Lessons learned from a novel calcium-channel protagonist and person

A long time ago (circa 1976), David C. Triggle was Chair of the Department of Biochemical Pharmacology at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo where he led the faculty and staff in the education and mentoring of countless pharmacy and graduate students who passed through the hallowed halls of the University. Trained as a chemist, David spent his days synthesizing new and improved calcium channel blockers in a cramped, makeshift organic chemistry lab while a lab full of aspiring pharmacologists measured their effects on contractile responses of various smooth muscle preparations. I was a graduate student fortunate enough to land in David's laboratory, and thanks to him, I successfully navigated out with a Ph.D. in hand. That being said, his influence was less through his role as thesis advisor and more by the example he set in his simple, everyday life in Buffalo, N.Y: his love for – and dedication to – his family, his concern for the environment and his health, his perseverance in that tiny organic chemistry closet, his command of the English language, his unbridled honesty and cynicism, and his quiet pursuit of excellence. This article chronicles student life during that particular time period and provides a glimpse into David's unique personality and lifestyle that made him a role model to me and others. Interwoven is my own circuitous career path both before and after leaving S.U.N.Y. Buffalo that culminated in a productive career at the opposite end of the drug development process from where it all started in pharmacology.