Autobiography Series: A Hitchhiker's Road to Neuropathology

Abstract

The following reminiscence by Cedric Raine is the 10th autobiography in a series published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. These have been solicited from senior members of the neuropathology community who have been noted leaders and contributors to neuroscience and to the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP) and have a historical perspective of the importance of neuropathology in diagnosis, education, and research. His is the first autobiography by a distinguished PhD member (as well as former president) of the AANP, highlighting the contributions and integral roles of basic neuroscientists in our Association. It is hoped that this series will entertain, enlighten, and present members of the AANP with a better sense of the legacy that we have inherited, as well as reintroduce our respected members as humans having interesting lives filled with adventures, joys, and sorrows, and allow them to present their lives in their own words. MNH, RAS “A man is the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.” Mahatma Gandhi Lacking a more original arresting opening, let me begin by saying that to be invited to join the list of esteemed neuropathologists featured in the Journal's Autobiography Series, following icons like Asao Hirano, Robert Terry, and Nicholas Gonatas, is both a privilege and a challenge. Never known for being conventional and sporting a background completely at odds with the standard training of most members of the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP), I would like to take off on a different foot by thanking my colleagues in the Association for welcoming and accepting me, among the first PhDs, into the fold as an Active Member. When Mike Hart rang me a few months ago asking me to prepare a piece for the Series, my knee-jerk reaction was to decline on the grounds of juvenility …