LabTV: Young Scientist Curious About The Immune System

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Dr. Francis Collins

Welcome to LabTV! If you haven’t already, take a look at this video. I hope you will enjoy meeting the first young scientist featured in this brand new series that I’ve chosen to highlight on my blog. The inspiration for LabTV comes from Jay Walker, who is the founder of PriceLine, and curator and chairman of TEDMED, an annual conference focused on new ideas in health and medicine.

A few years ago, Walker noticed that there were many talented young people across America who are interested in science, but are uncertain about what a career in biomedical research is like. His solution was to create an online video community where anyone interested in going into research could learn from the experiences of scientists who, not so long ago, walked in their shoes. As you will see from spending a few moments in the lab with Heardley Moses Murdock, whose research involves a rare immune disorder called DOCK 8 deficiency, these video profiles put a human face on science and show its everyday stories.

As Walker enjoys saying, “You can’t be it, if you can’t see it.” So, I hope lots of young people get to “see it” and sense the enthusiasm for scientific discovery that makes possible so many of the advances that we feature on this blog. I plan to run a new LabTV video here every so often, but if you want to meet more of these young scientists right now, please visit the LabTV web site (https://www.labtv.com/Home#). You’ll be greeted with, “Curiosity starts here,” and it certainly does.

While today’s video focuses on a young scientist working right here at NIH, in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, LabTV also profiles researchers from universities across the nation. You’ll find a range of videos that provide a wide-angle view of the many different types of career paths possible in biomedical research. Or, if you’re at a point where you’re mulling a specific career option, refine your video requests and pull up only those in a specific research area or geographic location. I’m told that you’ll even soon be able to search according to personal factors, such as “hated math in school” or “have a parent who is a doctor.”

If you’re considering a career in science, I encourage you to explore educational and training opportunities at the National Institutes of Health and the many research institutions we support. Whether your interest lies in doing basic research in a small lab or conducting clinical research with a large network of collaborators, we need the ideas and energy of your generation to help uncover fundamental features of biology, and to assist in the ongoing fight against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and the many other conditions calling out for better treatments and prevention strategies. As this LabTV video shows, opportunity awaits!

Links:

LabTV

Science Careers (National Institute of General Medical Sciences/NIH)

Careers Blog, Office of Intramural Training and Education (NIH)

Scientific Careers at NIH