(L to R): Ms. Cameron Underhill (my daughter, born the same year as the TRIP Lab), Dr. Andrea Underhill (me!), Dr. Despina Stavrinos
The days are long, but the years are short. I don’t know who said this, and I think it’s supposed to refer to raising children, but it couldn’t be more appropriate as I look back on the TRIP Lab’s 10 years. The work has been difficult – sacrifices have been made – tears have been shed – but I doubt any of the individuals who participate in that difficult work, who make those sacrifices, and who shed those tears would say that it was not worth it. I know I think it’s worth it.
I’ve known Dr. Stavrinos for quite some time. Before we were Dr. Stavrinos and Dr. Underhill – back when we were Dessie and Andrea – we both worked for Dr. Russ Fine, Director of the UAB Injury Control Research Center, the UAB University Transportation Center, and the Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics. Technically speaking, Dessie was my post-doc student with the UAB University Transportation Center, but I always saw us as co-workers. Anyway, I was there when she first started to talk about establishing a lab. She wanted to create a place where research could be performed to reduce the rate of transportation-related deaths, injuries, and resulting disabilities, particularly in the southeastern United States. And not just any place, but one that not only focused on transportation from a psychological point of view, but also welcomed and encouraged collaboration with researchers from other fields. As a relatively new PhD and a young researcher, there were definitely looming questions. The largest of these questions was: Could she do this?
Dr. Stavrinos sought advice from trusted advisors and those who had Labs of their own. There were definitely naysayers, those who said this was not possible for someone so young and inexperienced, and those who said the process of establishing such a place was too complicated. The first of the tears were shed. Doubts were born and grew. In spite of these doubts, Dr. Stavrinos was not going to give up. Two things Dr. Stavrinos has in abundance are drive and persistence. Then, Dr. Fine called her into his office and calmly provided his small piece of advice. He told her that if she said her lab existed, then it existed. Dr. Stavrinos embraced this idea and never looked back.
The UAB Translational Research for Injury Prevention Laboratory was built as a lab without walls. Dr. Stavrinos began working under the TRIP Lab umbrella, and that umbrella grew quickly. To me, it seems like the blink of an eye between the establishment of the lab without walls and the TRIP Lab’s 10thAnniversary, but I know it really wasn’t. It was in that “blink” that Dr. Stavrinos, her students, and her collaborators put forth countless hours of work, made substantial sacrifices, and shed more than a few tears. It was in that blink that grants were written, submitted, rejected, revised, resubmitted, and sometimes funded. It was in that blink that novel research was designed and performed. It was in that blink that manuscripts were written, submitted, rejected, revised, resubmitted, and eventually published. It was in that blink that hard work and the high caliber research performed by the TRIP Lab researchers paid off. It was in that blink that the drive and determination that radiates from Dr. Stavrinos and infects her co-workers turned the UAB TRIP Lab from a lab without walls into the internationally respected research laboratory housed in its own building with a state-of-the-art, fully immersive driving simulator.
There are so many other wonderful things I’d like to say about Dr. Stavrinos and the UAB TRIP Lab. I hate not to mention the TRIP Lab’s mentorship of students. Rarely do you see such a place have so many successful students and alumni. It’s crazy – truly. I hate not to mention TRIP Lab’s truly multi-disciplinary approach to research or their dedication to community outreach. I hate not to mention how Dr. Stavrinos has been so kind as to allow me to e-commute in order to be a small part of the TRIP Lab’s success through editing, writing, and light graphic design. But I promised myself I wouldn’t write more than a page, so I’ll end by saying Happy 10thAnniversary UAB TRIP Lab! It’s been an honor to see you grow, to be a part of the process, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
