UP FRONT
What started you on your
path to medicine?
My father is a psychiatrist and a
scientist. We lived in Bethesda,
Maryland, when he was working at the National Institutes of
Health, so I was exposed to both
clinical medicine and research
from an early age, and continued to be exposed to medical
research and science throughout
my life.
Before we moved to Bethesda,
my father worked in Boston,
and I was born at the Boston
Lying-In Hospital, which is only
a couple of buildings away from
where I currently work. So, I’ve
come full circle.
Have you had any mentors
or teachers who have had a
big impact on your career?
Mentorship has absolutely
defined my career interests and
development. Among many role
models and advisors I’ve had
over the years, three very important mentors come to mind.
My PhD advisor at Oxford
University, Peter Ratcliffe, first
taught me how to be a scientist.
He has an extraordinary ability
to focus on scientific problems,
analyze them from every possible
angle, and figure out the most
definitive experiment to arrive at
the most definitive answer.
In medical school, I worked
with Frank Bunn, who received
ASH’s Wallace H. Coulter Award
in 2009. He embodies the career
and the person that I have most
wanted to emulate. He has contributed enormously scientifically, he is a tremendous clinician,
and he is a masterful teacher. In
addition to his achievements in
medicine, he has a wonderful
family and many deep outside
interests. Frank’s influence is the
primary reason that I became a
hematologist.
My post-doctoral mentor,
Todd Golub, taught me to think
big, to ask the most important
questions, to have the courage to
address really difficult problems,
to articulate these problems with
clarity, and to take advantage of
new technologies to answer longstanding questions. He remains
a close colleague, mentor, and
role model.
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