- March 2022
Senior Research Associate
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences-Center for Environmental Health Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Years in Position: 19 years
Years at MSU: 19 years
A career in science is a natural fit for Mary Beth Dail.
“I was always curious about how things worked, and science offered a way to find out,” she said.
Dail is a senior research associate in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences-Center for Environmental Health Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine. In her role there, she is working with a team of people who are testing a possible antidote to nerve gas and pesticide poisoning.
“I design and conduct experiments to test particular aspects of the antidote, analyze the data and write scientific papers for publication based on the findings,” she said.
She was elated when she had a paper published without having to make revisions.
Her job affords her the ability to be the first to discover new information, and she loves that. However, she knows that science is everchanging.
“Today’s results can always be superseded by better data tomorrow,” she explained.
While curiosity is the first step to a career like Dail’s, training is the next step.
“If a student wants to go into a laboratory science career like mine, I’d advise them to take as many different science classes as possible, especially those that teach them new techniques.”
Dail and her husband, who is a psychiatrist, have two sons. Their 24-year-old son works as a web designer for the Daily Journal after graduating in December from MSU with a Bachelor of Science in computer science. Their 21-year-old son is studying communications and theater at MSU.
