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Neuroscience in Brief 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.
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