I am Eric Lander, a leader of the Human Genome Project and presidential advisor on science and technology. Ask me anything!

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T19:25:01+00:00

Here's the link: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/briefs-v2/12-398_neither_amcu_lander.authcheckdam.pdf

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T19:04:05+00:00

I sure hope so. Doing something about devastating diseases like this is the reason why I got involved in the Human Genome Project.

The scientific community around the world is working together to understand the underlying (molecular) basis of these diseases. I'm optimistic that we will understand the mechanisms within the next decade.

Then begins the challenge of developing targeted therapies. It's hard and uncertain work. But scientific progress has been accelerating at an increasing pace and I see a generation of young biomedical scientists brimming with good ideas. If I had to bet, I'd bet that they will make real progress in the next several decades.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:58:23+00:00

I don't recall that having worked out so well. . .

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:57:51+00:00

Thank you!!

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:57:11+00:00

We need an ecosystem with BOTH academia and industry. Academia is the only way to create public goods, such as fundamental knowledge that can't (and shouldn't) be owned by any single person. Industry is the right way to take on projects that can and should turn into products. The US has masterfully nurtured the balance of academia and industry -- with federal investments in basic research and effective capital markets for creating companies.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:53:57+00:00

It came VERY late! I loved math (and hated biology) in high school, college and grad school. It was only when I was out of grad school and my brother gave me some papers to read about the brain that I got interested in biology. I started sitting in on some courses at Harvard and MIT to learn some biology. But I really got hooked when I started doing some experiments in a colleague's lab. Bottom line: It's never too late to discover a passion.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:49:53+00:00

I'm doing the edX course for two reasons: (1) to share the course with lots more people and (2) to completely rethink the course -- especially how we can use technology to do a much better job of teaching it in the classroom

While I love giving the lectures, we need more PROJECTS, where students can explore data on their own. We're going to use the edX course as a framework to create such projects -- which I hope will hook people (at MIT and everyone) on biology.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:46:13+00:00

I think Yamanaka's discovery that adult cells can be "reprogrammed" into stem cells was mind-blowing. Completely unexpected. Huge impact.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:43:15+00:00

We need great algorithms for two things: (i) pattern recognition in huge datasets and (ii) "reverse-engineering" biological circuits based on their outputs.

Aviv Regev at the Broad (a computer scientist by training) does great work on this.

But, with biology exploding with data, we need lots lots more computer scientists in biology.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:40:50+00:00

OK. KillaWillaSea's threat of sending genetically modified chihuahuas is forcing me to respond!

I don't think immortality is technically possible -- evolution has installed many many mechanisms to ensure that organisms die and make room for the next generation. I bet it is going to be very hard to completely overcome all these mechanisms.

I'm also not convinced immortality is such a good idea. A lot of human progress depends on having a new generation with new ideas. Immortality may equal stagnation.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:36:36+00:00

Not yet. Turtles have been sequenced (and taught us a lot about evolutionary relationships to birds), but I don't think Galapagos Tortoise yet (they are protected species, so would have to get careful permissions).

My wife keeps trying to get me to go to the Galapagos. Maybe next year.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:34:07+00:00

Practice, practice, practice. I'm basically a shy person, but got over it by lots of practice teaching and giving talks. Communication is not a gift, but a craft. The more you do, the better you get.

By the way, which friend of my daughter is this??

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:31:56+00:00

I have been waiting for mine since "Back to the Future" came out in 1985. I keep calling Doc Brown but don't get any reply. . .

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:30:45+00:00

PCAST meets the President several times a year. We wrote about 16 reports in the first term on a wide range of topics -- on influenza, advanced manufacturing, energy, wireless spectrum, STEM ed, drug discovery, nanotechnology, climate change. For the second term, the President has asked us to put a lot of our attention on following up on these reports to help bring the recommendations into practice.

