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Among other professions Donald Alves has been a deputy sheriff, a cameraman, a policeman, a teacher and a medical resident. As a current UMBC fellow in the emergency health services graduate program, a tactical physician with the Maryland State Police and a candidate for a degree in fire safety management, Alves is actively involved in helping his community.

“I started to work two career paths at the same time,” says Alves of more recent years. With interests (and jobs) in both law enforcement and medicine, Alves found himself torn between the two. However, a turning point for Alves occurred when he took his MCAT in 1990, and received very good results. “My grandmother had pushed me to take the test. She was a nurse for a 1000 years,” jokes Alves. “[Like law enforcement], I considered it a social service. A lot of people couldn’t grasp the idea that it was still public service - it’s different from what most people think of.”

Reasons why people enter the field of medicine vary. For Alves, much of it is personal: in addition to the influence of his grandmother, “I had a good friend in junior high that died from leukemia. We kept asking for blood – kept having blood drives. I had a feeling of helplessness that guided me in the direction to serve.”

Alves’ current research interests are centered on the possibility of ambulances transmitting disease from one patient to another. “Nobody’s really looked at this,” states Alves. “But if bacteria or ‘bugs’ are growing there and you’re enclosed in a small box or ambulance, sooner or later something’s going to find you.”

To test whether or not there are dangerous bacteria growing in ambulances, Alves is first conducting a pilot study with four ambulances; from each ambulance, he is taking five samples or sterile swabs. The samples will then be grown in a laboratory, and within about two months, it should be clear if there is anything hazardous growing. After the pilot study, Alves will conduct the same experiment with a greater sample size (20 ambulances).

Throughout his experiences at UMBC, Alves has often relied on the help of Rick Bissell, associate professor and graduate program director. “He’s pretty much my biggest mentor. Rick’s extremely well-connected; he’s been around a long time and has lots of resources. [Also], since I’ve been out in the classroom, I’ve seen a lot of people burn out and he’s not like that – he makes a very effective role-model.”

Alves plans to graduate with his masters by next January; however, he has no plans of leaving UMBC anytime soon – when his fellowship ends this July, he will become a full-time faculty member in emergency health services and the school of medicine.

At a recent rescue operation in Shenandoah National Park, one of Alves’ fellow students began hyperventilating. Alves helped to maintain a sense of calm among the students. “It’s good not to worry too much; if you don’t see me worked up, you don’t need to be worked up,” states Alves. “If you can deal with a crisis in that situation and not get worked up, you’re an ideal candidate for this field.”