Raymond Mejia is a mathematician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary funding agency for biomedical research in the U.S. and the world. He is with the Laboratory of Kidney and Electrolyte Metabolism (LKEM) in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, he works at the Mathematical Research Branch (MRB) in the intramural program of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

"The LKEM studies kidney function," Ray explains. "The major objectives are to understand the basic processes at molecular and cellular levels, determine how they are controlled, and analyze how they are integrated to result in overall renal function. The areas emphasized include epithelial transport, cellular osmoregulation, metabolism related to transport, and hormonal responses."

"Current research projects at the MRB reflect a range of interests in the development and application of theoretical models and of quantitative methodologies for understanding biological systems."

"The LKEM consists primarily of bench scientists (Ph.D./M.D.) while the MRB consists primarily of Ph.D. scientists working in the broad field that is mathematical biology ."

"My role within the NIH is to develop models of biological phenomena in order to illustrate or elucidate basic underlying principles, and I often collaborate with other scientists in these efforts. As a wag is reputed to have said, 'collaboration is the art of learning the other fellow's business.' I would add 'well enough to be able to ask the tough questions.' Hence, I attempt to predict or give plausible explanations of biological/physiological observations. And I do so using a mathematical foundation." One example is recent work looking at kidney function in the presence of increased concentration of the hormone oxytocin. Another example is the use of neural net models to characterize integral membrane proteins.

Ray has a B.S. in mathematics from Manhattan College and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Maryland. "When I began my career a B.S. or M.A. was sufficient to get the initial opportunity to do research in government or industry," he recalls. "Today a Ph.D. is practically indispensable. My graduate training was in numerical analysis, so I have had much to learn on-the-job and from my collaborators, who have been many. However, undergraduate training in biology, chemistry and physics gave me the rudiments to learn, and mathematics has been the glue to piece together some results."

"I began my career by applying mathematics to physical problems with the U.S. Navy at the David Taylor Research Center before coming to the NIH. Biological questions are often considered less amenable to mathematical treatment, i.e. 'more difficult', but that need not be the case. What is invariably so, is that questions have to be phrased so that the biological significance is not lost as we 'simplify' to make a problem mathematically tractable".

"To someone considering a career in mathematical biology, I would certainly recommend an interdisciplinary program - there are many today, with a variety of emphasis (for example, see the Society for Mathematical Biology for pointers to educational and other items of interest).

"My advise to anyone interested in a career that requires collaboration with other disciplines is to question everything, although not necessarily out loud, and keep an open mind. I try to remember that in my work modeling is easy in comparison to the experiments required to obtain much of the data necessary to prove a hypothesis, so keep it simple."

Ray also has a homepage at NIH.

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