For the love of science

Even at the young age of 23, VHHS alum and 2014 Stanford University graduate Theo Roth is so poised and articulate, it’s hard not to be in awe of him. And that’s to say nothing of his accomplishments.

In April, Roth made national headlines for his work with Dr. Dorian McGavern, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While still an undergrad, Roth landed the plum NIH assignment, which resulted in discovering with McGavern what happens to the brain following a mild concussion. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, may eventually lead to more effective methods of treating concussion-related trauma. 

Given the research’s promise, every outlet from The New York Times to ESPN to Sports Illustrated came calling. And though Roth was happy to talk about the work and its potential, he admitted he’d much rather get back to the lab than spend time self-congratulating.

“I love the problem-solving aspect of research, and the perseverance it demands,” he said. “What’s neat to think about is how I built those skills.”

Roth entered Vestavia Hills City Schools as a fifth-grader, shortly after his parents, recruited by UAB, transferred the family from their native St. Louis to Birmingham.

That first year, Roth played recreational sports.

“I was never any good,” he said. “I was always at the back of the bench and the bottom of the lineup. If the sport required each player a minimum number of minutes in active play, like basketball, that was literally all I got, and it was a good decision on the coach’s part.”

As a sixth-grader, Roth joined the math team. The academic extracurricular kept his skills sharp, though he didn’t feel particularly challenged. By seventh grade, Roth was ready to give sports another try. 

“Wrestling was an individual sport, not like basketball or baseball where I knew I wasn’t as good as the others,” he said. 

Roth admitted the sport even gave him a self-esteem boost in a way academics could not.

“My parents taught me about how you have to work hard to excel,” he said. “For me, wrestling was a real validation that I can put in as much effort as anybody else. Math, and really school in general, came easily. But to a degree, it was innate, much like someone who excels in music and has perfect pitch. Wrestling was a fresh start. It was never easy. It was a real measure of all the effort I put in, and I needed that.”

Roth also signed up for band, where he played the tenor saxophone. 

He maintained his involvement in all three activities throughout high school.

“Though math team, band and wrestling were all very separate spheres, they complemented each other well,” said Roth. “The intellectual foundation from my classes, the creativity I learned in band, and the perseverance I developed through wrestling ended up becoming skills I rely on every day in medical research.”

He credits them for the reason he is often at the research lab long after the sun goes down, investing as much time as it takes to get the answer right.

“A lot of times, I see that people have this impression of, ‘If I just read enough or if I just study enough, I will be able to find something new,’” said Roth. “Research just isn’t that way. It doesn’t mean that you will find that next breakthrough by pouring over what others have reported on in the past. You have to deploy a lot of creative thinking.” 

Later this month, Roth will return to the West Coast, where he will begin post-graduate studies at the University of California-San Francisco. For the next eight years, he will complete coursework in the Medical Scientist Training Program. While Roth hasn’t yet narrowed what he wishes to specialize in, there is no doubt the insatiably curious researcher will discover his passion soon enough.

And when he finds it, what is for certain is this: Whatever Roth studies will be for the love of it.

“At Stanford, everyone coming in had a million extracurricular activities under their belts,” he said. “They had started three clubs. They had volunteered in a third world country. On and on. And those things are good if you are doing them to improve yourself. But my view is, it’s not what’s on your résumé that matters. If you are doing all those things just because you can and not because you care, it is wasted time.”

Looking back, Roth said he wasn’t consciously choosing activities to impress a college admissions counselor, or to build toward a career goal. 

“It was always more about who I wanted to be instead of what I wanted to do,” he said. “In high school, research and medicine were the last things on my mind.”

So much so that by winter break of his ninth-grade year, Roth was sitting his parents down to inform them he found biology boring and wouldn’t be taking another class on it — ever. Today, Roth holds a B.S. in biology and a master’s in biomedical informatics; the irony is not lost on him.

“All these activities along the way were preparing me,” he said. “They weren’t shaping me for any particular career, but they were making me a better person. I developed the drive to learn and to figure out things whenever I can, and that applies to all kinds of careers. Having those instincts and that curiosity matter more than work anyway; these are traits that can help you live your life well.”