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Finding Meaning in Medicine: Dr. Sara Stone’s Journey from Lab to Life

By Lynn McCain | February 16

Stone Article Photos headshot 500.jpgLike many college students, Dr. Sara Stone’s major changed after she started her program at Auburn University in Alabama. She originally planned to go into industrial design, a field somewhere between engineering and design. Then she decided to take a pre-med course and changed her major to nutrition. As she prepared for medical school applications, she focused on strengthening her resume and took a research position in a lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the summer. She found she enjoyed being in the lab and loved her mentor, Dr. John Shacka, whose research focused on autophagy using a mouse stroke model. “I decided that I would pursue the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) pathway and get both an MD and a PhD, so I was at the University of Alabama in Birmingham for 10 years first as a lab tech in Dr. Shacka’s lab, then as a medical student”

Dr. Sara Stone in her office.Stone completed her doctoral thesis titled “A Novel Role For T-Bet And Ifng In Directing B Cell Differentiation” in Dr. Frances Lund’s lab. Her research focused on B-cell differentiation when exposed to interferon gamma, as happens in viral infections such as the flu. “This differentiation is important in shaping the antibody response, not just in the types of antibodies that are made, but also the quantity of antibodies and the memory B-cell response.” After completing her PhD, she returned to medical school for clinical rotations. “I really enjoyed being in pathology more than anywhere else, and a lot of my mentors in the MSTP were in pathology. I decided to go into pathology, and thought, given my immunology background, I would pursue blood banking or hematopathology.”

During her residency training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Stone’s grandfather passed away from complications of inclusion body myositis, a rare, progressive muscle disease that causes gradual muscle weakness and wasting. This unique inflammatory myopathy involves both inflammation and degenerative changes within muscle fibers, and there is no cure or treatment for this disease. This led Stone to choose neuropathology as her subspecialty. “To my surprise, I landed in neuropath, and I couldn’t be happier!”

When Stone was deciding whether to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship or enter the job market, the position at the University of Michigan opened. “It was such a perfect fit. My husband’s family is from the area, and we’d always hoped to move closer to family. My mentors encouraged me to apply, even if I wasn’t sure if I would take it, just to see how it went. I love the neuropath group here and was excited to join as faculty.”

Dr. Sara Stone and Louise.Stone joined neuropathology as a Clinical Assistant Professor in September 2024, working with Dr. Andrew Lieberman (Director of Neuropathology) and the rest of the team. “We moved here in July 2024. At the time, I had a one-month-old baby girl, Louise, so I took a couple of months before starting my position here to stay home with her and get settled in.”

In her new position, she signs out brain and muscle biopsies, which is her primary area of responsibility, but also engages in collaborative research with colleagues in neurosurgery and oncology. She loves working with trainees at all levels. “Trainees bring a fresh perspective. They approach things in a totally new way. When we’re stuck in our routines, we can lose that openness that trainees have. They ask inspiring questions that reveal gaps in our knowledge and point to areas that need more research.” Stone recalled an example, “I was emailing with our neuropathology fellow Mark Rudolf about a patient who had neurofibromatosis type 2. We were both learning more about the disease as we worked up the case, building off each other’s questions. He said, ‘I should really do research into the NF2 pathway.’ I admire that curiosity and the motivation he has to work on something inspired by his experience on clinical service.”

“I love the muscle biopsy service because I get to work with our clinical colleagues. One of the things I love most is encountering a new, unfamiliar entity to me, reading about it, and learning more as I work up the case. My neuropath colleagues have been invaluable as I begin working in this challenging area.” Stone also enjoys working on the consult service. “The exposure we get to different cases here is just incredible, and it just expands my opportunities to work with people all over the U.S.”

Dr. Sara Stone poses with her Lego birdhouse, reflecting her love for crafts.Personally, Stone finds great joy in being a “toddler mom.” In the evenings and weekends, “I’m in the trenches with them. Our daughter is just starting to talk – a lot! I love seeing them grow and change. It gives me a lot of joy. Our son, Theo, now three and a half, is a self-described jokester.” Stone is also a big movie buff and enjoys listening to movie podcasts. “I do that while I’m at home, knitting by the fire at night after the kids go to sleep.” Some of her favorite movies are those produced by the Coen Brothers, such as No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski.

In addition to her two children, Stone has two cats, Macaroni and Cheese, who are brothers. She enjoys baking, knitting, doing crafts, and puzzles. She has a special recipe for oatmeal pecan chocolate chip cookies that she loves – the infamous $250 Neiman-Marcus® cookie recipe - which she has graciously shared with us. The recipe can be found at the end of this story. She is quite a talented baker, even baking a wedding cake for a good friend, a three-tiered vanilla-almond cake with strawberry filling and French buttercream frosting. “This frosting is a fluffy, super creamy frosting that is not as sweet as traditional cake frosting. Everyone loved it.”

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Neiman-Marcus® cookies

1 cup butter (I use salted)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2.5 cups rolled oats blended to fine powder (leave some unblended if you prefer)

12 ounces chocolate chips

0.5 teaspoon salt

4 ounce milk chocolate bar, finely chopped or grated

1.5 cups chopped lightly toasted pecans (or your favorite nuts)

Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla. Blend the dry ingredients; add them to the wet ingredients. Mix in the chocolate and nuts just to combine. Bake 1” balls 2.5” apart on a greased cookie sheet at 375˚ F for ~10 min until lightly browned.

 

 
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