引自他的博客，链接
http://www.sciencenet.cn/m/user_content.aspx?id=293869My Thought Process for the Decision to Come Home
February 5, 2010
Since I came back to Shanghai and started working in the R&D division of a multi-national pharmaceutical company, many people asked why I made such a bold move to industry, at the peak of my academic career. This seemingly very personal decision has generated a lot of curiosity and interests. I was even questioned by a student during a public lecture. An old friend made a bit that the company won’t be able to recruit me, “because Bai is a die-hard academic”. Many expressed pity that science has lost a long-time enthusiast. People outside my social circle thought of an obvious answer: the handsome company package has lured me from the meager academic life. Those who claimed as insiders also believe that this is a way out of my personal problems. While I have no interest to defend my motive, it might be helpful to reflect my thought process for this important decision.
It is quite common that many successful professionals experience midlife crisis after they enter a relatively stable stage of their lives. There is an increase in divorce rate, and many people quit their seemingly very successful career, leave their very comfortable lives, and start to do something completely new that are more challenging. Seeking novelty is a fundamental nature of scientist. I would argue that these explanations are too simplistic; a number of other factors that have contributed more to my decision.
The first and foremost is to pursue my scientific interests at a higher level. I have been studying neurotrophic factors, particularly brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), for the bulk of my career. This study has gone through two major transformations. One was from basic science to translation research. All along, my research has been driven by my curiosity of basic mechanisms underlying BDNF regulation of neuronal development and functions. In 2003, I published a paper, in collaboration with 错误！未找到引用源。 of NIMH, on a genetic variation of BDNF gene that alters human memory function. This study, which ranked #2 of the “Ten Breakthrough of the Year” by Science magazine, has inspired my interests in translating our basic investigations of cellular mechanism such as BDNF secretion into understanding of neurological/psychiatric diseases. The founding of Genes, Cognition and Psychosis Program (GCAP), the biggest translation research program at NIH for which I was named Associate Director, facilitated this transition. Through daily interactions with first-rate clinician scientists, I became quite well versed in applying my knowledge and expertise in cellular neuroscience to revealing disease mechanisms. It is clear that BDNF is involved in a number of major illnesses, such as Parkinson’s and depression. Thus, I have made a decision to make a second transition in my career: from translation to drug development. While excited about the perspective that one day I can help make medicine based on my knowledge and expertise in BDNF, I have been increasingly frustrated by not being able to do that in academic settings.
My dream about making medicine can actually be traced back to my graduate school days. In my first year at Cornell Medical College in New York, I worked for a year with an ambitious young scientist, who late quit his professor job and started a company called Regeneron, which is now well known in the biotech world. I was fascinated by how a scientist could start out with a novel idea, formulate a business plan, go through angel funds, venture capital and IPO, and put together a full-bloom company to start drug development within a very short period of time. Later, I met with a Wharton School (the Business School Of U Penn) professor, who recommended me a book: “Gene Dreams: Wall Street, Academia, and the Rise of Biotechnology”. This book, which describes an intricate story the rise and fall of the first biotech company in the US – Genetic Systems, gave me an overview of biotech, a fascinating new career path. After my postdoctoral training, I joined the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, a premier research institute located right next to the pharmaceutical giant Roche in Nutley, New Jersey. Through interactions with Roche people, I learned that making drugs is a very complex endeavor, from target identification, to candidate selection, to clinical trials. You need medicinal chemistry, pharmakodynamics, formulation, etc, in addition to cutting edge drug discovery capabilities, and people with expertise in business, commercial, legal and finance all working together. It usually takes close to one billion dollars and 10-12 years to launch a new drug. The social and economic impact of making first-in-kind drug is enormous, and the satisfaction it brings is far beyond a Nobel Prize. My academic interests to real medical problems and my desire to help sick people with my scientific knowledge and expertise have fired my aspiration to embark another major step in my career: to join the endeavor of making medicines. It becomes natural that I jump on the opportunity when it presented itself.
Another important factor is my desire to develop my leadership skills. Unlike majority of scientists, I have exposed to the concept and experience of leadership very early on in my career, both in China and in the US. Sydney Udenfriend, a renowned biochemistry and former Director of the Roche Institute where I landed my first academic job, had repeated discussed this topic with me. He suggested that there are a number of “leap-forward” moments in one’s life. “You must jump onto the next stage, or else you will miss the opportunity to grow. A few years late, you will see that you are no longer in the same class any more”, he said. He also told me about the “Peter’s Principle”: you should look forward to the stretch, but never jump beyond the limit of your capability. He told me that he was once invited by Richard Nixon to the White House for the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services. He declined, because he felt that it was way beyond what he could possibly do.
Since 1995, I was repeatedly invited to help development of science and technologies in China. These include developing reform plans for scientific organizations, helping recruitment of senior scientific leaders, and building new scientific institutions. I was also involved in the country’s mid to long-term strategic plans for science and technology. While in a few cases, I initiated programs, and wrote proposals for major reforms, most of the times I served as advisory roles. In the US, I have been asked to look at leadership positions almost once a year since 2003, and often times I asked myself what I would do if I were placed in the positions to deal with crises or make tough decisions. One day, a high-level leader said to me: “Bai, to really make an impact, you need to sit in the driver seat. To be an advisor, no matter how good or bad the suggestion you made, you are not responsible for it. But if you were the one to make a critical decision, you will have to live with the consequences. It is also a totally different kind of reward when your decisions changed the organization or helped the lives of many people”. This really had an impact on me. I believe that I am at a stage to move on, and put my leadership skill in practice. I am glad that I am now in a right-sized organization that provides a fantastic opportunity to learn and practice leadership.
Last but not least, I want to be back to China. Aside from emotional and cultural reasons, I have a stronger plea. China, the place where I was born and raised, is developing in an unprecedented speed. It may very well be that in our lifetime, we will see China the Chinese culture will be at its very best in history. As Mao once said: “它是站在地平线上遥望海中已经看得桅杆尖头了的一只航船,它是立于高山之巅远看东方光芒四射喷薄欲出的一轮朝日,它是躁动于母腹中的快要成熟了的一个婴儿。”. Every time when I thought of this, I felt that I have been driven by a larger-than-life force. I just cannot bear the thoughts that as a Chinese descendant, I have not contributed my personal best to its prosperity, or not be part of the history in the making. While I may not be as accomplished scientifically as I would have if I stayed in the US, there are many places for me where I can be more helpful to others. I can better use my knowledge and expertise to help China build a more modern and civilized country. China will also provide me a much bigger stage to demonstrate as well as develop my talent and capacity. The idea that I can help nurturing Chinese students, building a culture of science, and even influence society at large, really excites me.