The Tragic Loss of Dr. Sharon Gray
When you ask people what a postdoctoral researcher does, few people have a realistic answer. These are professional scientists with Ph.D. degrees that seek additional training to hone their skills and build a scientific portfolio. They are overworked, underappreciated, and underpaid. They frequently have little to no voice in departmental or university decisions, ironic, because they drive the front edge of the discovery. They are frequently the engines of our laboratories. They do it because jobs are few and can only be realistically approached with the training, exposure and career development that a good postdoctoral research experience can provide. This long introduction sets the stage for a tragic tale of Sharon Gray. I never met Sharon. But as an advisor of postdocs and a supporter of developing scientists in our field, I'm shocked by the story of her horrifying and untimely demise. She was a young professional developing her art, and in the course of expanding he