Neuroscience in Brief On the Move from Academia to Industry: Established Neuroscientists Who Have Made the Transition from Academia to Industry Are Finding Different Rewards in a New Environment

Contributed by Laura Bonetta

In 1997, neuroscientist Frank Walsh was Wyeth Research in Pennsylvania, as exec- asked by Peter Goodfellow whether he utive vice president for discovery research would be interested in leading the neuro- worldwide. At Wyeth, a company that has science division at SmithKline Beecham several blockbuster drugs in the market, in- Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline) in cluding the antidepressant Effexor XR (ven- Harlow, UK. Goodfellow, a well known ge- lafaxine), drug discovery depended mostly neticist, had joined the company from the University of Cambridge a few years earlier. on a large chemistry effort and on broad in- Although Walsh, then research dean at teractions with colleagues. “As a biologist, it Guy’s Hospital in London, and head of a is typically difficult to gain access to chemis- well-funded research lab, was not looking to try. It is very pleasing to have chemists to move, he started thinking about the oppor- work with on projects,” says Walsh. tunities created by working in an industrial environment. “I was working in a large Looking for change medical school on diseases. But I had a lim- Unlike Walsh, when Richard Scheller left ited ability to impact on human health. That academia, he was actively seeking a is just the nature of how an academic insti- change. He had been a professor at Stan- tution is set up,” he says. In addition, Smith- ford University School of Medicine in Kline was “a very academically oriented “One of the main differences is the availability of resources company. The science came first. It was not that you can only dream of in an academic environment.”— California for 19 years, as well as a a factory-like mentality,” he says. So, that Frank Walsh, executive vice president for discovery research Howard Hughes Medical Institute inves- year, Walsh left academia to join SmithKline worldwide, Wyeth Research. tigator for part of his tenure. “Stanford Beecham. was a wonderful place, and I really did not Walsh is one of several academic scien- have problems. I had a terrific life,” he re- tists who have chosen a career in industry Access to resources calls. “But I wanted to challenge myself.” after spending many successful and re- At SmithKline, Walsh was put in charge of So he and his wife, Stanford Professor and warding years leading an academic lab. ϳ Neuroscientist Susan McConnell, visited a Although values and environments vary a group of 150 people working in differ- ent research areas in neuroscience, but he few biotech industries. At first, none of the greatly from one company to another, a job prospects seemed appealing, until a pro- common refrain among scientists who was also able to maintain his own lab. have made the switch to industry is that it Here, he tackled a research problem that fessor at Stanford suggested that he speak to gave them an opportunity to directly impact had long interested him: the role of adhe- Arthur Levinson, the chairman and CEO of human health through the development of sion molecules in axonal growth and regen- medicines and treatments. In addition, eration. “The nice thing about a senior po- many biotech companies have invested in sition in industry is that you have a lot of cutting-edge technologies and instruments freedom in what research to pursue,” he that are out of the reach of most academic institutions, thus allowing for more efficient says. and faster-paced research. At the time, SmithKline had invested These opportunities also appeal to a heavily in genetics and genomics, technol- growing number of junior scientists. Few of ogies that were not available in most aca- them, however, may be familiar with how demic medical schools. Walsh took ad- science is conducted within an industrial vantage of those new tools to advance his setting and what skills are most valued by own research. “One of the main differ- their employers. This week, five neuroscien- ences between industry and academia is tists spoke to the Journal of Neuroscience the availability of resources that you can about their experiences in leaving academia only dream of in an academic environ- for a biomedical career in industry. ment,” says Walsh. “We have only so many years to do science; in industry you can do it faster. We have a trained workforce, Received Feb. 26, 2007; accepted Feb. 26, 2007. whereas in academia we are training it. Also “Here, everyone is expected to do great things, but some Laura Bonnetta is a freelance science writer. Correspondence should be addressed to [email protected]. the funding is a bit more stable in industry.” of them have to be involved in translational research”— DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0866-07.2007 In 2002, Walsh left SmithKline to take Richard Scheller, senior vice president for research, Copyright©2007SocietyforNeuroscience 0270-6474/07/27000ii-03$15.00/0 on “a bigger job and appointment” at Genentech. California-based company Genentech. He teristic that appeals to many academics. just going through tremendous growth; did and joined the company in 2001 as se- “Genentech was a good fit. I would have by joining, Tessier-Lavigne could help nior vice president for research. not moved to a company if either the phi- drive this growth and help decide what “The science was absolutely terrific. It losophy or leadership did not mesh with medicines to produce in the next decade. “It was different from what I was doing, so I my personality,” says Scheller. For one was a convergence of my personal career could challenge myself by shifting fields,” thing, scientists hired to work at Genentech goals and the company’s growth,” he says. says Scheller, who up until that time had have the option to take discretionary time to been studying the mechanism of synaptic pursue their own interests and have access vesicle exocytosis. “And if I was going to to postdocs to do basic research. have a boss, which I never