I returned to Ann Arbor in the early 1980’s to get my Ph.D. in neuroscience. I had left as a 13 year old, when my parents–academics, departed the University of Michigan for Caltech. One of my first memories of my return was being able to demonstrate the savante-like skill of being able, on cue, to point the direction to some landmark (like for example Burton Tower) without actually remembering either quite what the landmark was, nor really any distinct street directions. This was quite entertaining for the locals.

My memories of grad school range from the quiet pleasures of studying in Rackham (at the time, in a state of slow neglect) to trudging through the slush from my house on White Street up to the (now demolished) Neuroscience Laboratory Building to finish an experiment in the “wee hours of the morning” (to quote Sinatra). But there was always the fecund explosion in the Nicholas arboretum of Spring counterpointed by the crisp Fall football Saturdays.

The day I defended my dissertation, my sister came to town. She was living in Cambridge Massachusetts and after the excitement, we reminisced about growing up in Ann Arbor–especially at the historical time when Tom Hayden was starting the SDS and Kennedy announced the Peace Corps from the local train station.

Now her son is about to graduate himself from UofM’s School of Public Policy. And I can’t help but see a cycle that will continue for future generations from our family.

I recently took an old friend out to the Prince William campus, some twenty miles further west of the US Capitol than the Krasnow Institute. He’s a former NIH Lab Chief–one of those brilliant scientists who made training at Bethesda such a delight in the late 1980’s. Now he is a successful medical school department chair and as top flight a scientist as ever, running a group of perhaps twenty researchers in the interface between proteomics and cell biology.

We were going to visit the lab of another former NIH intramural scientist who moved to Mason in the last year with his entire group–also working in the area of proteomics, but interfaced more with the development of new clinical tests and procedures. They are old friends and colleagues.

As we pulled off the Prince William By-Pass and onto the very new Mason life sciences campus, we both noticed the headquarters of ATCC, once a stalwart of the biomedical establishment in Rockville Maryland and I pointed out where the new NIH funded $25M bio-research facility was going to be constructed.

When the two former NIH’ers met (and yes I was one myself, although I count simply as an NIH postdoctoral alumnus), the conversation turned both very technical, but also towards the excitement of building something absolutely brand new. Something beyond what was left behind in Bethesda. We toured the state-of-the-art labs and I couldn’t help but feel that something extraordinary is being built at George Mason these days.

At Prince William, the focus is on systems biology–an excellent counterpoint to the systems neuroscience perspective of Krasnow and the integrative neuroscience focus of the new Janelia Farm facility of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, just a few miles up the road near Leesburg.

On the ride back to Krasnow, my old friend and I both remarked on what a remarkable morning it had been. I think soon it will be good to write a field guide to life sciences research at this new University, George Mason.

Jim

A week from this coming Monday, our 3T magnet will be delivered. It’ll be about a six hour operation and involve some fairly big cranes. We’ll be video recording the delivery and I hope to have some of that content up on the main Krasnow web site shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, final site clearing permits have been issued in Richmond for the Krasnow Expansion project, so I expect clearing to commence shortly.

Jim

There are times, even in science (where nominally the entire effort is designed to elucidate nature’s truth), where there is a need for the keeping of secrets. This is especially true where the long term interests of the institution may be at risk. It is also without a doubt true under the many circumstances where it is both ethical and obligated to protect an individual’s privacy.

The most potentially awkward situations involve those times when the two needs (institutional welfare and individual privacy) intersect. Example: when you know something that will affect the future of another colleague, or the converse when you know something about the future of a colleague that might affect the institution.

One area of ethics research that I think should be futher studied is this nexus between the secrecy obligations of the institution and those of the individual. Secrecy as distinct from privacy.

Jim

Fundraising for the Institute is now a major priority. With the new scanner and building coming on line, labs must be fitted out, faculty must be hired and equipment must be purchased. All of these require significant financial support. The Institute is, in this area, extraordinarily lucky. We have an Advisory Board that has repeatedly stepped up to the plate and supported the Institute at critical times during its sixteen year history. Now, that Board, is once again engaged in a new campaign to raise monies that will support the massive new science initiatives of the Institute. With these new dollars, the Institute will expand its footprint in the area of translational research that will make a real difference for people who are suffering from brain diseases. At the same time, the Institute will continue to build upon its existing strengths in integrative neuroscience, complex adaptive systems and modeling socially complex systems.

