From travel to the Obama parasite, Saint Mary's biology professor recalls 'Small Science'

Thomas Platt’s life revolved around parasites. Little parasites are a big deal to him even after more than 50 years in the worm game. He gives his insight into research, travels, teaching at Saint Mary’s College and life in a new book, “Small Science.”

The book is published by World Scientific and is available on Amazon.

It is the story of a regular guy who wasn’t too serious about high school in Ohio. He decided to buckle down and he found science. There was college, sports, finding his future wife and graduate work. It does have science and parasite talk. Plenty of worms. However, there are comments about travel and technology and a few asides that should make readers laugh.

His career had twists and turns before landing in South Bend and Saint Mary’s. He didn’t know much about South Bend when he came for an interview other than Notre Dame was there.

He found dedicated and smart students at Saint Mary’s and a supportive faculty. “The faculty always had the best interest of the students,” he said. “They were a wonderful group. I loved Saint Mary’s and South Bend.”

The students at Saint Mary’s had the chance to be themselves and not defer to men in the classroom. He knows many of the students have gone on to successful careers in medicine and other fields.

If you think about it a little bit, you may remember Thomas and his research. It did make a splash. It made The Tribune and many other publications in 2016. He and his co-authors wrote about a turtle blood fluke that was named for President Barack Obama.

Presidential parasite: Saint Mary's professor names parasite after Obama. He says it's a sign of respect.

Tom is a big fan of the former president and is his fifth cousin, twice removed. The little fluke was named Baracktrema obamai. The discovery was reported in the Journal of Parasitology in 2016.

Mainstream publications and news services got the press release and wanted more insight. Wow, everyone was interested. There were calls from everywhere. Thomas writes in the book that the name was not disparaging. A few newspapers wanted to know about naming a low form of life after the president. It was an honor because parasites are “cool as hell,” Thomas said.

It is certainly not a low form of life, Thomas said. “These are fabulous, beautiful and incredibly clever organisms,” he said in a 2016 interview with The Tribune.

He named another parasite after his father-in-law and he likes him.

Baracktrema obamai is a tiny parasitic flatworm that lives in the bloodstream of two types of turtles in Malaysia. Platt discovered the parasite while on a research expedition there in 2008. “I knew as soon as I saw it that it was new,” he said. It is about 2 inches long and as thin as a hair.

That’s what his 15 minutes of fame looked like. The story appeared in more than 200 outlets and there were more than 10,000 unique visitors to the Journal of Parasitology webpage. He also received more than 100 emails from colleagues in the States and abroad. News does travel.

There also were a number of troll messages from both sides of the aisle. He ignored them.

Thomas said he never heard from the former president or any of his people about the honor. “I sent a copy of the Journal of Parasitology and received the standard thank you card.”

Once the presidential library is completed, the journal could be in an exhibit.

The book started as an essay in defense of parasites and it grew from there. Within six months, he had a first draft. Later, there was the challenge of finding a publisher. “I sent it to 20 or 30 publishers, but it was turned down.” Fortunately, he found World Scientific.

Who would find it interesting? He said it isn’t written for scientists alone. It is a look at life, growing up, finding a place in the world and academics. “It is about doing science without a lot of money.”

Any more books? It isn’t on his to-do list — he wasn't really planning this one.

You can reach Kathy at kfborlik@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: From travel to the Obama parasite, 'Small Science' traces Platt's life