As soon as I joined his lab as a postdoc in NCI, my PI gave me a "simple" project: using a labeled tumor to build a cancer mouse model, allowing tracing cancer metastasis by bioluminescence imaging. I was told, this would be the first preclinical model for testing drugs on metastatic diseases. This was such an exciting project that brightened my eyes immediately. Years later my PI told me that I was the only one who was not scared off and willing to take it. Therefore, this became the project that defined my research career before I understood those many obstacles to come and overcome. That's the luxury that only young scientists can afford. Nevertheless, I started to plan the experiments.

After a new days, my PI told me that we would collaborate a woman scientist, who was regarded as one of the best preclinical experts in the field. Her name is Melinda- Melinda G. Hollingshead, D.V.M., Ph.D. "We will go to Frederick to have a meeting with her", my boss said. Later I learned that she led one of the biggest projects of preclinical cancer study in the world, at NCI-Frederick, for more than two decades.  Frederick  locates 40 miles away from NIH campus at Bethesda. On the scheduled day, my PI drove to give me a ride to Melinda's office.  There I met with Melinda for the very first time.

I still remembered vividly my first meeting with her in 2005. She wore chic short hair, in a biker's jacket and jean. I noticed that she had multiple piercing in one ear and small tattoos on arms. At that time, I did not know many scientists, and thought that she looked exotic. Later I learned that she was really a biker and owned a Harley-Davidson. As soon as Melinda started to talk, I knew immediately that I had a lot to learn from this true expert of preclinical study. In the following decade, I worked with her and her team, especially John Carter and Carrie Bonomi, both are the top mouse surgeons. Those were exciting years; I learned the structured concepts of mouse study from Melinda, including "humanized" experimental settings, endpoints, PK/PD of drugs, and the right way to extrapolate the results to human treatment. I saw that John and Carrie did mouse procedures that I could never imagined before. I also learned to write animal study protocols and got very familiar with it. I can proudly say that I am Melinda's apprentice.

Melinda built the criteria to evaluate the effectiveness and translational potential of preclinical study outcomes. I need to admit that, after learning from her, sometimes it is painful to look at the mouse study data in papers because there was always manipulation or hiding of the results that I can tell, even in those published in the so-called top-tier journals. Her knowledge goes beyond the preclinical study, including immunology, pharmacology, and for sure cancer biology. She was cornerstone and pillar of the preclinical cancer research in NCI. Whenever there is a question or problem, I know I can always go to Melinda.

 I owe all my knowledge in preclinical study (especially cancer modeling in mice) to Melinda. She is never a scientist appearing on the front page of NCI news, but her knowledge and concepts in the biological systems are heavily concrete, and all the research she has done is rock solid. Every time I saw the news some superstar scientists retracted their papers, I wonder how people define the quality of a good scientist. If I receive a study protocol from Melinda's group, even that's a very complicated mouse study design, I know I can reproduce it. This is how I want my studies to be- for science and truth, not for publication in top-tier journals.

Melinda retired earlier this year, and I need to say that is a super big loss for NCI. However, she turned to learn veterinary acupuncture and herb medicine immediately. I have no doubt that she will create a new field in veterinary medicine, which may benefit human being in an exotic way. I wish her enjoying every minute of the new chapter in her life.