Welcome to Ask The Dean's Journal

    Summer may be here, but that’s no excuse to put your brain in “park”. Nothing beats a good summertime read. Below please find my personal recommendations…

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner
    What could be a more appropriate read while sitting under a tree and watching the birds. Take a trip to the Galapagos Islands and learn more about the fascinating life and evolution of Darwin’s finches. This book is based on the personal observations of Rosemary and Peter Grant collected over a 20 year period. This is not a flash in the pan book.


The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery by Wendy Moore
John Hunter…anatomist…surgeon…revolutionary thinker…resurrectionist (i.e., grave robber)…translational scientist. What more can one say. A fascinating read about an individual whose unconventional lifestyle, hyperactive mind, and insatiable curiosity will leave you in awe. Not a book for the faint of heart, but definitely for anyone interested in the evolution of surgery and medicine. Also chock-full of Ripley Believe It Or Not vignettes.

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives (Vintage) by Leonard Mlodinow
    This has nothing to do with how to walk a straight line…. and everything about crooked lines! If you are fascinated by the placebo effect, batting averages, winning streaks, you gotta read this one. A fascinating insight into statistical probability! If you think this is boring... you could not be any more wrong! Read this book and you might even win a game of craps!


The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat
A funny, funny, funny book written by one of the greatest Canadian writers of all time. Say, who said summer reading has to be totally educational. Of course, Mr. Mowat may teach you more than a thing or two in this witty, sailing adventure in the northland.


Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
    A lesson I learned as a lad in a Lackawanna pool hall was.. “Think long, think wrong". This book lends a little more credence to that old adage. Gut instincts are sometimes the best. Another fascinating read into the fascinating workings of the human mind.

    And what have you been reading???

Ask the Dean


Welcome to the Park. If you are reading this then I imagine you are interested in learning more about training opportunities at the Institute. I am sometimes asked what the advantages are of studying at a Comprehensive Cancer Center. In a word – Cancer. The singular focus of our entire faculty is cancer. It is always on our mind. This singular focus brings together a very large and diverse faculty. We have over 200 clinical and basic scientific faculty who day in and day out have only one thing on their mind - the control of cancer. Faculty may be found in a myriad of specialty areas; too numerous to mention here. (I would advise you to visit the main Institute website – www.roswellpark.org -for a comprehensive review of specialty areas.)

Training at a Comprehensive Cancer Center is facilitated by the close working relationship between clinical and basic scientific faculty which fosters translational research. Translational research is the transmission of new ideas between the laboratory, the bedside, and the general population. This constant ebb and flow of ideas across realms results in the rapid advancement of knowledge that benefits us all.

Another important reason to study at a comprehensive center is that the trainee is immersed in research. This total immersion in research allows you to gain a greater breadth and depth of experience positioning you for greater future success. Our trainees learn research by living research. This is facilitated by working in a state-of-the-art research facility and nurtured by truly committed mentors.

I trust that you will seriously consider training at the Park and welcome any questions that you may have. I wish you well whether your studies bring you here or elsewhere. Thank you and have a great day.


Arthur M. Michalek, PhD, FACE
Professor of Oncology, Epidemiology
Senior Vice President & Dean
Educational Affairs
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
arthur.michalek AT roswellpark.org
Tel: 716-845-2339
Fax: 716-845-8178