So many roads traveled: A career in science and administration

Abstract

I have traveled many roads during my career. After spending my first 19 years in Los Angeles, I became somewhat of an academic nomad, studying and/or working in six universities in the United States and three in Sweden. In chronological order, I have a B.A. in Scandinavian languages and literature from UCLA, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Uppsala University, and an M.S. in toxicology from the Karolinska Institute. I have been in schools of natural science, pharmacy, and medicine and have worked in multiple basic science departments and one clinical department. I have served as a research-track and tenured faculty member, department chair, associate dean, and dean. My research has spanned toxinology, biochemistry, toxicology, and pharmacology. Through all the moves, I have gained much and lost some. For the past 40 years, my interest has been cytochrome P450 structure-function and structure-activity relationships. My lab has focused on CYP2B enzymes using X-ray crystallography, site-directed mutagenesis, deuterium-exchange MS, isothermal titration calorimetry, and computational methods in conjunction with a variety of functional assays. This comprehensive approach has enabled detailed understanding of the structural basis of the remarkable substrate promiscuity of CYP2B enzymes. We also have investigated the mechanisms of CYP3A4 allostery using biophysical and advanced spectroscopic techniques, and discovered a pivotal role of P450-P450 interactions and of multiple-ligand binding. A major goal of this article is to provide lessons that may be useful to scientists in the early and middle stages of their careers and those more senior scientists contemplating an administrative move.