Disclaimer
This commentary discusses my work experience at or with several
different institutions. The opinions expressed are my own and do not
represent policy or practice in any official or unofficial context.
Trade names mentioned do not represent endorsements.
ABSTRACT
I am honored to receive the 2023 Hollaender Award, for achievements in
“application of the principles and techniques of environmental
mutagenesis to the protection of human health”. People may assume that
a career in applied science might not be as exciting or impactful as
basic research. I hope my career “adventures” into environmental
science, carcinogen investigations and photobiology, as well as
publications in Nature and Science, will counter this assumption. The
narrative is described in terms of “mentors” whose advice had a
lasting impact: “come early and work hard” (meanwhile, have fun);
“think instead of/while screening” (i.e. performing mundane tasks);
“avoid the big boo-boo”; “just go in the lab and do experiments”;
“become an expert”. Many of the most critical events in science and in
life are “random”, as demonstrated by accidental adventures that led
to scientific as well as life-altering personal realizations. Adventures
included forays into nitrosamine mutagenicity, nanomaterial assessment,
germ cell mutagenic risk, bacterial mutagenicity assays, genotoxicity of
cell phone radiation, personalized cancer prevention, and >25
years in regulatory safety assessment at FDA: review of genotoxicity
data, experiments in the lab, and collaboration with others to foster
better analyses of DNA damaging agents, generally in relation to cancer
risk. Finally, with my work and that of my lifelong tripmate William
Lijinsky as models, I suggest that a “non-hypothesis driven”,
open-ended approach to research can be path-breaking and forefront.
INTRODUCTION
I am honored to receive the 2023 Hollaender Award, for achievements in
“application of the principles and techniques of environmental
mutagenesis to the protection of human health”. Thank you EMGS
supporters, mentors and colleagues over many decades.
During my career I’ve been an awardee of EMS/EMGS travel and service
awards and served as newsletter editor, secretary, journal editorial
board member, program chair and president. I edited issues of the
society’s journal, initiated the special interest groups (SIGS) and
created the EMS video for the 25th anniversary. Thus,
EMGS has been a long- standing part of my scientific life.
With this review of my personal adventures as a genetic toxicologist, I
want to recognize the unsung heroes of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity
safety assessments, those in the contract labs, regulatory agencies, and
national laboratories. Especially I want to demonstrate the value and
surprising outcomes of seemingly routine genetic toxicology work. While
working, if you keep your mind open and your brain turned on, you can
discover amazing things. This is only following on the oldest traditions
of scientific inquiry and observation as practiced by early scientists
but seems lost in contemporary science. Notably, this is not hypothesis-driven research. It’s applied research and it’s anything but
dull. The most interesting discoveries were often random and
unexpected.
This presentation is focused on the advice of mentors, followed by
demonstration of how important these recommendations turned out to be
for my career, a fact I realize only now.
COMMENTARY