In medical school, Matthew Dolan '81 briefly considered specializing in orthopedic surgery because of the materials science nature of the work ' but he soon realized that he didn't have the innate skills required for that type of work. 'I'll be honest with you ' I can't parallel park,' he jokes. 'You can consider a lot of things, but if you find the things that you're good at and that excite you, you can hopefully move forward with those.' Dolan certainly has, tackling problems from bench to bedside and beyond. Both in the United States and abroad through the U.S. Air Force, Dolan has emerged as a leader in immunology and virology, and has served as director of the Defense Institute for Medical Operations. He's worked on everything from foodborne illnesses and Ebola to biological weapons and Covid-19, and has even been a guest speaker on NPR's 'Science Friday.' He notes that the challenges that were the most rewarding in his career were also the ones that MIT had uniquely prepared...
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