Transcript Document
RH – postdoctoral journey – Moller Centre, 9th Sept 2014 • Not really best person to talk because my career has been so narrow • Every postdoctoral journey is individual • Key is to get as much advice as possible - from diverse sources • What makes MRC, LMB, Units, Institutes great places for research? Group leaders, experienced scientists Students and postdocs Success depends on the mutual interactions Talented individuals good for MRC, MRC good for them – reciprocal; win:win MRC • MRC has 100 years experience of managing and directing research – founded to study tuberculosis and rickets (vitamin D) in 1912 • Outstanding reputation worldwide • New Units are created and disbanded regularly in response to opportunities • UK has tradition of constant reorganisation – MRC is only Research Council to survive • Good to be associated with MRC whether for 1 year or 50 years. World has changed during this period. Years ago, deep skill in one speciality was important; now there is a big advantage to have broad experiences such as in teaching, consultancy, inventing/patenting, publication, presenting talks and seminars. What made LMB special? • Max Perutz • Many other skilled, clever, hard-working and talented people • Right place at right time • Aimed high • MRC support Max insights • • • • • • • Have a deep and genuine interest in science Choose important and interesting problems Find the best mentors you can Recruit or collaborate with people cleverer than yourself Be interested in everybody’s work Make sure you are well funded (Blow, Kendrew + Max’s own comments) Motto – In science, truth always wins Max 1996 article on LMB in Molecular Medicine • • • • • • • • • • • Founded 1947, following Mellanby & Bragg luncheon at Athenaeum 1950s - molecular biology became magnet for attracting talent 1962 - merger of Crick, Klug, Sanger, Huxley, Milstein, Perutz groups Max was Chairman of a Board, not Director Board never directed, but tried to attract/keep talent and give free hand Max worked at bench himself to set good example Excellent technical facilities, large workshops, build own equipment To stimulate ideas, built canteen (Gisela) All equipment shared, not jealously-guarded private property No locks on doors, Max’s door opens directly not via secretary Annual week of seminars (Crick week) Crick insights 1987 New Scientist • Ruthless research in a cupboard • New LMB building in 1962 – get closer to Fred Sanger • American postdocs, highly selected, experienced, hard working, all went back to good jobs after 2/3 years • Canteen • Faces board • Annual symposium – Crick week • Confidence in tackling impossible problems developed a ruthlessness which quickly focused on core problem • MRC let them do what they liked so they did not worry about grants • Proposed a prize for administrators who funded most far-sighted and successful research Jim Watson 1987 New Scientist article • • • • • • • • Sharp minds Heroic goals, aim high, 5-10 years to solve Long-term funding In 1940s, war-trained scientists, sharp, unemotional, released back into civilian life needed to aim high Extreme intelligence & drive of leaders In 1987, still an intellectual experience, not for those weak in spirit Tenured small groups with core support not only group leaders Constant flux of talented postdocs Current wisdom • Encourage people to tackle difficult & important problems and not be worried about short term events like where next paper is coming from • Constant flux of talented students, postdocs, group leaders • Small group sizes with active group leaders (no teaching, grants, admin) • Single central budget, consumables money should never run out • Focus on excellence – retention, mobility, quality • Canteen for all to meet and discuss • Seminars with probing questions • Spin out anything that gets too big, monolithic or resource intensive RH – Ph.D. student 1966, postdoc 1970 Physics undergraduate at Edinburgh (physics and maths) Structural Biology Ph.D. at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge (chymotrypsin) Postdoctoral fellow at Yale (Chemistry, Biology, Pharmacology – Helen Hay Whitney) For me, the key objective in going to Yale was that it was a big research university with a broad diverse research spectrum spanning all of biology, which I lacked. My advisors were Professors Jui Wang, Fred Richards, Tom Steitz, Murdoch Ritchie. How has postdoctoral life changed now compared with 45 years ago? • Science is bigger, still expanding but not as fast as then - more competitive • Much greater dynamic between different roles – government, academia, industry • Faster moving, easier to scale-up, venture capital available, finance and city seduce • Pace of discovery and invention is faster, balance moving from discovery to invention Postdocs with RH and their current location Jim Deatherage Bonnie Wallace David Agard Tom Ceska Jose Valpuesta Gebhard Schertler Chris Tate Reinhard Grisshammer Sriram Subramaniam Per Bullough Martin Lindahl Niko Grigorieff Kyong-Hi Rhee Peter Rosenthal Edmund Kunji John Rubinstein Greg McMullan Maria Serrano-Vega Francesca Magnani Yoko Shibata Vinothkumar Daria Slowik NIH administration Birkbeck, London, Professor UCSF Professor CellTech/UCBPharma scientist CNB, Madrid, Professor ETH/PSI, Switzerland, Professor MRC-LMB, group leader NIH, Bethesda, group leader NIH, section chief Sheffield, Professor Karolinska, Sweden, scientist HHMI, Janelia Farm, group leader deceased MRC-NIMR, group leader MRC-MBU, group leader Toronto, Hospital Sick Kids, Professor MRC-LMB, scientist Heptares Therapeutics, scientist Pavia, Italy, scientist MedImmune/AstraZeneca, scientist MRC-LMB, scientist MRC-LMB, scientist Subsequent career paths of LMB postdoctoral scientists LMB (2001-2005) Richard (1980-2014) Science Administration or publishing 6 1 Professor/group leader 47 12 Industry, small biotech + large pharma 39 3 Hands-on scientist 89 5 Other (law, religion, military, career break) 14 - Medicine 2 - (still at LMB) (26) (4) TOTAL 223 + 86 unknown 22 Key factors in career decisions • Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses and motivations • Get as much information and advice as possible from diverse people • Believe in your own analysis of the best direction for you: consider big changes • In recent years, the importance of industry (small and large companies) and of academic:industry collaborations and exchanges has increased • Publishing, the media and communication skills are more important now than then Some difficult transitions or situations Individual researcher to group leader • Need people skills - negotiating, persuading and influencing, bargaining, understanding needs and motivations of others, tailoring the projects to attainable goals (Medawar - “Art of the Soluble”). • The goal is great science alongside the attainment of career goals of students and postdocs. Gender balance and career conflicts • Two body problem • Families and child care, then and now • Tailoring research goals to fit with career breaks and part-time work • MRC family friendly policies Looking forward, how does future of science look? • Enormous strides since 1980s – newspapers, TV, media now dominated by science • History of universe now very clear – big bang 13.6 billion years ago, dinosaurs wiped out 66 million years ago • Integrated knowledge very accessible – “What on Earth Happened? – Christopher Lloyd; “Big History” by David Christian (13.6 billion years in 18 minutes) • Pace of progress in biology and medicine is fantastic – number of genomes • Golden era for science – science budget expanded, mobility between government, academia, industry has increased • Science even permeating economics and government • Advantage to be flexible, sucking in knowledge from all directions. Most breakthroughs come from injection of a novel idea from a distant or unrelated area.