Clearly

the Vallee Professorship was extremely valuable for my scientific career. At the core of the Vallee Visiting Professor program is its collaborative mentality. Academic-social interactions play a key role in generating new ideas and are thus a central focus for VVPs. Such was the case for Torsten Wiesel, who came in May 2010, to renew contact with the Department of Neurobiology, where he had previously been www.selleckchem.com/products/r428.html a member for twenty years, serving as chair for ten of them. Having left his research career for various administrative roles, he was interested to get an insider’s view of his old department. In Torsten’s words, my experience as a Vallee Visiting Professor was intellectually rich and wonderful. I met with nearly the entire faculty of the department individually, which turned out to be a

very enriching and enjoyable experience. The faculty members described their research programs, followed by intense and detailed discussions about various aspects of their work. It was not until later, when attending a dinner for Torsten – the Foundation hosts a festive dinner near the end of each visit both to celebrate the Vallee Visiting Professor, and to recognize the contributions of his/her colleagues and friends during the visit – that it was learnt of the intangible consequences of Torsten’s visit that had widely impacted his host department. Senior members of the Department of Neurobiology said that Torsten’s presence DNA Damage inhibitor in the department had incited a palpable energy that stirred ideas and renewed drive not just among principal investigators, but also throughout the ranks in their laboratories. When Malcolm Green came in 2004 to Jeremy Knowles’ laboratory in the Department of Chemistry, the visit provided a much-needed opportunity

to think about my future research program. But, apart from check working on research, Malcolm established or renewed many friendships, often over dinner at Jeremy and Janey Knowles’ home, with prominent figures such as Alan Davison, Dick Schrock, Dietmar Seyferth, Dan Nocera, Steve Lippard, Dick Holm, George Whitesides, John Deutsch, and Samuel P. Huntington. Likewise, Jesper Haeggström, who visited the lab of Charles Serhan at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, recalls being particularly stimulated by all the informal meetings and discussions with distinguished colleagues both inside and outside my own immediate fields of interest. I remember spending one morning in K. Frank Austen’s laboratory, sharing thoughts on intracellular lipid receptors with Peter Weller, and learning the latest new developments regarding in vivo imaging from Ulrich von Andrian. In addition to these meetings, being in Charles Serhan’s lab allowed ample opportunities to interact with all members of a world-leading team in the field of lipid mediator research.