuine interest are wonderful!"
The result of Weiskopf's enthusiasm has been an immensely successful four years. "I've always been amazed by his work ethic and the fact that he seems to know and understand everything we're learning about," said Weiskopf's friend and frequent lab partner Amy Watson '07. "On exams or problem sets, he will sit there and think about it for a minute and then write a short, concise (and pretty much always correct) answer, whereas everyone else has pages of work."
A methodical madman
He continued to work hard when the time came to write a thesis his senior year. Though he didn't begin his thesis work during the summer-he was interning at the reputed Cold Spring Harbor labs-Weiskopf started in full force just before the fall semester began. "Kipp didn't want to just sit around waiting for cells to grow-he wanted them ready when he was," said Ratner, Weiskopf's thesis advisor.
The title of Weiskopf's thesis reads: "Overexpression suppressors of a Dictyostelium discoideum mutant lacking fbxA, a component of an E3 ubiquitin ligase." Explaining his project in laymen's terms, he said, "Dictyostelium discoideum is an amoeba with an unusual developmental cycle. It normally lives in soil feeding off bacteria in the single cell state, but when starved, hundreds of thousands of cells come together to form an aggregate that differentiates into tissue types. I was looking at molecular pathways involved in this differentiation. Pathways involved in development are evolutionarily conserved, so my findings could have broader implications for development differentiations in higher organisms."
Weiskopf applied his strong work ethic to this task, and earned the praise of his advisor. "I'd say Kipp worked 'like a madman' in the lab, if he weren't so methodical about it: method to his madness?" explained Ratner. "If I suggested to Kipp that he try this approach or maybe some other to solve some technical problem, suggesting he pick which method seemed better to him, Kipp would do them both, and throw in two more methods of his own devising. It didn't matter how many hours of work were involved, he just quadrupled those hours and it all got done."
But Weiskopf's work was more than just brute force. He applied his knowledge, and the results of his project will certainly aid the Ratner lab. "What impressed me is that he never seemed to confuse the many parallel approaches, despite the ton of work they involved," said Ratner. "Not to mention the creativity with which Kipp thought about his research, the underlying questions and a slew of alternative approaches to address them. I'm still not sure if Kipp was able to produce the particular amoebal mutants we're seeking or not-that will take some additional experiments to find out-but his work will help us enormously as we pursue the project in the coming years."
Weiskopf's involvement in his thesis didn't allow him to wait that long. "Kipp has curiosity, persistence, and the willingness to go ahead and try things," described Goutte. "These are all characteristics that get fired up when one is immersed in the complex puzzles of biological processes; these are the characteristics that drive a scientist through long hours in the lab, chugging along with the hope that the 'ahaa' moment is around the corner. Another great demonstration of these inherent qualities in Kipp is that the very day after Kipp had turned in his thesis he was back in the lab trying one more experiment. He just had to know if those mutant cells he identified in the 11th hour of his thesis research were real or not!"
The professor connection
Aside from all of the great biology he learned and practiced, another reason that Weiskopf was excited about his classes was the professors. In fact, the professors were the reason why he chose to come to the College. "I chose Amherst because the environment was right for me," explained Weiskopf. "I liked the idea of knowing my professors, and not being one of 2000 students in a big lecture hall."
It is fitting that Weiskopf wanted to get to know people who are so passionate about biology that they spend their entire careers teaching it to students. One way he got to know his professors was through the Take Your Professor Out (TYPO) Program. "The TYPO Program was my favorite thing," he said. "I took advantage of it every semester."
But Weiskopf has also cultivated relationships with professors in other ways. "In addition to going out to dinner, I've gone skiing with my thesis advisor and been out to the bars with professors-although not too often," said Weiskopf.
While Weiskopf feels he has grown close to his mentors, Ratner jokes that they might not be exactly on the same page. "As to his and my personal interaction, maybe we were out of synch: I'm thinking of the day during Spring Break when the two of us drove off to Stratton for a day's downhill skiing," said Ratner. "I seemed (just a bit) ahead of him on the moguls, but then he blew past on all of the flats. Never did coordinate. At least we got to talk in the chair going back up; and we even came up with a good experiment to do, on one such ride, as I recall."
Though they might not have been synchronized on the slopes, they certainly made up for it in the lab. "Professor Ratner was great. He was always there, willing to talk, and excited about my work," said Weiskopf. "Professors are enthusiastic about teaching students interested in their subject, and that's what makes Amherst a great place."
Reaching out and giving back
Regardless, Weiskopf spent much of his free time trying to make the College an even better place, and he has succeeded in a large way. He has been an invaluable member of the Biology Department, serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for four semesters and as a member of the 3+4 Committee (three professors and four students who serve as a liaison between the student biology majors and the faculty) for two years. "Kipp was as good a citizen of the department as I can ever recall," said Ratner. As a part of the 3+4 Committee, Weiskopf's main goal was to organize social events to bring faculty and students together on a regular basis. This included information sessions on summer programs and graduate schools, weekly study breaks, the end-of-the-year barbeque and lunches featuring guest speakers. "He played the role of five students," said Goutte. "Everywhere you would turn, it was Kipp who was doing it, and happily doing so!"