The overarching goal is for the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study to become an international center for top-flight “mind” research over the next decade.

Jim

I guest lectured in a class for the biosciences management program in Mason’s School of Management yesterday evening. Of of the interesting questions that came up, one had to do with the possibility that incentive structures for scientists might be different than for other professionals. Along these lines, it might be useful to think of a pie chart representing the total set of rewards for say…a senior partner in a law firm and a top-flight scientist.

Both pie charts would of course have a section for monetary compensation. This might include salary, but would also include bonuses, disbursements and benefits. It’s fair to say that, in general, for the lawyer, the monetary compensation side of the pie chart would be larger than for the scientist.

However, let’s look at the “toys” side of the pie chart (very important for scientists). The lawyer’s toys might include a nice office, a blackberry, perhaps a new Mac powerbook along with some fairly expensive furniture. But the scientist’s toys would be of a different league: perhaps a $500K mass spec, or a $250K confocal microscope, or even a $3M MRI machine.

In other words, the toys side of the scientist’s pie chart would more than compensate for the monetary compensation side, so that in fact the total value of the rewards for both the lawyer and the scientist would be fairly similar.

Interesting huh? I think this gets at something unique about what motivates scientists. And this is perhaps the reason that “set up” packages are so important to the recruitment of scientists.

Jim

Yesterday one of my graduate students and I went to visit Dr. Adrianne Noe who is the director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. We are interested in collaborating with Dr. Noe and her colleagues who curate the Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections at the Museum, one of the truly great neuroanatomical resources(click on the link above). For those of you who haven’t visited, I really recommend a trip to the Museum next time you are in Washington.

Jim

Yesterday I had the honor of representing Mason at a reception for students admitted to next year’s freshman class. The reception was held at the estate of Patricia Kluge, who serves on the Krasnow Advisory Board, in the Charlottesville area. The amazing enthusiasm of these extremely bright kids for their soon to be alma mater was extraordinary. As we exchanged Mason stories surrounded by the beautiful Virginia Piedmont I couldn’t help be struck by the intersection of achievement, good luck and just plain hard work that has put this young university at the forefront of our collective imagination. It’s a great time to be at George Mason University.

The Financial Times today had a very interesting article on Americans who are moving to the UK. Among the listed reasons for the migration: health insurance, quality of life, and the ability to travel between the countries of Europe the way most Americans view traveling between the States.

I worry about the potential effects of such a trend on science here in the United States. If this country becomes a less attractive place for the best and the brightest to pursue a career in research, then the nation will be poorer as a result (both metaphorically and actually). I also would add to the list above some additional factors that are specific to science as it’s currently being practiced here in America. Among my items: the increasing politicization of science (e.g. stem cell research and climate change) and the perceived “unfriendly” visa environment for foreign scientists to work in the US.

The second point is significantly more subtle than the first. The latter item refers to the added value to a scientific environment that comes from internationalization. Here at Krasnow, we have an institute for advanced study that currently houses scientists and students that come from China, Russia, Italy, Ukraine and Brazil among many others. That trans-national milieu is considered a real plus among most of the scientists I’ve known. I believe the reason is that scientists value exploration of different cultures almost as highly as they do exploration of nature. If we in the US trend towards more nationalistic science, then I fear the result will be a migration of the science away from the United States.

Jim

A lot has been going on the past week, so it’s probably a good time to update here with some of the more important items:

1) The MRI radio frequency shield will receive its first test today. If that’s successful, we’ll then go on to install the magnetic shield.

2) We’re looking at delivery of the Magnet over the weekend of May 8. We’ll arrange video recording of the delivery and will put it up on the Institute’s web site for download.

3) The Provost made his annual visit with the Krasnow faculty yesterday. It was a very productive Q&A session for which we’re all very grateful.

4) The Krasnow Advisory Board met last week and formed two new subcommittees: one will be in the area of fundraising and it will be chaired by Ms. Patricia Kluge. The other will be in the area of public relations and that committee will be chaired by Dr. Adrianne Noe. My sense is that both of these new subcommittees will be crucial as we move forward with our growth plans.

Jim