The videos, images and stories of #NextGreatDiscovery share two things in common: 1) They reveal the lives and motivations of amazing scientists carrying out basic research, and 2) All the scientists are affiliated with Stanford’s pioneering interdisciplinary institute Bio-X.
Almost 15 years ago, Stanford Bio-X was founded to support biomedical research with an interdisciplinary blend of X, which is to say all the fields across the street from Stanford University School of Medicine – engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, math and statistics as well as the professional schools of business, law and education. Bio-X later came to be housed in the Clark Center, located with crosswalks linking those schools and departments.
Two of the scientists featured in #NextGreatDiscovery recently won Nobel prizes in chemistry, and both discuss the importance of Stanford’s collaborative spirit in their research.
From Michael Levitt, PhD:
The university has the medical school and other departments very close to each other. This means that you can mix together all the sciences whether it is engineering and medicine, mathematics and medicine, statistics and medicine. All of these things are really close together so people are able to interact, groups are able to mix. I think it really is a remarkable environment.
From W.E. Moerner, PhD:
One aspect of research today is that our science has become more and more multidisciplinary. Exciting science occurs at the boundaries between conventional disciplines. Here at Stanford we have a spectacular environment for multidisciplinary work. That’s because in a very close proximity we have all of the humanities and sciences departments, the medical school departments and the engineering departments all close together, essentially across the street from one another right here close to my office.
In the series, scientists discuss the importance of funding for the basic sciences, as federal sources become more scarce. Both Levitt and Moerner have received Seed funding through Bio-X, which support new collaborations between scientists bridging disciplines. These grants are critical for promoting interdisciplinary research through funding at a time when federal resources for early stage collaborations are hard to come by, even for scientists whose research receives a nod from Stockholm.
Previously: #NextGreatDiscovery: Exploring the important work of basic scientists, The value of exploring jellyfish eyes: Scientist-penned book supports “curiosity-driven” research, Basic research underlies effort to thwart “greatest threat to face humanity”, For third year in row, a Stanford faculty member wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Stanford's Michael Levitt wins 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Photo by Peter van Agtmael/Magnum Photos
