"There needs to be a paradigm shift SPECIAL "Don't shy away from being the from employment, to employability." 2019 GALA INSERT expert you are ... be proud." p5 MISSION POSSIBLE: Closing the Skills Gap p17 THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF CIENCES SMAGAZINE • FALL 2019 FALL 2019 BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2019-2020 Current as of October 2019 CHAIR Jacqueline Corbelli, Seema Kumar, Vice Lowell Robinson, Corporate Nadav Zafrir, Co-Founder, Paul Stoffels, Vice Chair of Hon. Jerry MacArthur Chairman, CEO and President of Innovation, Director and Advisor; serves Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Committee Hultin, Chair and Co-Founder Co-Founder, BrightLine Global Health and Science as Director of Aratana TEAM8, Inc. and Chief Scientific Officer, of Global Futures Group, LLC Policy Communication for Therapeutics Johnson & Johnson Mikael Dolsten, President, INTERNATIONAL Johnson & Johnson VICE-CHAIR Worldwide Research and Konstantin Shakhnovich, BOARD OF GOVERNORS CHAIRS EMERITI Thomas Pompidou, Founder Development; Senior Vice R. May Lee, Global thought former Goldman Sachs Seth F. Berkley, Chief John E. Sexton, Former Presi- and Partner at Marker, LLC President, Pfizer Inc leadership on innovation, digi- Partner, Head of Systematic Executive Officer, The Global dent, New York University MaryEllen Elia, New York tial transformation, education Market-Making (retired) Alliance for Vaccines and TREASURER Torsten N. Wiesel, Nobel State Commissioner of and gender workplace issues Peter Thorén, Executive Vice Immunization Laura Sachar, Managing Laureate & former Secre- Education and President of Pablo Legorreta, Founder President, Access Industries Partner and Co-Founder, Stefan Catsicas, Chief Tech- tary-General, Human Frontier the University of the State of and CEO, Royalty Pharma StarVest Partners Manuela Veloso, Head of nology Officer Nestlé S.A. Science Program Organiza- New York (USNY) David K.A. Mordecai, Artificial Intelligence Gerald Chan, Co-Founder, tion; President Emeritus, The PRESIDENT Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Co-Managing Member, Research, J.P. Morgan Morningside Group Rockefeller University Ellis Rubinstein, President Lancefield Professor in Numerati‰ Partners, LLC, Grace Wang, Senior Vice Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor and CEO, New York Alice P. Gast, President, Mammalian Cell Biology and RiskEcon‰ Lab for Decision Chancellor for Research and Emeritus, The State Universi- Academy of Sciences Imperial College, London Development, The Rockefel- Metrics, Courant Institute Economic Development ty of New York (SUNY) S. “Kris” Gopalakrishnan, SECRETARY ler University; Investigator, for Mathematical Sciences for the State University Chairman, Axilor Ventures/ HONORARY Larry Smith, New York Howard Hughes Medical NYU, and Co-Founder, Risk of New York (SUNY) and Co-founder Infosys LIFE GOVERNORS Academy of Sciences Institute Economics, Inc. Interim President for SUNY Karen E. Burke, Dermatolo- Paul Horn, Former SV Gregory A. Petsko, Polytechnic Institute Toni Hoover, Director Strat- GOVERNORS egy Planning and Manage- gist and Research Scientist Provost for Research, NYU, Professor of Neurology at Michael W. Young, Nobel Sylvia Acevedo, CEO, Girl ment and COO for the Global John F. Niblack, Former Senior Vice Dean for Strage- Weill Cornell Medicine in Laureate, Richard and Jeanne Scouts of the USA Health Program, The Bill and President, Pfizer Global gic Initiatives and Entrepre- New York City, and Tauber Fisher Professor/Vice Pres- Melinda Gates Foundation Research & Development Ellen de Brabander, Senior neurship; NYU Polytechnic Professor of Biochemistry ident for Academic Affairs, Vice President Research School of Engineering and Chemistry, Emeritus, The Rockefeller University Johan Rockström, Executive and Development Global at Brandeis University in Director of the Stockholm Functions, Governance & Waltham, Massachusetts Resilience Centre, Chairman Compliance, PepsiCo of the EAT Advisory Board PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL Current as of October 2019 Contents Peter Agre, Nobel Laureate; Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate; Co-founder Infosys Ferid Murad, Nobel Laureate; linska Inst.; Former Chairman, Rainer Weiss, Nobel Univ. Prof. and Director, William R. Kenan, Jr. Prof. of Glenda Greenwald, Presi- Director, IMM Center for Cell The Nobel Foundation Laureate; Professor of Executive Editor Editorial Office COVER STORY: HELP WANTED THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF Johns Hopkins Malaria Physics, Prof. of Molecular dent, Aspen Brain Institute Signaling, The University Ismail Serageldin, Emeritus Physics, Emeritus, Marie Gentile 7 World Trade STEM SKILLS PREFERRED SCIENCES TALENT SHOWCASE Research Inst., Dept. and Cellular Physiology, of Texas at Houston Massachusetts Institute David Gross, Nobel Librarian of the Bibliotheca Molecular Microbiology and Stanford