Rockstar Geneticists
Dan Rhoads at Migrations was the reason I was talking about rocking the house with genetics in Cory’s interview. Dan highlighted David Baltimore as a rockstar scientist and asked who else would qualify.
The obvious genetics rockstars would be Craig Venter, Francis Collins, and James Watson because they’re flamboyant, unafraid to break new ground, and frequently in the news bringing attention to the latest in the genome revolution. These three scientists and others like them have the power to influence national and international policy on genetic discrimination, genetic testing, and genetics research.
Other rockstars of genetics include those who work to educate the public about genetics and teachers who guide up-and-coming geneticists in schools and universities. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot written by Nicholas Wade of The New York Times. Even though he’s not a scientist per se, he’s still a genetics rockstar in my book for helping to bring genetics to a wider audience. Dr. Harry M. Meade of ATryn fame sounds like he would qualify too.
By my own definition, could I be a genetics rockstar? Rock on!
Technorati Tags: nicholas wade, genetics, genes, dna, disease, health, science, illness, education, francis collins, craig venter, james watson
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POSTED IN: General Genetics and Health
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2 opinions for Rockstar Geneticists
Migrations » Blog Archive » Other Rock-star Scientists
Aug 14, 2006 at 10:43 am
[…] Genetics and Health - Hsien Lei lists three: Craig Venter, Francis Collins, and James Watson […]
The Inoculated Mind : Mendel’s Garden #4: A genetic journey through an organic garden
Aug 19, 2006 at 5:40 pm
[…] Moving on, here is a nice planting of roses, another example of mingling with the genetics of plants over a long period of time (in human terms) to conform to the idea of beauty. Let me tell you, these blossoms are doing a good job. I came from Sonoma County, home of Luther Burbank, a well-known plant breeder who worked on varieties of crops, as well as roses. Currently, I can think of no one with the kind of visibility in crop genetics today that Luther Burbank had then. In my opinion, geneticists (and other scientists) should be rockstars, and Hsien-Hsien Lei at Genetics and Health agrees with me, with her piece, Rockstar Geneticists. Find out who are the rockstars today! […]
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