Interview with Melvin I. Simon
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And Should Not, Change Toxic Tort Causation Doctrine
THE MORE WE KNOW, THE LESS INTELLIGENT WE ARE? - HOW GENOMIC INFORMATION SHOULD, AND SHOULD NOT, CHANGE TOXIC TORT CAUSATION DOCTRINE Steve C. Gold* Advances in genomic science are rapidly increasing our understanding of dis- ease and toxicity at the most fundamental biological level. Some say this heralds a new era of certainty in linking toxic substances to human illness in the courtroom. Others are skeptical. In this Article I argue that the new sciences of molecular epidemiology and toxicogenomics will evince both remarkable explanatory power and intractable complexity. Therefore, even when these sciences are brought to bear, toxic tort claims will continue to present their familiar jurisprudential problems. Nevertheless, as genomic information is used in toxic tort cases, the sci- entific developments will offer courts an opportunity to correct mistakes of the past. Courts will miss those opportunities, however, if they simply transfer attitudesfrom classical epidemiology and toxicology to molecular and genomic knowledge. Using the possible link between trichloroethyleneand a type of kidney cancer as an exam- ple, I describe several causation issues where courts can, if they choose, improve doctrine by properly understanding and utilizing genomic information. L Introduction ............................................... 370 II. Causation in Toxic Torts Before Genomics ................... 371 A. The Problem .......................................... 371 B. Classical Sources of Causation Evidence ................ 372 C. The Courts Embrace Epidemiology - Perhaps Too Tightly ................................................ 374 D. Evidence Meets Substance: Keepers of the Gate ......... 379 E. The Opposing Tendency ................................ 382 III. Genomics, Toxicogenomics, and Molecular Epidemiology: The M ore We Know ........................................ 383 A. Genetic Variability and "Background" Risk .............. 384 B. Genetic Variability and Exposure Risk ................... 389 C. -
Dean, School of Science
Dean, School of Science School of Science faculty members seek to answer fundamental questions about nature ranging in scope from the microscopic—where a neuroscientist might isolate the electrical activity of a single neuron—to the telescopic—where an astrophysicist might scan hundreds of thousands of stars to find Earth-like planets in their orbits. Their research will bring us a better understanding of the nature of our universe, and will help us address major challenges to improving and sustaining our quality of life, such as developing viable resources of renewable energy or unravelling the complex mechanics of Alzheimer’s and other diseases of the aging brain. These profound and important questions often require collaborations across departments or schools. At the School of Science, such boundaries do not prevent people from working together; our faculty cross such boundaries as easily as they walk across the invisible boundary between one building and another in our campus’s interconnected buildings. Collaborations across School and department lines are facilitated by affiliations with MIT’s numerous laboratories, centers, and institutes, such as the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, as well as through participation in interdisciplinary initiatives, such as the Aging Brain Initiative or the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Our faculty’s commitment to teaching and mentorship, like their research, is not constrained by lines between schools or departments. School of Science faculty teach General Institute Requirement subjects in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics that provide the conceptual foundation of every undergraduate student’s education at MIT. The School faculty solidify cross-disciplinary connections through participation in graduate programs established in collaboration with School of Engineering, such as the programs in biophysics, microbiology, or molecular and cellular neuroscience. -
Precision Medicine Initiative: Building a Large US Research Cohort
Precision Medicine Initiative: Building a Large U.S. Research Cohort February 11-12, 2015 PARTICIPANT LIST Goncalo Abecasis, D. Phil. Philip Bourne, Ph.D. Professor of Biostatistics Associate Director for Data Science University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Office of the Director National Institutes of Health Christopher Austin, M.D. Director Murray Brilliant, Ph.D. National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Director National Institutes of Health Center for Human Genetics Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation Vikram Bajaj, Ph.D. Chief Scientist Greg Burke, M.D., M.Sc. Google Life Sciences Professor and Director Wake Forest School of Medicine Dixie Baker, Ph.D. Wake Forest University Senior Partner Martin, Blanck and Associates Antonia Calafat, Ph.D. Chief Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D. Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch Professor, Exposure Science and Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rollins School of Public Health Emory University Robert Califf, M.D. Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research Jonathan Bingham, M.B.A. Duke University Medical Center Product Manager, Genomics Google, Inc. Rex Chisholm, Ph.D. Adam and Richard T. Lind Professor of Medical Eric Boerwinkle, Ph.D. Genetics Professor and Chair Vice Dean for Scientific Affairs and Graduate Studies Human Genetics Center Associate Vice President for Research University of Texas Health Science Center Northwestern University Associate Director Human Genome Sequencing Center Rick Cnossen, M.S. Baylor College of Medicine Director Global Healthcare Solutions Erwin Bottinger, M.D. HIMSS Board of Directors Professor PCHA/Continua Health Alliance Board of Directors The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Intel Corporation Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai - 1 - Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. -
Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World's Toughest Math
Count Down Six Kids Vie for Glory | at the World's TOUGHEST MATH COMPETITION STEVE OLSON author of MAPPING HUMAN HISTORY, National Book Award finalist $Z4- 00 ACH SUMMER SIX MATH WHIZZES selected from nearly a half million EAmerican teens compete against the world's best problem solvers at the Interna• tional Mathematical Olympiad. Steve Olson, whose Mapping Human History was a Na• tional Book Award finalist, follows the members of a U.S. team from their intense tryouts to the Olympiad's nail-biting final rounds to discover not only what drives these extraordinary kids but what makes them both unique and typical. In the process he provides fascinating insights into the creative process, human intelligence and learning, and the nature of genius. Brilliant, but defying all the math-nerd stereotypes, these athletes of the mind want to excel at whatever piques their cu• riosity, and they are curious about almost everything — music, games, politics, sports, literature. One team member is ardent about water polo and creative writing. An• other plays four musical instruments. For fun and entertainment during breaks, the Olympians invent games of mind-boggling difficulty. Though driven by the glory of winning this ultimate math contest, in many ways these kids are not so different from other teenagers, finding pure joy in indulging their personal passions. Beyond the Olympiad, Steve Olson sheds light on such questions as why Americans feel so queasy about math, why so few girls compete in the subject, and whether or not talent is innate. Inside the cavernous gym where the competition takes place, Count Down reveals a fascinating subculture and its engaging, driven inhabitants. -
Curriculum Vitae, Nils G. Walter, Dr. Ing. (Chemistry)
Curriculum Vitae, Nils G. Walter, Dr. Ing. (Chemistry) Department of Chemistry, Rm. 2405 Phone: (734) 615-2060 930 N. University Ave. FAX: (734) 647-4865 University of Michigan E-mail: [email protected] Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055 http://singlemolecule.lsa.umich.edu http://sites.lsa.umich.edu/walter-lab https://rna.umich.edu PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE FACULTY 2020-present Faculty Director of the Microscopy Core in the Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BRCF) 2018 Sabbatical Visitor, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco 2017-present Francis S. Collins Collegiate Professor of Chemistry, Biophysics, and Biological Chemistry, College of Literature, Science and the Arts 2016-present Founding Co-Director, Center for RNA Biomedicine, U. of Michigan; awarded a 5-year $10.2M Biosciences Initiative Award in 2018 to further build this grassroots, 150-faculty member effort 2016-present Professor of Biological Chemistry 2015-present Co-Director, Microfluidics in Biomedical Sciences Training Program 2015-present Associate Director, Michigan Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) 2010-present Founding Director, Single Molecule Analysis in Real-Time (SMART) Center 2009-present Professor of Chemistry 2005-2009 Associate Professor of Chemistry 2006 Sabbatical Visitor, Harvard University, with Sunney Xie in Chemistry & Chemical Biology 2006 Distinguished Visitor, JILA, Boulder, with David Nesbitt 2002-2005 Dow Corning Assistant Professor of Chemistry 1999-2005 Assistant Professor of Chemistry 1999-present Member of the Biophysics (since 1999), Applied Physics (since 2000), Cellular & Molecular Biology (since 2001), and Chemical Biology (since 2005) Interdepartmental Graduate Programs University of Michigan, Ann Arbor POSTDOCTORATE 1996-1999 Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Prof. John M. Burke, University of Vermont; Subject: Biophysical Studies of the Hairpin Ribozyme 1995 Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Nobel laureate Prof. -
Boston, Cambridge Are Ground Zero for Life Sciences
OPINION | JUAN ENRIQUEZ Boston, Cambridge are ground zero for life sciences BOYDEN PHOTO BY DOMINICK REUTER; LINDQUIST BY JOHN SOARES/WHITEHEAD INSTITUTE; GLOBE STAFF PHOTOS Top row: Robert Langer, Jack Szostak, and George Church. Bottom: Susan Lindquist and Edward S. Boyden. MARCH 16, 2015 BOSTONCAMBRIDGE is ground zero for the development and deployment of many of the bleeding edge life science discoveries and technologies. One corner alone, Vassar and Main Street in Cambridge, will likely generate 1 to 2 percent of the future world GDP. On a per capitSah baraesis, nowhere else coTmweese tclose in terms o3f Creomsemaerncths grants, patents, and publications that drive new gene code, which in turn alters the evolution of bacteria, plants, animals, and ourselves. CONTINUE READING BELOW ▼ At MIT, Bob Langer is generating the equivalent of a small country’s economy out of a single lab; his more than 1,080 patents have helped launch or enabled more than 300 pharma, chemical, biotech, and medical device companies. At Harvard, George Whitesides’ 12 companies have generated a market capitalization of over $20 billion. Harvard Med’s resident geniusenfant terrible, George Church, is the brains behind dozens and dozens of successful startups. (All this of course in addition to these folks being at the very top of their academic fields). In terms of the most basic questions about life itself, Ting Wu takes billions of lines of gene code across all organisms and meticulously compares each and every gene, looking for highly conserved gene code. She is narrowing in on exactly what DNA sequences are essential to all life forms, from bacteria through plants, animals, and even politicians. -