University; Former of Technology Center Laureate; Chancellor’s Chair John F. Niblack, Former Alexandrina and member of Immunology, Bloomberg U.S. Secretary of Energy Copy Editors 250 Greenwich St, 4 HELP WANTED TO CLOSE 19 CELEBRATING THE LAUREATES Professor of Theoretical President, Pfizer Global the Board of Trustees of the George Whitesides, School of Public Health Robert Birchard Aaron J. Ciechanover, Nobel Physics, Kavli Institute for Research and Development; Library of Alexandria Woodford L. and Ann A. 40th Fl THE SKILLS GAP OF THE 2019 BLAVATNIK Richard Axel, Nobel Laureate; Distinguished Re- Theoretical Physics, UCSB Honorary Life Governor, The Phillip A. Sharp, Nobel Flowers University Professor, Mandy Carr New York, NY The need for STEM skills remains NATIONAL AWARDS Laureate; University search Professor, Tumor and New York Academy Harvard University William A. Haseltine, Chair- Laureate; Director, The 10007-2157 Professor, Columbia Univ.; Vascular Biology Research of Sciences central to the national conversation FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS man and President, ACCESS McGovern Institute, MIT Torsten N. Wiesel, Nobel Investigator, HHMI Center, Faculty of Medicine, Design Health International, Inc. Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate; Center for Cancer Research Laureate; Chairman Emeritus, P: 212.298.8645 about workforce readiness. David Baltimore, Nobel Technion-Israel Inst. of Tech., Former President, The The New York Academy of Strong Studio Hon. Jerry MacArthur K. Barry Sharpless, Nobel F: 212.298.3655 22 COLLABORATION IS KEY Laureate; President Emeritus, Haifa, Israel Rockefeller University; Former Sciences; Former Secretary Matthew Strong Hultin, Chair and Co-Founder Laureate; The Sharpless 7 MINDING THE SCIENCE AND Caltech Kenneth L. Davis, President President, The Royal Society, General, Human Frontier TO BREAKING NEW GROUND of Global Futures Group, LLC Lab, The Scripps Research Kate Padula Email: magazine@ Etienne-Emile Baulieu, and CEO of the Mount London; Chief Executive, Institute, La Jolla, CA Science Program Organiza- TECHNOLOGY SKILLS GAP IN GENOMICS Louis J. Ignarro, Nobel Laure- Jamie Allaire nyas.org Former President, French Sinai Health System in The Francis Crick Institute tion; President Emeritus, The Corporate leaders, academics ate; Member, Brain Research Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chair- Academy of Sciences New York City Yoshinori Ohsumi, Nobel Rockefeller University Institute, UCLA; Professor man of the Managing Board, Membership & and policy experts warn of Peter Doherty, Nobel Laureate; Professor, Institute Frank Wilczek, Nobel Contributors 23 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Paul Berg, Nobel Laureate; Emeritus, Molecular & Medi- Royal DSM Laureate; Researcher, St. Jude of Innovative Research, Tokyo Laureate; Herman Feshbach Robert Birchard Annals Orders a widening skills gap. Professor Emeritus, Dept. cal Pharmacology, UCLA Paul Stoffels, Chief INSPIRED TO HELP AFTER of Biochemistry, Stanford Children's Research Hospital, Institute of Technology (IIR) Professor of Physics, P: 212.298.8640 Eric Kandel, Nobel Laureate; Scientific Officer, Johnson Chenelle Bonavito EXPERIENCING NATURAL University Memphis, Tennessee; Univ. John O’Keefe, Nobel Laure- Massachusetts Institute of Prof., Physiology and Cell and Johnson; member of F: 212.298.3650 10 THERE ARE WOMEN IN of Melbourne, Australia ate; Wellcome Trust Principal Technology Martinez DISASTER Len Blavatnik, Founder and Biology, Columbia University the Johnson and Johnson SCIENCE, THE CHALLENGE Chairman, Access Industries Mikael Dolsten, President, Research Fellow and Prof. Executive Committee and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, Email: Mehmood Khan, Chief Douglas Braaten and Blavatnik Family Worldwide Research and of Cognitive Neuroscience, Management Committee; Secretary General, Human customerservice@ IS KEEPING THEM THERE Executive Officer, Life Foundation Development; Senior Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, Worldwide Co-Chairman, Frontier Science Program Or- Mandy Carr nyas.org Vice-President, Pfizer Inc Biosciences, Inc.; Former University College London ganization; Former Secretary Gender equality in science has Irina Bokova, Former Director Pharmaceuticals Group Vice Chairman and Chief General, European Research Ann Delfaro become a crisis of retention. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT General, United Nations Edu- Jan Eliasson, Former Deputy Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Jack W. Szostak, Nobel Lau- Scientific Officer Council; Former President, cational, Scientific and Cultur- Secretary-General to the Nobel Laureate; President, reate; Investigator, Howard Advertising of Global Research and Deutsche Forschungs- Sonya Dougal 24 INNOVATION CHALLENGES: al Organization (UNESCO) United Nations The Royal Society Hughes Medical Institute; Inquiries Development, PepsiCo gemeinschaft, Germany 12