Okada's Research Project Could Impact Health Issues

Growing up in Wheaton, Illinois, Kelby Okada '09 says he went through the normal fantasies of what he wanted to be when he grew up? a policeman, an astronaut, a fireman and a doctor. But, his was a unique situation. When he was in the third or fourth grade, he was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

While Hollywood movies portray people with the neurological disorder as uncontrollably yelling obscenities, real numbers indicate that occurs to less than three percent of those afflicted. ?Mine was more of a twitching or jerking motion of my arm and neck.?

It was only recently that Okada began sharing his condition with people. ?Technically I still have it. You never completely grow out of it. But I was one of the lucky few that pretty much grew out of 99 percent of my symptoms,? he says.

Okada is not sure if his T.S. played a part in his interest in neuroscience or not. ?I have tried to think of why that would draw me to neuroscience. I have always been interested in science and biochemistry. And there are a lot of things that interest me in studying neurons in general.?

Currently, Okada is working on a research project with Associate Professor of Chemistry Andy Mehl. In the lab, they are working on the structure of the GRPE protein. ?Prof. Mehl says that we are getting to the point that we can create our own proteins,? Okada says.

Whether it is cancer, or some disease, Okada says finding the answers in the structure of a protein and why it mutates can be useful to research and address many health issues. ?If we alter or manipulate a part of the pattern while it takes its shape we can make a difference in the outcome,? he says.

Research is familiar to Okada who methodically researched his college choice. ?Basically, I was unmotivated in high school.? But, Okada says he knew he wanted his college experience to be different. ?I knew I should put some thought into what is going to make me happy.?

Okada was looking for a more liberal structure, more freedom. A campus visit was the determining factor. ?I talked to a lot of students. And I also noticed the faculty wasn?t focused on graduate students. All of their attention is focused on you.?

On his own personal development, Okada says that coming to Knox was an eye opener. ?If I?m going to go out into the world and be a leader, make something of myself, I am going to have to get involved.?

Knox?s campus accommodates. ?When you are five minutes away from a meeting for a club, it is a lot easier to go and see if it is interesting to you,? he says.

Currently, Okada is a Resident Advisor, one of the founders of Sigma Chi fraternity, a student representative for the grievance panel, serves on the student athletic advisory committee and a volunteer with Knox?s Habitat for Humanity. ?The more I am at Knox, the more I want to get involved.?

Okada claims that coming to Knox was one of the best decisions of his life. ?Knox is unique in many respects. I mean the honor code, the midnight breakfast, going to football games in the Knox bowl. Knox is an experience with a capital E, you know.?