Support our PhD Olympian, Maria Michta
Olympic Mission
It was the summer of 1996 the year I discovered the Olympic Games, and I was hooked to say the least. Those two weeks I watched more TV than I probably had the entire previous year. This is when the dream began...yes one day I wanted to make it to the Olympics. While soccer may have been my passion back then I found my athletic calling as a race walker in high school.
Since 1996 I’ve watched the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics come and go. In 2004 I achieved the US Olympic Trials B Standard while still a senior in high school but competed at Junior World Championships that summer instead of the US Trials. By the next Olympic Trials in 2008 I had hit the A qualifying standard early on and despite injury competed in my first trials. It was a bitter sweet moment, the trials themselves were thrilling, the excitement in the air was palpable and it was an experience like no other. Meanwhile there was also a feeling of disappointment at the inability to compete to one’s fullest ability because I was injured. Although making the team in 2008 would have been unrealistic even if I were healthy it was still frustrating. Nonetheless the dream lived on and the desire to make an Olympic Team grew even stronger.
The logo of the Trials was: Amazing Awaits! And that’s exactly how I came away from that race, amazing awaits, I had 4 years to turn an 8th place non-Olympic Standard performance into a first place victory complete with an Olympic Games Standard. Everyday brings me one more step closer to achieving my dream. It’s what motivates me everyday to get up on frigid cold or sweltering hot mornings and get out there training, often alone, all in the pursuit of making the 2012 Olympic Team. My motto has always been, Dream, Believe, Become. I’ve had the Dream since 1996, I truly began to Believe in myself in 2010, and I am currently training to my fullest until I Become an Olympian!
The Basics:
- Birthday: June 23rd 1986
- Family: Daughter of Sue and Rich Michta, sister to Ricky, Kristie, and Katie
- Status: In a relationship with high school sweetheart Joe Coffey
- Hometown: Nesconset, New York
- Current Location: Upper Eastside, NYC
Education:
- High School: Sachem Class of 2004 (When we were one Huge school)
- College: LIU CW Post, Class of 2008, Valedictorian, 4.0 GPA B.S. Biology, Chemistry Minor
- GraduateSchool: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY PhD Candidate Microbiology, Dr. Matthew Evans’ Lab
- Thesis Studies: Defining the role Occludin in HCV entry
- Thesis Studies Simply: Understanding why the virus (HCV) needs a special protein (Occludin) to infect cells.
Athletics:
- Team: Walk USA
- Coach: Tim Seaman
- Water boys: Joe Coffey and Pop (Dan Rizzo)
- Stats: 2010 and 2011 US Indoor 3000m and Outdoor 20km Race Walk Champion
Fun Facts:
- My birthday is the anniversary of Title IX and is also officially recognized as “Olympic Day”
- I have never attended my own graduation (missed high school graduation for Junior Nationals in 2004, missed college graduation for World Cup in 2008)
- I have raced on 4 continents and in 11 countries
- My favorite color is bright blue
- My favorite ice cream is mint chip
Download the Official 2012 London Summer Olympics mobile app and follow the Olympics Schedule.
Source
mariamichta.com
London 2012
NBC
Top 10 Reasons to Attend Mount Sinai School of Medicine!
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We were the first to describe Tay Sachs disease (1887), first to publish human blood compatibility antigens (1908), developed the first cystoscope for children (1911), invented the modern ophthalmoscope (1914), developed the first estrogen blood test (1926), performed the country's first kidney dialysis (1947), developed polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for separating proteins (1959), first to use sequential combination chemotherapy for breast, ovarian cancers (1962, 1963), mapped the influenza virus genome (1977), first direct evidence of the involvement of dopamine in schizophrenia (1985), first blood transfusion of an unborn fetus (1986), identified gene most commonly mutated in prostate cancer (2001), pioneered the use of enzyme replacement therapy by targeting Fabry disease (2003), performed first successful composite tracheal transplant (2005), linked Olig2 to schizophrenia (2006), the first to use adult stem cells to explore the genetic details of a specific inherited disease (LEOPARD syndrome, 2010),and dozens more. We have named many diseases. Come join us and create your own first.
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