In Memoriam Mila Rainof, MD

Since 1839, Yale medical students have been writing theses as part of their professional training. It is an introduction to the practice of original research, a demanding and sometimes exhausting pursuit. The thesis project promotes a tenacity well suited for the practice of medicine. The thesis advisor has a challenging role as well — one that can only be filled by an individual whose dedication to research is matched with a patience for mentoring students. In a dedicated commentary included in this issue of the journal, Margaret Drickamer, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Yale University, shares her account of one advisor’s relationship to a maturing clinician-scholar. Mila Rainof, MD, was a member of the Yale School of Medicine 2008 graduating class. She died tragically in April 2008, just months prior to beginning an emergency medicine residency in Oakland, California. By including Drickamer’s commentary with Rainof’s thesis abstract, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine honors Rainof’s memory and also celebrates the professional work and scholarly life that took form during her relationship with her thesis advisor. The Yale School of Medicine has established the Mila Rainof, MD, Memorial Fund in her honor.