Two of the researchers Weiskopf invited to campus were Gerry Fink, founding member and former director of the Whitehead Institute and a founding father of yeast genetics, and Harold Varmus '61, the Nobel Laureate for Physiology or Medicine in 1989 and current president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Weiskopf enjoyed what he called "informal meetings" with these renowned scientists. "It has been fun," he said. "It was great to talk to them myself."
Though these experiences have been personally beneficial, Weiskopf has been happy to share these opportunities with other students. This year, Weiskopf was instrumental in resurrecting the Charles Drew Health Professions Society, the goal of which, according to the association's Web site, is to "encourage and support students' desire to be successful in their pursuit of the health professions by maintaining a strong community of pre-health students and facilitating networks of students, faculty and health professionals."
This is the first year the society has been recognized by the Association of Amherst Students (AAS), and Weiskopf serves as a co-chair. In this capacity, Weiskopf also worked to bring speakers to campus. In the fall, the society welcomed a child psychologist and some recent alumni in the medical field. The spring semester evens included a speech by Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the U.S., as well as an alumni panel of practicing physicians that drew a crowd of at least 100 students. Weiskopf's role in organizing and moderating these events has earned the respect of those in the pre-health profession crowd at the College, including his peers and the College's Health Professions Advisor, Dean Carolyn Bassett. "His contributions to the Charles Drew Health Professions Society, in collaboration with several peers, have brought that important club to a new level of visibility," said Bassett.
In addition to his positions on the 3+4 Committee and with the Charles Drew Health Professions Society, Weiskopf has been an invaluable resource to younger science majors. "Kipp was one of the prime movers of something brand new this year," said Ratner, "namely Bio Lab Open House Night, an evening in which biology thesis students demonstrated their organisms and experimental approaches for juniors considering doing a biology thesis next fall: we drew a bumper crop of thesis students as a result!"
He is also a source of informal advice, and a role model. Weiskopf has made a point to reach out to those following his path, and there probably isn't a better person they could be following. "Last year when I was looking for lab internships to work at over the summer, each time I saw him, he had a new suggestion for where I should look into applying," said Jack Angiolillo '08. Weiskopf was the TA for Angiolillo's Biology 19 class in the fall of 2005. "Kipp's help encouraged me and gave me some new ideas of where I would look to work at over the summer," added Angiolillo.
Mike LaRiviere '08 also benefited from Weiskopf as a TA, friend and counsel. "I'll miss having an authority to go to when I have a science/med school/club-starting question," he said. "And I think we'll all miss having Kipp around just because he's such a nice and helpful guy."
Bassett agreed that Weiskopf's personality is one of his best attributes. "Kipp infuses a conversation or workshop with energy. He's someone who always greets me with a smile, and he's a wonderful conversationalist on a range of topics," she said. "His personal and leadership qualities have not only benefited this community, but will undoubtedly allow him to shine as a professional."
A sparkling future
Weiskopf has had a spectacular career at the College, and his future is just as bright. Earlier this spring he was awarded a Churchill Scholarship to spend a year doing research at Cambridge University in England. The award is given to 12 recent college graduates nationwide for a fully funded year of research in the sciences or mathematics. The College has had much success with the Churchill Scholarship award (five Churchill Scholars since 2002) and this year was no exception as Weiskopf and fellow biology major Colin Godwin '07 grabbed two of 12 available positions. This was the first time in the history of the award that two people from the same school have received the scholarship in a year.
Weiskopf is heading to Cambridge next year to work in the lab of Dr. David Glover and study cell cycle regulation and cell division, which has implications for cancer. Weiskopf is excited about this opportunity, as Dr. Glover has direct ties to a biotech company and the medical side of research. "It will be good to gain that perspective," said Weiskopf, who plans to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program after his year in England.
The Churchill Scholarship will be just the next stop on Weiskopf's journey as a medical researcher. He was all set to go abroad to Australia in the fall of his junior year, but decided to spend the summer working at the Whitehead Institute and then returned to the College. Before that, he had wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon or a sports doctor, but the experience at Whitehead introduced him to research, where, he said, "there are new problems to address and new projects every day."
He then discovered an M.D./Ph.D. degree was a chance to combine medicine and research, and Weiskopf has wanted to do that ever since. He spent last summer working at Cold Spring Harbor, and will return to the same lab this summer before traveling to England. "He sets high standards for himself, meets them with hard work, determination, and focus," said Bassett, "and he has thus distinguished himself through exceptional summer research positions at both the Whitehead Institute and Cold Spring Harbor."
Weiskopf's achievements are not lost on his friends, either. "I'm so proud of everything he's done, from the Churchill Scholarship to applying to M.D./Ph.D. programs and I know he'll rock all of them," said Watson. "He's already done some of the most amazing, cutting-edge research out there at top-notch institutions and I know he'll continue to do so indefinitely. At this point, I think the options are endless and he's so intelligent and qualified that any institution will be very lucky to have Kipp."