Name: Morgan Tucker

Age: 35

Home: University Hill in Boulder

Job: Post-doctoral researcher in the University of Colorado laboratory of Min Han. Tucker studies a series of cellular events involved in cancer development. "I'm working on some signal transduction pathways that, when mutated in humans, give a very high incidence of cancer," he said.

Recent distinction: Tucker is one of 20 people in the country to receive a 3-year, $128,500 research fellowship from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation in New York.

The foundation sponsors work in cancer biology, and Tucker will continue his research on cell processes involved in cancer. He works specifically on an eyelash-sized worm called C. elegans, which has a number of genes analogous to those in humans.

How did you become interested in biology to begin with? "Well, I went to Fairview High, here in Boulder. I think I actually got a D in biology , so I don't think my inspiration came that early," Tucker said.

"Well, it might not have been a D ... but it wasn't an A," he added.

"I went to Fort Lewis college in Durango, and the faculty there really turned me on to research in the molecular biology field," he said. Tucker's professors encouraged him to do summertime internships at bigger research universities, and he spent time in Utah and Arizona, doing laboratory work.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? "My plan is to find a tenure-track position at a university. I'm not interested in going to industry," Tucker said. "I don't think you have the freedom to pursue things at the pace you want to. There's always the bottom line ... in academics, you can be a lot more creative."

What about this field appeals to you? "As a kid, I wanted to be a motorcycle mechanic. Basically cells are little machines, it's like working with really small motorcycles," he said.

In a cell, as in a machine, one event triggers another and then still others, but there's an added sense of discovery, working with cells, Morgan said. A researcher may know that a cell is doing something, but not how, and the process of searching for it can be exciting.

Why did you come back to Boulder? "I came to work with Min Han, that was the overriding factor," Tucker said, "but the fact that my family is all in this area is an added benefit."

Do you spend time outdoors? "Yeah, I do quite a bit of rock climbing like everyone in Boulder. I climb in Eldorado a lot."

— Katy Human

May 26, 2002

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