Curriculum Vitae
1 CURRICULUM VITAE David Ross Engelke EDUCATION 1974 University of Wisconsin, Madison, B.S. (Biochemistry) 1979 Washington University, St. Louis, Ph.D. (Biological Chemistry) Advisor: Robert G. Roeder POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING 1979-1983 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, Advisor: John Abelson ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS 1983-1989 Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1989-1996 Associate Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, The University of Michigan 1996-2015 Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan 1995 Interim Director, Medical Scientist Training Program 1995-1998 Director, Cellular and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Program, The University of Michigan 1998-2007 Founding Director, Program in Biomedical Sciences, The University of Michigan 2000-2007 Assistant Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, UM Medical School 2008-2012 Associate Dean, H. H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies University of Michigan 2009-2010 Founding Director, Michigan Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) 2010-2015 Associate Director, Michigan PREP 2013-2015 Chair, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan 2015-present Professor of Chemistry, University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, UC Denver | Anschutz Dean of the Graduate School, UC Denver | Anschutz CONSULTING POSITIONS 1989-1994 Parke-Davis 1990/91 Merck Inc. 1994 NeXstar, -
Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy
REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENTAL CAPITAL: PROTECTING SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY Executive Office of the President President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology JULY 2011 REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENTAL CAPITAL: PROTECTING SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY Executive Office of the President President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology JULY 2011 About the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers, appointed by the President to augment the science and tech nology advice available to him from inside the White House and from cabinet departments and other Federal agencies. PCAST is consulted about and often makes policy recommendations concerning the full range of issues where understandings from the domains of science, technology, and innovation may bear on the policy choices before the President. PCAST is administered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). For more information about PCAST, see www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Co-Chairs John P. Holdren Eric Lander Assistant to the President for President Science and Technology Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy Vice-Chairs William Press Maxine Savitz Raymer Professor in Computer Science and Vice President Integrative Biology National Academy of Engineering University of Texas at Austin Members Rosina Bierbaum Shirley Ann Jackson Dean, School of Natural Resources and President Environment Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Michigan Richard C. -
Short Cross-Disciplinary Cycles in Co-Authorship Graphs
How small is the center of science? Short cross-disciplinary cycles in co-authorship graphs Chris Fields 528 Zinnia Court Sonoma, CA 95476 USA fi[email protected] October 17, 2014 Abstract Cycles that cross two or more boundaries between disciplines in the co-authorship graph for all of science are used to set upper limits on the number of co-authored pa- pers required to cross 15 disciplines or subdisciplines ranging from macroeconomics to neurology. The upper limits obtained range from one (discrete mathematics, macroe- conomics and nuclear physics) to six (neuroscience). The 15 disciplines or subdis- ciplines examined form a “small world” with an average separation of only 2.0 co- authorship links. It is conjectured that the high-productivity, high average degree centers of all scientific disciplines form a small world, and therefore that the diameter of the co-authorship graph of all of science is only slightly larger than the average diameter of the co-authorship graphs of its subdisciplines. Keywords: Cross-displinary brokers; Field mobility; Graph centrality; Graph diameter; Nobel laureates; Preferential attachment; Small-world networks 1 Introduction Numerous studies have now confirmed the finding of Newman (2001, 2004) that the co- authorship graphs of many scientific disciplines can be characterized as “small worlds” comprising many dense clusters of researchers separated by relatively short (mean length 1 l ≤ 10) minimum paths (reviewed by Mali, Kronegger, Doreian and Ferligoj, 2012). Despite over two decades of efforts to make the world of science as a whole more interconnected by encouraging inter-, multi- or trans-disciplinary collaborations, however, the research enterprise remains organized into disciplines (Jacobs and Frickel, 2009). -
