This week, my mentor took time out of his busy schedule to allow me to interview him. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I can tell you right now, I was not disappointed. If anything, I am even more thrilled to be working under such a unique individual.
When I asked Dr. Nicholas Katsanis what had lead him down the path to his career, his response was actually pretty surprising to me.
“Emotion, and Serendipity.”
Dr. Katsanis went on to explain how he had always known that he wished to study human genetics. Growing up in Greece, he had experienced the horror of genetic disorders at a young age by bearing witness to a first cousin’s struggle with illness, and had known without a doubt that he wanted to learn more.
From then on, his educational pursuits and interests revolved around human genetics—and when it came time for him to pursue secondary education, the most sensible route at the time was medical school.
However, fate had seemed to lead him down a slightly more spontaneous path—getting off at the wrong stop had more or less planted him on the doorstep of UCL, where he eventually obtained his first degree in Genetics. His academic career carried him from Imperial College, University of London for his doctorate, and the Baylor College of Medicine for his postdoc. He later joined a lab in John Hopkins Institute of Genetic Medicine, before moving to Duke to establish the Center for Human Disease Modeling in 2009.
When asked, Dr. Katsanis explained to me that what he most loved about research—what had kept him keenly interested in genetics for all these years—was the air of intellect, energy, excitement, and discovery that he was exposed to every day, driving him forward.
However, that’s not to say that Dr. Katsanis believes that scientific research is perfect. He acknowledges its faults, and he expressed to me a concern that he has towards the quality of education and dedication of those looking to pursue a Ph.D. He believes that students today have shifted their values away from a wish to learn, achieving their degree by simply “staying alive.”
He also revealed to me his sadness over a phenomenon that we can all admit has become the norm for our generation—our use of technology to read documents in replacement of good ol’ fashioned paper. His reasoning behind that concern was worded very differently from what I was used to hearing.
Dr. Katsanis believes that having that ability to look up any topic we wish for online, and read about it is, of course, useful, but detracts from an opportunity of new discovery. The physicality of looking trough research papers without the ability to shortcut your way to the information you want allows you to, in Dr. Katsanis’s words, to “see things that you were not looking for”.
But I think the part of the interview that I will really take with me, would be what Dr. Katsanis told to me as advice to all of us Howard Hughes Research Fellows, and anyone else who is interested in scientific research.
He looked at me seriously, and said, “Science is hard, and there is a recipe for a successful scientist.”
I can’t give you exact words, now, but I made a list based off of what he said.
- Humility
Dr. Katsanis told me that science has a way of “cutting you down to shreds. . . at frequent intervals”, and that humility was part of dealing with failed experiments
- Coping with Rejection and Failure
Scratch that—I meant dealing with your many, many failed experiments. Not to mention that other scientists also have a way of squishing your accomplishments.
- Patience and Perseverance
And when both science and scientists are cutting you down, you have to get back up and start anew
But, Fellows, I think it all boils down to his last words to me for that interview:
“You don’t just do science, you are science. If anyone wants a “job” in science, then they shouldn’t do it. Science is a way of life”.
