Trinity Student Blends Her Voice with Love of Biochemistry
by Susie P. Gonzalez

If one day you hear strains of classical North Indian music wafting from an infectious disease laboratory, chances are the lyrical notes will be coming from Shirali Patel ’07, who expects to graduate in May with a bachelor of science in biochemistry and molecular biology and a bachelor of arts in music. A petite woman with a dazzling smile, Shirali is a rare combination of musical inspiration and scientific genius who has successfully forged both interests into an academic pursuit. She is putting the finishing touches on an honors thesis exploring how early 19^th century Paris viewed composer and pianist Chopin, who also was a tuberculosis patient.  

“At the time, they didn’t even know what caused tuberculosis,” said Shirali, a Lake Jackson, Texas, resident who is poring over 19^th century public health documents and reading biographies of the famous composer as she examines the links between his musical inventiveness and his illness. “I’m looking at whether having TB affected his creativity. When some people get TB, something happens. From their disease, we get amazing works of art or novels or music. At certain stages of the illness, the body can be weak, but the mind takes over.”

Seeds for such imaginative study were planted by Carl Leafstedt, chair and associate professor of music, who taught Shirali a first-year seminar titled, “Music, Politics, and Persuasion.” He shared with her his own background combining chemistry and music and his subsequent research into the life of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, who had leukemia.  “Shirali got interested in Chopin on her own,” Leafstedt said. “She brings a science perspective and a medical perspective to her reading of a composer’s biography. This sets her up for a wonderful array of career choices.”

First things first. Medical school is up next for Shirali, and although she is intrigued by infectious diseases, she is open to all medical specialties. Ultimately, she would like to return to India as a physician able to treat and help sick people. She has been to India several times to visit relatives and to conduct tuberculosis research. Last summer, she worked with an associate professor of preventive and social medicine at a medical college in Gujarat, India, to examine the impact of tuberculosis in rural and urban areas of that Indian state. She also interned with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical Trust, speaking to middle-school students about hygiene, nutrition, and tuberculosis disease and prevention. Along the way, she found time to sing to preschool children from illiterate families.

“She’s genuinely interested in giving back,” Leafstedt observed. “She’s an extraordinary student and an extraordinary human being.” It was Leafstedt who suggested that she apply to be a Rhodes Scholar. Shirali was one of 14 finalists from Texas and Louisiana for the prestigious honor and said the process enabled her to meet a range of caring and helpful professors and administrators at Trinity, who guided her through the process of writing an essay and conducting mock interviews before facing the Rhodes judges. The road to becoming a Rhodes Scholar is a long one, and Shirali considers her experience an honor. “You need to work hard and keep your goal in mind for four years,” she said.

Linda Salvucci, associate professor of history and Trinity’s faculty liaison to the Rhodes Scholarship, credited Shirali for having a phenomenal initiative in the process and for doing the bulk of the preparation. Salvucci said the mock interviews were “fun and very engaging,” and she likened them to having “a high-level conversation. Shirali performed brilliantly – she was completely at ease.”

Best of all, preparing for the Rhodes did not get in the way of having a good time as a student, Shirali said. She was one of six Trinity students in 2006 who toured Taiwan to sing Western classical music, and she also sang with the Trinity Choir in New Orleans, Germany, and Austria as well as with the Chamber Singers. She is a member of and held offices in the Hindu Student Union, Trinity Multicultural Network, Chemistry Club, and American Medical Students Association. In addition, she has been named to the Dean’s List every semester as well as being selected to numerous honor societies and earning designation as a University Scholar and a Murchison Scholar. “I’ve enjoyed everything at Trinity,” she said.

© 2007 Trinity University