McLaughlin Lab

In Honor

We believe that everyone needs to continue to learn from those who have different perspectives and share their ideas and advice honestly and helpfully.   We have been truly fortunate to have encountered several masters of many of the difficult areas one must navigate in science and we are ever mindful that our success is due to their wisdom, encouragement and selflessness.

Maria Erecinska, M.D. - Dr. Erecinska is a world class scientist who Dr. McLaughlin had the pleasure of training with at the University of Pennsylvania.  Maria takes a no holds bar approach to mentoring.  If you work with her, you are family.  Maria is a tireless advocate for excellent science, fostering the careers of trainees and remains a source of wisdom, solace and friendship for Dr. McLaughlin and the members of her lab.  We had the pleasure of hosting Maria for a week in Nashville and she was the hit of the lab sharing fun childhood stories, exciting information on how rigorous science needs to be performed and never losing her enormous excitement about metabolic processing and cell function.   Maria is a tough, fair and huge hearted woman.  We can only hope to be half the human she is as we develop our careers and lives.

In Memory

Jason Morrow, M.D.  was our closest scientific collaborator, a wonderful mentor and an irreplaceable source of wisdom, focus and exceptional science.  He was truly the best scientific collaborator one could hope to work with.  The students and staff in our lab and in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology miss him dearly. 

Jason's life was focused in the most unselfish way on promoting the careers of trainees and young investigators.  He was honest and utterly trustworthy, as he had no agenda other than the betterment of science and the Vanderbilt Medical Center.  We will miss his elusive smile, our long talks about the best places to eat in St. Louis and his fanatical dedication to the work and collaborators he doted on.  We were spoiled by his advocacy, straightforwardness and laser insight, not a day goes by where we rededicate ourselves to honoring him by doing the best science, and being the best humans we can because he would expect nothing less.