First Job
My first mentor was Dr. Milton Weiner, a scientist with whom I worked at
my first job after graduating from the University of Rochester with a
degree in Biology. We were in the Fermentation Development lab at
Bristol Labs in Syracuse NY, where a group mutagenized a culture of a
microbe making penicillin every week using the same mutagen (I’m
guessing MNNG) and the same method, then screening for strains making
increased amounts of penicillin. I realized much later that this was not
likely to yield many different results week after week and month after
month using the same method. Dr. Weiner was dismissive of this. Our
small group was investigating new methods. “Think, don’t
screen” , he said.