Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/375565
t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 15 people with pre-malignancy, we are going to see the numbers increase. Q | Tell me about your vision for a TMC Genomics Institute. A | I think that the unique nature of this opportunity is a reflection of the wonders of the TMC. When we talk about the mission of enhancing discovery to drive better health care, then we're talking about programs that require scale and integration of very different kinds of data and effort. In a sense, this new opportu- nity is a kind of reflex from the specialization that we see in the current institutional structures. We really want to integrate the range of data that come from newborns to adults who have cancer. That's the whole range there. Right now, if you're in one category or the other, you basically go to different institutions. This is a chance to network and integrate the data and really synergize the information to create new discoveries. These new discoveries will improve care. Q | Do you see that exist anywhere in the world today? A | No. I think that is what keeps many of us here in Houston and so excited everyday. When you look out the window of our buildings, you see the vast, rich opportunities here. I don't think there is anything quite like the TMC elsewhere on the planet. Certainly not from what I've seen. You see elsewhere the obstacles to achieving this kind of integration and comprehensive amalgamation of data. Q | You were recently awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia, a prestigious honor issued by the Australian government. What did it mean to you? A | It's very nice to get awards. It's a reminder of the special opportunities that you have—to be part of the human genome project, for example. To be here and to be part of the teams that work here. It is an amazing community. It's a synergistic community and when you look around the rest of the world at different places and you see the failures of others to interact, you realize that we're doing pretty well here. We really are. So to be part of the TMC, and be part of the process, is a privilege. To have your life's work do something that is enriching and improving other peo- ple's lives, that's just a really special opportunity. The accolades are nice, but that's nothing compared to that. But I do get to go to Australia and have all my family with me. We'll have a nice dinner at the governor's house. That's going to be fun. Q | Tell us about some of the mentors who have impacted your career. A | Well, the medical center here has a tremendous asset and legacy in doctor Tom Caskey. He virtu- ally invented the field of human molecular medical genetics. He was an early force in the conceptualiza- tion of the human genome project. And, of course, Dr. Michael DeBakey. I only had a small number of interactions with him, and he was a no-nonsense per- son. His emphasis on excellence is so important. If you do something, do it totally! That very basic concept is very powerful and should influence any investigator or clinician. So those two mentors were pivotal. Q | You're young in your career, but have already accomplished so much. What are you most proud of ? A | Interesting question! I think maintaining the standard of intellectual excellence in genomics and being a proponent of that. For a long time, and even now to some extent, there's been a division between what's regarded as experimental science—which is supposedly more intellectual—versus technolo- gy-driven science. So the notion was that somehow if you're doing something with demanding technology, then that means you are not bringing intellectual wis- dom to your work. That is simply wrong. I always tell students that their colleagues initially called the great evolutionary biologists of our time 'bug collectors.' So I think to be able to drive these technologies and the idea of high throughput biology and computational approaches to understanding biology into the practice of biological research is an achievement. There are individual inventions along the way, but this general achievement is probably the most important. (credit: Baylor college of medicine)