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 A Busy Time Ahead
The diversity of the programs at
the Laboratory is quite remarkable and I believe the
high quality of our research and education is
self-evident. Yet, we do not rest on past
accomplishments for very long. Only five short years
after a considerable expansion of the research at the
Laboratory into the exciting area of learning and
memory, we find that we are in desperate need of more
laboratory space for this program. To take full
advantage of the great successes in understanding
some of the molecular underpinnings of learning and
memory, it has become obvious that we should
incorporate new experimental approaches. One such
approach is imaging neurons and their function in an
intact brain. To visualize neuronal function in live
animals would be an enormous benefit, but achieving
this goal will require the construction of a new
research building to house an imaging center and
further technical developments. Having already
recruited Dr. Karel Svoboda, a
physicist-turned-neurobiologist, to join our faculty
in the summer of 1997 and spearhead this new
direction, plans are well under way for a handsome
imaging building. This project will also enable us to
increase the teaching space for the courses,
particularly those courses that focus on imaging of
the brain. The approval of a new zoning ordinance by
the Village of Laurel Hollow early in 1996 will
enable careful plans for this project and others to
progress.
As I look to the immediate future,
there will be opportunities to change the direction
of the Laboratory in addition to the expansion of our
neuro-science program. A clear opportunity has
emerged from the exciting new developments in human
cancer genetics, making it necessary to streng-then
our research on cancer cell biology and animal
physiology. Furthermore, with the modern technologies
that are available, it is certain that academic
institutions that focus on basic research, such as
the Laboratory, should play important roles in taking
the basic research to the clinic. Gone are the days
when our science rattled around in the scientific
literature for some time before it was "picked
up" by those more clinically inclined. By
judicious choice of collaborations with clinical
centers and the biotechnology industry, the gap
between our fundamental discoveries and human health
should be very narrow indeed.
As an institution, it is
imperative that we prepare for such eventualities by
continuing to recruit the best young people, provide
them with the appropriate facilities, and identify
partners with whom we can best synergize. Each of
these endeavors is very time consuming on its own,
but all are well worth the effort in the long run. In
short, life in and around the Laboratory will not be
leisurely in the immediate future.
Bruce Stillman, Director
April 22, 1997
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