had before, it “Since its inception, Genentech has would probably be okay if that person was encouraged scientists to maintain a basic a scientist.” (It is rather unusual for a research focus, and combine that with a company the size of Genentech to have a translational and drug discovery focus,” CEO who is, like Levinson, a PhD scien- says neuroscientist Marc Tessier-Lavigne, tist.) What immediately grabbed who joined Genentech a couple of years Scheller’s attention was that at Genentech, after Scheller. “For me, it was essential to he would have an opportunity to help with continue to do basic research. I would not medical needs more directly than he had have considered a move without that.” done before and “to really begin to do hu- However, it can be a challenge to de- man biology,” he says. “It was a terrific chal- vote enough time and focus to both activ- lenge to try to discover new medicines.” ities. “It has required me to organize my- Although the focus on translational re- self. After I came from Stanford search appealed to Scheller, it may not be a [University], I became more disciplined good fit for everyone. “At Stanford, I had about how I spend my time.” What helps to totally independent goals and projects. I maintain both a basic research lab and focus “When a drug company is working well, it is a very collegial environment and well organized. You could come up with an was just expected to do great things. Here, on drug development is that Genentech is idea on Monday and have the money for it on Friday.”—Jack everyone is expected to do great things, but set up to facilitate this dual role. Researchers Price, professor of developmental neurobiology, King’s Col- some of them have to be involved in trans- have access to core facilities, support staff, lege London, and principal scientific consultant, ReNeuron. lational research to help with the develop- and funds. So the challenge is there, but it is ment of new drugs,” says Scheller. “If your facilitated,“ says Tessier-Lavigne. From academia to industry and goals do not overlap with the goals of the Although a career in industry may not company and if you are not interested in be for everyone, Tessier-Lavigne thinks back again translational work, you should not come Genentech is a great environment for After heading a research group for 8 years here. But if the goals overlap, then you are postdoctoral fellows, because they can fo- at the National Institute for Medical Re- better off here than in academia.” cus on basic research, as they would at a search at Mill Hill, London, Jack Price be- university, but with greater resources and came director of molecular neuroscience Home away from home access to colleagues with diverse expertise. at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Genentech is somewhat unique among “At the same time, you get a sense of what He accepted the position because at the biotechnology and pharmaceutical com- it is like to be in a company and to focus time he “could not see much wrong with panies because it is in many ways a cross on developing medicines,” he says. “The it,” he recalls. SmithKline was setting up a between industry and academia, a charac- postdocs who came with me from Stan- new department in Price’s area of re- ford say the move has opened their eyes to search, where he could have access to great more opportunities.” When they leave facilities and a lot more money for his Genentech, postdoctoral fellows take po- work, as well as a free hand within a cer- sitions in either academia or industry. tain scope. He was asked to pursue a novel Tessier-Lavigne started his career study- question: whether the cause of schizo- ing the basic mechanisms of brain wiring. In phrenia has its roots in cortical develop- 1994, he became well known for the discov- ment. “Contributing to an area of disease ery of netrins, a family of proteins related to seemed like a great proposition,” says laminin, which attract axons to the neuronal Price, who up until then had been study- target cells that secrete them. He again made ing basic mechanisms of cortical develop- a splash in 2003, when he joined Genentech ment. “I was attracted by the idea that my to become senior vice president of research research could have practical benefits.” drug discovery, overseeing Ͼ500 research- But the deal Price made with SmithK- ers working in areas from oncology to me- line soon collapsed. His area of research dicinal chemistry. was “killed,” something that often hap- “My scientific interest in understand- pens in industry when a project is deemed ing disease had grown, my fascination to too risky for yielding a usable drug. Price take on complexity had grown, and my was then faced with the decision of having “For me it was essential to continue to do basic research. I need to translate knowledge into medi- to switch research fields or leaving the would not have considered a position without that.”—Marc cine had grown,” he recalls. “When I was company. He decided to switch. Tessier-Lavigne, senior vice president for research drug dis- approached by Genentech, the timing was Price became heavily involved in covery, Genentech. perfect.” In addition, the company was genomics, identifying genes involved in different neurological diseases, and en- all research in the industrial sector is done joyed the environment for about the next as part of a team, because of the complex- 2 years. “When a drug company is work- ity and cross-functional nature of drug ing well, it is a very collegial environment discovery. “The discovery of a drug re- and well organized. You could come up quires a large team of people from basic with an idea on Monday and have the researchers—who might include geneti- money for it on Friday,” says Price. cists and bioinformaticians to medicinal Although it is not uncommon for an chemists, pharmacologists, and toxicolo- academic scientist to pursue a major re- gists—to product development and manu- search project for a significant portion of facturing scientists, as well as legal and reg- their career, projects in industry tend to be ulatory experts,” says Paul. “It literally takes more short-lived. And if a company is un- a village to discover and develop a drug.” dergoing change, project goals can switch Another area in which the industrial from one day to the next. “We started to and academic reward systems differ is that reorganize and the focus kept changing. of publishing scientific results. In aca- Then there were changes in upper man- demia, scientists have to publish or perish; agement and we reorganized all over in industry, they do not have the same again. I don’t think I got anything done “You still get to do very exiting science in industry. I have fewer publications than when I was in academia, but that kind of pressure to produce papers. How- the last 6 months at SmithKline,” explains means that I can focus more on quality.”