Eric S. Lander
Chancellor's Distinguished Fellows Program 2004-2005 Selective Bibliography UC Irvine Libraries Eric S. Lander February 25, 2005 Prepared by: John E. Sisson Biological Sciences Librarian [email protected] Journal Articles (Selected from over 220 articles he has authored or co-authored) Poirier, C., Y. J. Qin, C.P. Adams, Y. Anaya, J. B. Singer, A. E. Hill, Eric S. Lander, J.H. Nadeau, and C. E. Bishop. "A complex interaction of imprinted and maternal-effect genes modifies sex determination in odd sex (Ods) mice." Genetics 168, no. 3 (2004): 1557-1562. Skuse, D. H., S. Purcell, M. J. Daly, R. J. Dolan, J. S. Morris, K. Lawrence, Eric S. Lander, and P. Sklar. "What can studies on Turner syndrome tell us about the role of X- linked genes in social cognition?." American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B- Neuropsychiatric Genetics 130B, no. 1 (2004): 8-9. Rioux, J. D., H. Karinen, K. Kocher, S. G. McMahon, P. Karkkainen, E. Janatuinen, M. Heikkinen, R. Julkunen, J. Pihlajamaki, A. Naukkarinen, V. M. Kosma, M. J. Daly, Eric S. Lander, and M. Laakso. "Genomewide search and association studies in a Finnish celiac disease population: Identification of a novel locus and replication of the HLA and CTLA4 loci." American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 130A, no. 4 (2004): 345- 350. Michalkiewicz, M., T. Michalkiewicz, R. A. Ettinger, E. A. Rutledge, J. M. Fuller, D. H. Moralejo, B. Van Yserloo, A. J. MacMurray, A. E. Kwitek, H. J. Jacob, Eric S. Lander, and A. Lernmark. "Transgenic rescue demonstrates involvement of the Ian5 gene in T cell development in the rat." Physiological Genomics 19, no. -
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY and RESOURCE NEEDS the Specific and Primary Agouronpurposes Are to Perform Research in the Sciences
The Agouron Institute GEOBIOLOGY CURRENT TECHNOLOGY and RESOURCE NEEDS The specific and primary AGOURONpurposes are to perform research in the sciences INSTITUTEand in mathematics, to disseminate the results obtained therefrom, all to benefit mankind. Cover photo: Phototrophic sulfur and non-sulfur bacteria in an enrichment from a microbial mat reveal part of the enormous diversity of microorganisms. © 2001 The Agouron Institute 45 GEOBIOLOGY CURRENT TECHNOLOGY and RESOURCE NEEDS The Agouron Institute INTRODUCTION 3 GEOBIOLOGY: 5 Current Research General Overview 5 Advances in Probing The Rock Record 6 Advances in Molecular Biology and Genomics 9 Current Research Directions 11 Questions of What and When: Detecting Life in the Geologic Record 12 Molecular Fossils 12 Morphological Fossils 14 Isotopic Signatures 16 Question of Who and How: Deciphering the Mechanisms of Evolution 18 Genetic Diversity 18 Microbial Physiology 20 Eukaryotic Systems 23 Experimental Paleogenetics 25 GEOBIOLOGY: Resource Needs 29 An Intensive Training Course in Geobiology 30 A Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Geobiology 31 Support for Specific Research Projects 32 REFERENCES 34 2 Agouron Institute had expanded considerably and had obtained additional funding from the NSF and the NIH. A group of molecular biologists and chemists were collaborating to exploit new technology in which synthetic oligonucleotides were used to direct specific mutations in genes. A crystallography group had been INTRODUCTION formed and they were collaborating with the molecular biologists to study the properties of the altered proteins. These were among the very first applications of the new technology to form what is now the very ith the discovery of recombi- large field of protein engineering. -
Whitehead Institute, Pfizer and MIT: the Innovation Intersection In
b (/) Vassar and Main: the world's most innovative intersection MAGAZINE (/MAGAZINE) / 02 NOVEMBER 15 / by JUAN ENRIQUEZ (/SEARCH/AUTHOR/JUAN+ENRIQUEZ) 137 shares ! " # $ % & 0 comments This article was first published in the November 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online (http://www.wired.co.uk /subscriptions?utm_source=wired&utm_medium=Editorial& utm_campaign=article00&utm_source=wired& utm_medium=Editorial&utm_campaign=Editorial& utm_source=wired&utm_medium=Editorial& utm_campaign=Editorial). If one had to pick a single corner, anywhere on the planet, as the U most innovative and productive crossroads in history, the Juan Enriquez is managing director of Excel Venture Management. He intersection of Vassar Street and Main Street, in the new world's also co-wrote 'Evolving Ourselves' (Oneworld) Cambridge, Massachusetts, would be a leading candidate. A couple of decades ago, much of the area was a ragtag collection of warehouses, parking lots and old barracks. Now this one corner may generate one per cent to two per cent of the future global economy (http://www.wired.co.uk/economy) and may be a model for creating jobs, (http://www.wired.co.uk/jobs) knowledge and power in other cities. Begin a short tour with the corner's dumpiest building, a thin, seven-storey sliver of dark brown with a mediocre plaza in front, the Whitehead Institute (http://wi.mit.edu/). Most of the seventeen core faculty don't teach much, but during the first decade of this century, their research had the greatest citation impact among the world's top 15 life-science and genetics departments.