When I talk to people about stem cell science and the timeline for turning data into treatments and cures, their reactions completely depend on whom they are. Scientists are patient, perhaps too patient….perhaps too understanding of the many years that we are told that science takes to get something to the clinic. Patients and patient […]
Is it fair to tell a patient to be patient? Read More »
Should men get a PSA test for prostate cancer? The same federal panel that recommended that women in their 40s not get routine mammograms has now come forth with the statement that PSA testing men for detection of prostate cancer should be stopped. I think it is not that simple and I still believe in
Should men get a PSA test for prostate cancer? Yes, but….. Read More »
Are street smarts important in science? Some of the smartest people I have ever met in my life were scientists. But some of these same people made the dumbest mistakes I have ever seen in my life. Why? Their raw brainpower and knowledge of science is amazing, but they seemed to lack common sense and
Science street smarts: how to succeed in science in the real world Read More »
This is just the first in a series “Tales from the hood” about the stories of the stem cell scientists at the front lines of research. What really goes on in labs? After spending nearly half of my life being a scientist in one form or another including much time studying stem cells, I have
Tales from the Hood: what really goes on in research labs? Read More »
I’m still standing at my standing work station. More than two months ago I posted about how I was switching to a standing work station. I was just a few weeks into it and at that point it was going pretty well. However, my feet were hurting at the end of the day and I
My standing work station at 10 weeks: the biggest surprise Read More »
It’s great to talk to Irv Weissman. It has been a week to think about mentors and I posted somewhat autobiographically on how to find and be a good mentor a few days ago. Also along these lines, I asked one of the great mentors of all time, Irv Weissman, about his early career and
Irv Weissman, his early career & mentors that made the difference Read More »
I have in the past posted advice to new faculty and also top 10 advice list for the academic job hunt, but today I wanted to specifically talk about mentoring. Also, stay tuned for a special post later this week with an autobiographical section from Irv Weissman on his early career and who his key
How to find and be a good mentor? Read More »
Irv Weissman’s lab came out with a very intriguing paper in Nature this week on regeneration and something called a blastema. Having a blastema It is not exactly on regenerative medicine of the kind we think about using exogenous stem cells, but more about how we might tap into nature’s own program for regeneration by
If I only had a blastema: obstacles to human regeneration Read More »
There has been a largely media-fed hullabaloo about the salary for the new Chair of CIRM, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, $400,000. Now don’t get me wrong, that sounds like a lot of money to me personally, but we need to put it in perspective and when we do, the salary is reasonable and
California pays its sports coaches alone more than the entire payroll of CIRM Read More »
As some of you know, I had prostate cancer in 2009 and by the looks of the pathology report, it seemed like a bad one. Part of my own unique experience of being a cancer patient is that I also happen to be a cancer biologist. You might think this would be helpful, but really
What cancer has taught me 584 days into my battle Read More »