Focus speaker (Opportunities)
Prof. Paul MACARY
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, NUS Profile Associate Professor Paul MacAry received his BSc (Hons) in Molecular Genetics from Glasgow University in 1993 and his PhD in Immunology from GKT, University of London in 1998. He performed post-doctoral researches in the Cambridge University Institute for Medical Research (CIMR) and since 2005 has been an independent investigator in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology program at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The multi-disciplinary research in his laboratory covers the entire spectrum of scientific endeavour, from basic research to industrial applications with an emphasis on antibody biology, immune repertoire mapping and protein engineering. His laboratory has ongoing collaborations with Roche Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Chugai and Becton Dickinson. Paul was a founding member and Meetings Secretary for the Singaporean Society of Immunology (SSI)-Singapore’s first international learned society and the founding scientist for two biotechnology companies, BSCR LTD founded in Cambridge in 2004 and Antibody Cradle LTD founded in Singapore in 2012. His research has been featured in covering articles on the BBC and Reuters and he has published several manuscripts in top international journals including Science, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Medicine, Immunity, Hepatology, PNAS and Blood with four included in the Faculty of 1000. Abstract Some thoughts on ‘Opportunity’ in research From the Latin word opportunitatem meaning "fitness, convenience, suitableness, favorable time." “A time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.” Oxford English Dictionary “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison Modern interdisciplinary research is enabled by easy access to information from sources such as Pub-Med, Web of Science and Scopus combined with online tools including email and skype that facilitate collaboration both locally and internationally. Thus, the conditions for employing our creativity to identify new areas for cross-disciplinary investigation have never been better. However, the opportunities that this surfeit of information and connectivity affords are offset by increasing global competition for independent research positions combined with a reduction in available grants and a tendency for funding organizations to place constraints on the areas of research that they support. These factors are particularly important for young scientists who are aiming to establish their own research programs in coming years. In my talk I will highlight activities that underlie the conduct of outstanding research combined with complementary factors that contribute towards the establishment of your own successful laboratory. |