Clark Colton Symposium Concluding Remarks

In his concluding remarks at a symposium held in his honor, MIT professor Clark Colton reflects on his career, mentors, and students. He begins by acknowledging his doctoral advisor Ken Smith, who taught him clarity and rigor in thinking and writing. Colton shares anecdotes about his student Keith Dion, highlighting his dedication and hard work, including a story about a chaotic drive to the airport. He then discusses his research on islet transplantation, emphasizing the critical role of oxygen supply. He recounts how his team built a microreactor with living cells, revealing that insulin secretion kinetics were two orders of magnitude faster than previously thought, but the finding was largely ignored. He also describes his review paper on hybrid artificial organs, which showed that devices had dead cells due to oxygen limitations, a problem he championed for decades. Colton notes the resistance from the endocrinology community, but today the importance of oxygen is widely recognized. He concludes by praising other students and colleagues, emphasizing the value of mentorship and collaboration.