months pregnant with their first child when she completed a master’s in chemistry. Israel’s best friend studied chemistry at NCA&T, and was entering the Bridges Program at the University of Georgia. Israel went along for a campus visit, strictly to support her friend. As a young married mother, Israel resisted her friend’s persuasive attempts to enroll with her. En route to Athens, Israel told her, “I said, I’m not going to start a doctoral program–a PhD was too much!" All changed when Israel met yet another important mentor: Anthony C. Capomacchia. The professor persuaded Israel to follow her friend’s lead to UGA and join the doctoral program in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences—after all, it would bring her back to Georgia, and within striking distance of her beloved Savannah clan. Capomacchia also steered Israel to the Alfred Sloan program, suggesting Israel enter UGA’s doctoral program as a Sloan fellow. (See sidebar.) “It was an awesome experience,” she says. As in awe-inspiring.
When Israel returned the next time, it was as a doctoral student. “I came to Athens in January of 2004 and my son was three months. I didn’t start that spring, but the fall of 2004." And just because Israel was a Girl Scout troop leader from way back (Savannah is where the Girl Scouts were founded) with spare minutes on her hands, she answered another strong calling. As if it is the most natural thing in the world for a new doctoral student and mother to juggle another thing, Israel was inspired to do something unexpected with her free moments. “I wanted to introduce Girl Scouts to the housing projects.” So Israel did that—starting a troop in an Athens housing project. She admits ruefully, “The Girl Scout project was crazy enough shortly after I had my baby.” But it all seemed outrageous. Israel was doing rotations through various labs as she pursued pharmaceutical and biomedical studies. She tended her babies and nurtured the scouting troop during stolen time. A sense of humor, and understanding husband, sustained her. “I wouldn’t have thought it would
be as great as it was,” Israel says. “I wouldn’t have asked for it to be any other way.”
ANOTHER ADVOCATE APPEARS: ENTER DR. CAPOMACCHIA “At UGA, I visited different labs. Dr. Capomacchia was so influential; I knew I wasn’t going to be in anybody’s lab but his." Israel describes him as “an amazing person,” who helped her find funds to attend conferences and to find opportunities. Capomacchia also anchored her, and held her doctoral dream firmly intact. “I thought I was smart and everything, but not to the point that I was ever going to get a PhD. It was so important that he supported me, a total stranger—and to look at you and make you believe that you could do that thing. He is a great person. If someone is a good student, they always come to Dr. C.” Israel first assisted on patentpending osteoarthritis trials at the
Dot Paul
Wound-healing research at UGA led Bridg'ette Israel to her dissertation. At left is Gasper, who died in 2007. After the publication of his obituary, over 800 mourners wrote entries online. go to
www.researchmagazine.uga.edu/ for more info on the 2006 UGA research team and the beluga whale.
Getting Personal. Israel looked at the basis of wound healing in large animal research and applied it to diabetic wound healing in humans. She resolved during her doctoral research to do this in honor of her late grandmother. 18
www.grad.uga.edu