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WHAT IF? Briski is indeed filled with curiosity.
– DR. KAREN BRISKI
Surprising, perhaps, is her answer when asked which research scientist, living or dead, would she most like to work along side and what would she want to research. Her answer does not look to the future, but rather turns back time. “I would love to observe the very first health practitioners in humankind, as they had none of the sophisticated technologies and means of communication at their disposal,” she explains, “but relied exclusively on the art and science of observation, deductive analysis, and intuition to build a foundation for the practice of human medicine.” FUTURE PLANS For now, Briski is focusing on her diabetes research with the hope that from it will come therapies that will contribute to the management of the disease. Her own laboratory will be expanded, but she sees this going forward smoothly. There is no doubt that she will continue to generate ideas for projects that she intends to translate into future grant proposals. She has over 100 peerreviewed publications as well as many presentations in regional, national, and international meetings. Dean Blaylock observes, “This type of exposure is a major plus for the institution in terms of recognition of the fundamental research efforts by both her, her graduate students, and her colleagues.” There is also no doubt that the ULM doctoral graduate students who come under her mentorship and influence will one day become alumni in whom we may all be proud.
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In February 2016, the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classified ULM as an “R3” doctoral university for the first time. That classification placed ULM among 109 other universities in the United States holding the ‘Doctoral University’ designation. Previously, ULM had been classified as ‘Master’s College and University – Larger Programs. “ULM’s ‘Doctoral University’ classification reflects the efforts made by many individuals over many years,” ULM President Nick Bruno pointed out. “The administration and faculty worked together to create a strategic plan that would allow us to reach this goal. No less important was the commitment of our outstanding graduate students. Dr. Briski’s work both in the classroom and in the laboratory have played a significant role in ULM’s attaining this designation.”
“DR. FEYNMAN DEVOTED CONSIDERABLE TIME AND EFFORT TO RESOLVE THIS DESPITE SUFFERING FROM A TERMINAL ILLNESS. I WOULD ASK HIM HOW HE GOT TO THE ANSWER THAT HAD ELUDED EVERYONE ELSE.”
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Briski’s proposal received a very high score when it was reviewed by NIH. To put this in perspective, her proposal was assigned a percentile rank of 3 and an impact score of 20. According to the NIH, the percentile rank is “. . . calculated by ordering the impact score of a particular application against the impact scores of all applications reviewed in the current and the two previous review rounds. An application that was ranked in the 5th percentile is considered more meritorious than 95 % of the applications reviewed.” (See “Paylines, Percentiles, and Success Rates” posted by Dr. Sally Rockey, former Deputy Director for Extramural Research at NIH, in “Rock Talk” February 15, 2011). In other words, Briski’s grant proposal ranked higher than 97% of the competing applications. As a result of this high score, the award was funded for the full amount requested instead of having a reduction in funds for administrative costs. This is highly unusual, and speaks to both the novelty of Briski’s hypothesis and the quality of her research plan.
When she was asked recently whom she would select if she could speak with any research scientist, living or dead, and what would she want to talk about, her response was perfectly in keeping with her love of analytics. She would like to speak with the late Dr. Richard Feynman, the brilliant theoretical physicist who, among many accomplishments throughout a stellar career as a teacher and researcher, discovered the role that the O-rings played in the space shuttle Challenger disaster. “Dr. Feynman devoted considerable time and effort to resolve this despite suffering from a terminal illness,” she explains. “I would ask him how he got to the answer that had eluded everyone else.”
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of my startup package when I became department head,” she says. “Those allowed me to propose creative ‘outof-the-ordinary’ experiments with the high likelihood of addressing lingering unanswered questions in my field. I believe this was viewed very positively by the reviewer of my proposal.”
