Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk

15. The jocks

Donna Sassaman and Brook Brouha are inextricably linked together in my mind. They never met because Sassaman left the lab in 1996, and Brouha joined us in 2001. However, they both worked on the same problem, getting solutions appropriate to the time, and both were superb athletes. I’ve decided to put them together in this chapter because of those similarities, even though they were five years apart in their work.

First, let me tell you about Sassaman. Donna was an outstanding scholar-athlete at Drew University in New Jersey. She graduated magna cum laude in biology and was a star in both field hockey and lacrosse. I once saw her play third base in a softball game, and she was amazing. I thought she was the best player on the field, ...