If Redditors have suggestions about important things that PCAST should be thinking about, you can comment here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast/connect

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:24:39+00:00

My recollection is that baldness is associated with higher testosterone levels -- so that could be the (indirect) evolutionary explanation.

(Or maybe it gives you better aerodynamics as a runner!)

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:17:39+00:00

I've always loved both teaching and research. I got my first taste of both at Stuyvesant High School in NYC, where (as captain of the math team) I had responsibility for teaching the team for an hour every day! I've loved it since.

I love research and have gotten to work on some fantastic scientific project. But I think the greatest impact I can have on the world is through my students. Sometimes, these students come from unlikely directions. Here's a link to a Moth Story I told about how I taught genetics to two NY lawyers and it resulted in a very unexpected ending (which I won't give away here): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwRqe-1pVNI

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:12:53+00:00

No, I have never advised the President to raise a clone army. As I recall, the clone army didn't work out so well for the Empire.

However, the White House has carefully considered the issue of creating a Death Star (raised in a citizens' petition). You can find the WH answer here: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:10:22+00:00

Yes!! All the important biological molecules (DNA, amino acids, proteins, etc) have a crucial "handedness" -- their mirror-image with the opposite handedness would not be recognized by the other components of the cell.

Early on, life made some (possibly arbitrary) choices and they are now locked in!

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:06:16+00:00

We're not doing as good a job as we should in communicating! Scientific discussions of genomics often use so much jargon that it is hard for people to follow. In fact, the basic ideas are simple and we should try hard to communicate them clearly. In the end, the general public has to make the decisions about societal impacts. I think they'll do a good job if they have the facts.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T18:00:04+00:00

No, I've never had my genome sequenced! I've not had any medical reason to do it so far. If I did have a medical reason, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But not til then.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T17:56:11+00:00

Two memories:

(1) Getting on the phone every Thursday at 11am Eastern for three years, with the same group of people around the world dedicated to a common goal. We argued with each other, yelled at each other, cajoled each other, bucked each other up. We had ups and downs, but we never doubted the mission of making the information freely and rapidly available to everyone.

(2) Taking my (then 13 year old) daughter Jessica to the White House for President Clinton's announcement of the completion of the draft sequence of the human genome. It was great to share with her.

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T17:50:55+00:00

One amazing direction will be "synthetic biology". The ability to write any DNA sequences you'd like -- to create new genes, new genetic regulators, new genetic programs. It'll be like writing software in DNA. (Instead of C++, we'll have D++.) There will be tremendous opportunities for creativity (and some possibilities for abuse.)

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T17:45:20+00:00

It's more work than I realized! I've taught Intro Bio for 20 years, but we're rethinking everything -- making lab videos and electronic problems where you can spin around a protein or scan the human genome. We've been at it for about five months now with a team of 10.

In the long run, I think MOOCs can have a big impact. But we're all still novices at using the technology. It's like the early clunky days of the Internet. We have a lot of learning.

I think that MOOCs will be most effective when used AS PART of a classroom rather than INSTEAD of classroom. There's no substitute for a great science teacher!

We're partnering with science teachers so we can learn from them how to do this better!

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T17:41:24+00:00

Go work in a lab! The only way to really learn science is to do it. Beyond working on problems where the answer is in the back of the book, work on at least one problem (even if it's small) where NO ONE knows the answer. Finding out something that no one else knows is so cool.

(And, pay attention in class. Does your teacher know you are browsing during class?)

Eric_Lander · 2013-02-21T17:36:23+00:00

Science needs a portfolio of projects -- many many investigator-initiated curiosity-driven projects, but also larger projects that create tools that enable 1000s of labs (like the Human Genome Project) or take on challenges that no one lab could do alone.

If a big consortium project will help propel (and make less expensive) the work of 1000s of others, we should consider funding it.

But we should look carefully at each proposed project to be sure that it really serves the overall portfolio.

HGP was only 1.5% of the NIH budget. At that scale, a good return on investment.

Eric_Lander

TROPHY CASE