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Fall 2002 Spotlight Issue
October 28, 2002

Duran appreciates old, new

By Cindy Foster

Duran in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology lab.Walter Duran has a great appreciation for the old, for roots and for history. He is fascinated, too, by the new, and learning and exploring. He’s discovered that working at UNM allows him to combine the two.

The University is the only employer he’s ever had as an adult – but he says the field that he works in here – molecular biology - provides him with the constant prospect of learning and doing something new.

Duran, research scientist II in the department of molecular genetics and microbiology, grew up in Roswell when his father transferred there with the military. His parents, Mary and Tony Duran, and sister Diane, still live there. But he can trace his family roots in northern New Mexico back to the 1700s.

“I take a lot of pride in the fact that I’m a native New Mexican,” he said. “I think it is important that there are still many people here who have maintained traditions that have been unchanged for hundreds of years. ”

Biology always fascinated Duran and he worked in the lab at Roswell High School. As a university student, he got a job “washing lab beakers” and then, after graduating in 1987 he went to work fulltime.

Molecular biology has been the main focus of his career. “I’ve done everything from A to Z,” he says, counting off the positions with his fingers: research Tech I, II, III and IV, Senior Research Tech then Senior Scientist I & II. The jobs have taken him to labs studying a variety of subjects. His most recent assignment involves reverse genetic systems analysis of the hantavirus – a topic with the potential to help defend against biological terror attacks in the future.

Duran says he has been lucky to have strong mentors. Dr. Taolin Yi, while still a graduate student, offered to help Duran learn about the field of molecular biology. “He was my super mentor,” said Duran. After 15 years, Duran says he still gets excited about his field.

“What I think I like best is the constant newness of it. You never solve the problem. There is always a new challenge, always a bigger/better/faster way of doing things,” he said. “And, you never get bored with the people. I’ve met and learned from people from all around the world.

Duran’s homelife reflects the combination of old and new. He recently moved to the Northeast heights with his wife Rochelle (Shelly) and Lucki, a mixed-breed mutt who likes to take walks with the couple in their neighborhood. Weekends are spent doing woodworking – a craft learned from his father - and cooking for family and friends. An important part of their life also revolves around San Felipe Catholic Church in Old Town. There they find friends who also honor several hundred year old family traditions. Working so that history coexists peacefully with the new ideas and developments takes some effort, but the results are worth it, he said.

“Shelly and I have been active in our neighborhood association,” he said. “Sometimes they need a volunteer and I’m tired and don’t really want to raise my hand. But then when we are out walking the dog and see the results of what we did, I know it was worth it.

“In many ways your best ally in living here is the landscape of New Mexico itself,” he said. “It’s so beautiful to live here, it’s such a romantic state, it makes it easy to put in the extra effort. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

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