Past Features
Featuring: Dr. Gary Polking
Manager of the Iowa State University DNA Facility
M.S. in Horticulture - Fall, 1990,
Ph.D. in Plant Physiology/Horticulture - Spring, 1995
I came to the ISU Horticulture Department via a somewhat circuitous route. While completing undergraduate coursework in preparation for dental school, I took an Introduction to Botany course that I particularly enjoyed, and began to consider forgoing dental school (I had already been accepted) to pursue a degree in botany. I identified Plant Propagation as the next course I would like to take, and scheduled a time to talk with the instructor to get more information about the course. When I arrived to meet with him, he informed me that the class was full. In the manner that young people tend to employ when making important decisions, I took this as the final confirming sign that I was meant to be a dentist, and not a botanist, and off to dental school I went.
Following graduation from dental school in 1979, I began my dental practice in western Iowa. With the purchase of our first house came a large lot, and the opportunity to landscape it and to pursue my interest in plants. At some point I decided that I did not want to practice dentistry for my entire life, and began planning a career change. With the encouragement of Dr. Gladon and Dr. Koranski, I began graduate work in the ISU Horticulture Department in 1987. I completed my Masters degree in Horticulture in 1990, then began Ph.D. studies in Plant Physiology with Dr. Gladon and Dr. Hannapel, completing this degree in 1995.
My wife and I decided that following my graduation, we would like to remain in Iowa, and I took a position in the ISU DNA Facility, and became facility manager in 1997. I found that the molecular biology emphasis of my Ph.D. research project prepared me well for the duties of this position. The DNA Facility is one of a number of research support facilities overseen by the Office of Biotechnology. Our facility provides DNA sequencing, synthesis, genotyping, and DNA extraction services to researchers at Iowa State, other academic and governmental institutions, and private companies. Over the years, as more researchers incorporate molecular biology approaches into their research projects, the utilization of our facility services has greatly increased.
In addition to providing research support services, the personnel from our facility, along with those from other facilities, are active each term in teaching a hands-on course in basic molecular biology techniques. The opportunities I had to teach during my graduate career in the Horticulture Department, both as a teaching assistant for a number of undergraduate and graduate courses, and as the instructor for a horticulture module taught to agriculture teachers from Ecuador, helped provide me with the experience necessary to help develop and teach this course.
I enjoy interacting with the clients we serve, and also enjoy my association with Dr. Fehr, the Director of Biotechnology, and with the other facility and Office of Biotechnology personnel. My wife Clare and I enjoy country life on our acreage near Boone, and I devote much of my time at home to landscaping and gardening. We have two adult children, Kathryn- who is a senior in veterinary medicine here at Iowa State, and Mark, who is a graduate student in materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
