If the end of the weekend’s got you down, pick up those spirits with the following story from the Chicago Tribune. Last December, after being urged to get a neurological scan by his mother, the 23-year-old received the results: he had glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain tumor (median survival: just over a year), and exceedingly rare in the young.

Rather than resign himself, though, Lukac went back to Northwestern (where he had received the prognosis) and its Brain Tumor Research. Director Marcus Bredel took him on as an assistant researcher, and “for the last few months Lukac has helped conduct many of the experiments that one day could lead to breakthroughs in treating his disease.” And now, his lab has “identified 31 genes key to the formation of glioblastoma tumors,” a crucial advance in discovering treatments for the cancer.

Bredel commented, “I don’t know, if I had this disease, if I could be around it on a daily basis in a setting like this,” but Lukac is maintaining high spirits. “The last two or three months,” he told the Tribune, “being here and doing what I’ve been able to do, it just feels great.” Good luck to him. (Photo: Nancy Stone – Chicago Tribune)