—Steven Paul, ex- ever, scientists working in industry say Price. Whereas some of his colleagues ecutive vice president for science and technology, Eli Lilly and that the difference is not as pronounced as weathered the storm, Price decided it was Company, and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. time to leave. “You just have to put your many outsiders may think. At Genentech, head down and reemerge at some later for example, a strong publication record is date, but I could not do it. It is not part of part of the tenure decision. Other compa- my temperament,” he says. The realization led Paul, in 1993, to nies also encourage their scientists to After leaving SmithKline, Price joined join Eli Lilly and Company, the company maintain an active publication effort. “At the management team of ReNeuron, a that brought the world Prozac. “It was im- a conference I was introduced as ‘a scien- start-up company founded in 1997 to pressive for me to have access to such tist in industry who has not disappeared,’ commercialize a technology to generate cutting-edge resources, and this is true at but it is a misconception that you stop genetically stable neural stem cell lines most pharmaceutical companies,” says publishing in industry,” says Walsh. “At discovered by scientists working at the In- Paul. His mission at Lilly is to develop the SmithKline, we had a metric that you had stitute of Psychiatry, Kings College Lon- next generation of psychiatric drugs to to have two publications per year, and don. At the same time, he took a perma- target depression, bipolar disorder, and some in high profile journals.” nent academic post at Kings College. The schizophrenia, as well as neurological dis- “You still get to do very exiting science joint appointment seemed like a good eases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s in industry. I have fewer publications than compromise for Price. “It is difficult to disease. Paul, who began his career at Lilly when I was in academia, but that means start an academic group again from leading CNS drug discovery, the compa- that I can focus more on quality,” says scratch, without grants, equipment, or ny’s most successful therapeutic area, now Paul, who since joining Lilly has published people,” he says. But it also presented a leads the entire research and development well over 50 research articles, most in top- Ͼ challenge. “It is also a compromise; while (R&D) efforts, comprising 8000 scien- tier journals, on the pathogenesis of Alzhei- working with ReNeuron is very rewarding tists and nearly $3.0 billion in annual mer’s disease, genetic mouse models of the and enjoyable, it means I cannot give 100% funding. “Although I oversee all of R&D disease, and new therapeutic approaches. to my academic research,” he explains. here at Lilly, I still have a small research lab As the careers of scientists like Paul, focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and we Walsh, and others demonstrate, it is pos- Different rewards have, together with our collaborators, dis- sible for academic scientists to make a suc- For nearly 20 years, Steven Paul was a re- covered a novel new agent now in phase I cessful transition to industry. What’s im- searcher at the National Institutes of clinical trials,” says Paul. Colleagues some- portant, say the experts, is to make the Health. For the last 5 of those years, he was times ask him why, despite such administra- move for the right reasons. “You have to the scientific director of the National In- tive responsibilities, he continues to do re- stitute of Mental Health. His laboratory search. “The answer is simple,” he says. “I come because you are passionate about studied the effects of drugs, such as the love it and believe it is adding value, but it the discovery of new drugs and because benzodiazepines and alcohol, on the also keeps me contemporary.” you are passionate about translating fun- brain. “It was a wonderful place to do re- According to Paul, research in an in- damental science into something useful. search. We had a lot of freedom to pursue dustrial environment has many rewards, Someone who can see those kinds of pos- whatever science we were interested in,” re- some of which are different from those in sibilities will do well in industry,” says calls Paul. But it became clear to him that academia. For one thing, scientists who do Paul. “If you want to just pursue pure fun- opportunities for discovering and develop- well in industry are rewarded by making damental research, however, this is prob- ing new medicines were lacking. “Taking a contributions to a team effort. Young in- ably not the best environment. I have seen new drug from the bench to the bedside so vestigators in academia usually have an very fine academics come to industry and to speak is impossible in academia,” he ex- incentive to work independently to ensure struggle because of this. But if you want to plains. “It takes a different set of resources that their contributions are widely known discover a drug for a major disease, like and skill sets to develop drugs, which, for the in the scientific community and especially schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease, this most part, only exist in industry.” to the tenure committees. But essentially could well be the best place for you.”