Meharry Medical College Welcomes You

Lee E. Limbird, Ph.D.Vice President for Research

Chair, Department of Biomedical SciencesMeharry Medical College

“How do we assure Pharmacology’s continuing

contributions to the Biomedical Enterprise?”

Which brings me to the revised theme of my talk:

“Lifting the Bell Jar”Developing Innovative Pharmacology Training Programs to assure society

benefits from Pharmacology’s unique insights now and in the future !!

Lee E. Limbird, Ph.D.Vice President for Research

Chair, Department of Biomedical SciencesMeharry Medical College

The need for Pharmacology to grow and evolve articulated in Marlene Cohen’s Opening Letter as President of ASPET

Pharmacology must grow and evolve, leading the way as:

• national needs and priorities change• genomics & proteomics research expands• medical therapy embraces stem cell tools• training demands evolve

Pharmacologist 44: 4-5, 2002.

The landscape that some see as threatsto Pharmacology Training Programs

- decrease in departments with Pharmacology in the title

- increase in multi-disciplinary entry programs - reduces direct recruiting to

pharmacology

How do we change these“threats” into opportunities???

What if we just start with the basics?

What IS Pharmacology?

• action of chemical agents on living organisms—drugs, endogenous

compounds, toxins

• includes pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics

What if we created modules of key content that would be accessible to

students in multiple programs?

“Is that REAL pharmacology?”

In safeguarding the discipline, some may be suffocating it…

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putting our

discipline under a belljar

What does the postgenomic era offer… and why must pharmacology be there?!

Enjoying a window of time for unbiased data gathering

• protein expression profiling particularly powerful in the CNS, PNS

• gene expression profiling (microarrays; chips)- during development- in diseased vs. healthy cells and tissue- in juxtaposed, differentiated cells (e.g. CNS)

But, will all these data turn into usable knowledge?

Lifting the Bell Jar!

P H A R AC O L O

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Helping scientists in ALL disciplines move their discoveries to therapeutically useful interventions

Scientists as CreatorsScientists as CreatorsIn biomedical research, creativity is focused on

different “tenses” of scientific endeavor:

past

e.g. epidemiology

future

basic

present

“translational”e.g.“bench to bedside”

“bench to classroom”

Tenses

Researchexamples

Models of relationships among these research “tenses” :

translationalLinear: basic clinical

Linked:

Accelerated Discovery!Accelerated Discovery!

This means, in a single career, may participate in

basic, translational, clinical research

• trainees and investigators must establish ways to continually learn

•Pharmacology training programs must establishways to teach the fundamentals to scientiststhroughout their careers!!!

Lifting the Bell Jar

embracing the intrinsic interdisciplinary nature of pharmacology

pharmacology’s trademark since it’s origin with John Jacob Abel

chemistry biochemistry

developmental biologydrug disposition

physiology

drug action

cell biology

signal transduction

informatics

morphologystructural biology

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Characteristics of a successful Characteristics of a successful training program:training program:

• liberate trainees from the fear of failureliberate trainees from the fear of failure

•show trainees how to learn on your own for show trainees how to learn on your own for the rest of your lifethe rest of your life

Despite our emphasis on pharmacological Despite our emphasis on pharmacological principles, training programs must principles, training programs must

address the more fundamental address the more fundamental “fundamentals”, as well :“fundamentals”, as well :

What is the reason for research?

New knowledge,

the pursuit of truth…

This should be the mission of all investigators !!

Helping your students focus the mission of new knowledge & the pursuit of truth means that:

• Their hypotheses can be wrong but their research program can still be a success

• Sharing ideas, reagents, technologies, and fostering collaboration accelerates the process

• Publications are essential !!!!

Other “fundamentals” of Other “fundamentals” of training programs include our need to :training programs include our need to :

Foster passion Foster passion

Encourage FOCUSEncourage FOCUS

Help students identify an Help students identify an important problem they are important problem they are

impatient to solveimpatient to solveMentors, as role models, must share from the Mentors, as role models, must share from the

“well” filled throughout their career“well” filled throughout their career

Some advice for trainees is relevant Some advice for trainees is relevant thoughout their careerthoughout their career

Understanding “balance”

fragmentation focus

Academic Career Development: Helping Academic Career Development: Helping students recognize that there are students recognize that there are

“seasons” in our lives“seasons” in our lives

• Training

• Early - independent

• Mid-career—tenure achieved or leadership role in industry

• Senior career phase

While students are training,find ways to While students are training,find ways to encourage them to learn all they can:encourage them to learn all they can:

• doctoral- scholarly content- conceptual frameworks- experimental strategies

• postdoctoral- focus on solving a problem- develop a “story”

DATA are the CURRENCY

Help students and young faculty you Help students and young faculty you mentor understand early career needsmentor understand early career needs

• to be temporarily selfish will allow altruism to be temporarily selfish will allow altruism later, with something worthwhile to share later, with something worthwhile to share

- establish laboratoryestablish laboratory- establish lab cultureestablish lab culture

journal clubs; data clubsjournal clubs; data clubs- focus, focus, focus…- focus, focus, focus…

• get as much critical input as possible on get as much critical input as possible on data, papers, proposalsdata, papers, proposals

• resist resist prematurepremature service on: service on:- committees, local or nationalcommittees, local or national- journal editorial boardsjournal editorial boards

Giving Back: The Mid-Career TransitionGiving Back: The Mid-Career Transition

• accept national/local responsibilitiesaccept national/local responsibilities- serve where your insights serve where your insights unique unique contributioncontribution

• be bold & have funbe bold & have fun- collaborationscollaborations- writing bookswriting books- lead multi-investigator research programslead multi-investigator research programs

• but…remember…but…remember…

How do we help our trainees sustain the JOY of research?

• “eureka” moments, even for Nobelists, are too infrequent- identify vicarious “points” of joy

To sustain JOY between Eurekas, To sustain JOY between Eurekas, Encourage students to:Encourage students to:

Read Widely• fosters use of novel strategies• breeds excitement about others’ discoveries to bridge JOY gaps between your own eurekas

Establish a reading discipline set goal of # papers/week set time—inviolate engage in journal clubs

……and when the joy of bench research and when the joy of bench research is no longer there…is no longer there…

Remember… Pharmacologists can serve society in other ways:

• journalists• teachers• technology transfer• development & fundraising• liaisons with policy makers• research infrastructure leadership• novelists/movie producers

Summary…of SortsSummary…of Sorts

- Define CORE content• deliver in short modules – usable for

training of investigators in multiple disciplines at multiple career stages

- Focus on developing those traits/habits that will serve trainees for a lifetime

- Help trainees understand the “seasons” of a professional life, and how to enjoy and immerse themselves in each one

Words I try to live by:Words I try to live by:

Care more than others think wise.Care more than others think wise.

Expect more than others think possible.Expect more than others think possible.

Dream more than others think practical.Dream more than others think practical.

Risk more than others think safe.Risk more than others think safe.

AcknowledgmentsGratitude for so many opportunities…

To learn:Ted Williams—College of WoosterBob Lefkowitz—postdoctoral mentor at DukeJoel Hardman—Chair and mentor at Vanderbilt

To teach (and to learn):My many students and postdoctoral fellows

To serve:ASPET

To be funded:National Institutes of HealthAmerican Heart AssociationASPETNARSAD

To be inspired:The ever-expanding scientific literature

Welcome to the National Meeting of

Directors of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology

Reception

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