{"id":30774,"date":"2025-01-16T11:06:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T16:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=30774"},"modified":"2025-01-16T11:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T16:08:44","slug":"alumni-profile-matthew-dolan-sb-81","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/alumni-profile-matthew-dolan-sb-81\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Profile: Matthew Dolan, SB ’81"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Dolan, SB \u201881, worked in the U.S. and abroad during a fascinating time in the field of immunology and virology.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In medical school, Matthew Dolan, SB \u201881, briefly considered specializing in orthopedic surgery because of the materials science nature of the work \u2014 but he soon realized that he didn\u2019t have the innate skills required for that type of work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you \u2014 I can\u2019t parallel park,\u201d he jokes. \u201cYou can consider a lot of things, but if you find the things that you\u2019re good at and that excite you, you can hopefully move forward with those.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dolan certainly has, tackling problems from bench to bedside and beyond.<\/span> Both in the U.S. and abroad through the Air Force, Dolan has emerged as a leader in immunology and virology, and has served as Director of the Defense Institute for Medical Operations. He\u2019s worked on everything from foodborne illnesses and Ebola to biological weapons and COVID-19, and has even been a guest speaker on NPR\u2019s <\/span>Science Friday<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is fun and interesting, and I believe that, and I work hard to convey that \u2014 and it\u2019s contagious,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can affect people with that excitement.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pieces of the Puzzle<\/h2>\n

Dolan fondly recalls his years at MIT, and is still in touch with many of the \u201cbrilliant\u201d and \u201cinteresting\u201d friends he made while in Cambridge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He notes that the challenges that were the most rewarding in his career were also the ones that MIT had uniquely prepared him for. Dolan, a Course 7 major, naturally took many classes outside of Biology as part of his undergraduate studies: organic chemistry was foundational for understanding toxicology while studying chemical weapons, while pathogens like <\/span>Legionella<\/span><\/i>, which causes pneumonia and can spread through water systems like ice machines or air conditioners, are solved at the interface between public health and ecology.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Man
Matthew Dolan stateside with his German Shepherd Sophie. Photo courtesy of Matthew Dolan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI learned that learning can be a high-intensity experience,\u201d Dolan recalls. \u201cYou can be aggressive in your learning; you can learn and excel in a wide variety of things and gather up all the knowledge and knowledgeable people to work together towards solutions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dolan, for example, worked in the Amazon Basin in Peru on a public health crisis of a sharp rise in childhood mortality due to malaria. The cause was a few degrees removed from the immediate problem: human agriculture had affected the Amazon\u2019s tributaries, leading to still and stagnant water where before there had been rushing streams and rivers. This change in the environment allowed a certain mosquito species of \u201cavid human biters\u201d to thrive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be helpful and important for some people to have a really comprehensive and contextual view of scientific problems and biological problems,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding to put the pieces in a puzzle like that together.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Choosing To Serve<\/h2>\n

Dolan says a key to finding meaning in his work, especially during difficult times, is a sentiment from Alsatian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer: \u201cThe only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Dolan\u2019s early formative experiences was working in the heart of the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, at a time when there was no effective treatment. No matter how hard he worked, the patients would still die.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFailure is not an option \u2014 unless you have to fail. You can\u2019t let the failures destroy you,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are a lot of other battles out there, and it\u2019s self-indulgent to ignore them and focus on your woe.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lasting Impacts<\/h2>\n

Dolan couldn\u2019t pick a favorite country, but notes that he\u2019s always impressed seeing how people value the chance to excel with science and medicine when offered resources and respect. Ultimately, everyone he\u2019s worked with, no matter their differences, was committed to solving problems and improving lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dolan worked in Russia after the Berlin Wall fell, on HIV\/AIDS in Moscow and Tuberculosis in the Russian Far East. Although relations with Russia are currently tense, to say the least, Dolan remains optimistic for a brighter future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople that were staunch adversaries can go on to do well together,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes, peace leads to partnership. Remembering that it was once possible gives me great hope.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dolan understands that the most lasting impact he has had is, likely, teaching: time marches on, and discoveries can be lost to history, but teaching and training people continues and propagates. In addition to guiding the next generation of healthcare specialists, Dolan also developed programs in laboratory biosafety and biosecurity with the State Department and the Defense Department, and taught those programs around the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in prevention gives you the chance to take care of process problems before they become people problems \u2014 patient care problems,\u201d he says. \u201cI have been so impressed with the courageous and giving people that have worked with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Dolan, SB \u201881, worked in the U.S. and abroad during a fascinating time in the field of immunology and virology. In medical school, Matthew Dolan, SB \u201881, briefly considered specializing in orthopedic surgery because of the materials science nature of the work \u2014 but he soon realized that he didn\u2019t have the innate skills […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1783,"featured_media":30778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6236,6222,6265],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-profiles","category-undergraduate-alumni","placement-placement-homepage"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlumni Profile: Matthew Dolan, SB '81 - MIT Department of Biology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/alumni-profile-matthew-dolan-sb-81\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumni Profile: Matthew Dolan, SB '81\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Matthew Dolan, SB \u201881, worked in the U.S. and abroad during a fascinating time in the field of immunology and virology. 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