Eric S. Lander, Ph.D. - Academy of Achievement

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Lander, Ph.D. - Academy of Achievement</title>  <meta name="description" content="From an early age, Eric Lander made a name for himself as a mathematical prodigy, winning the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Class valedictorian at Princeton, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he was poised for a career as a theoretical mathematician. Yet he was dissatisfied. He wanted his research to serve a more immediate human purpose. He embarked on a career teaching managerial economics at Harvard Business School; although he loved the teaching, he found the research unsatisfying. In the midst of a promising career, with a growing family to support, he dropped everything and made a midlife course correction. Although he was already a professor in the business school, he undertook basic studies in biology. He soon found a new application of his mathematical prowess in the emerging field of genomics, the study of all the genes in a given organism, and their function in sickness and in health. He played a leading role in the Human Genome Project, and is the first listed author on the article describing the complete human genome published in Nature in 2001. Today, he is Founding Director of the Broad Institute, a joint project of Harvard, MIT and the Whitehead Institute, where he is leading a revolution in our understanding of the nature of life — and the causes and treatment of disease."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Eric S. Lander, Ph.D. - Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="<p class="inputTextFirst">From an early age, Eric Lander made a name for himself as a mathematical prodigy, winning the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Class valedictorian at Princeton, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he was poised for a career as a theoretical mathematician. Yet he was dissatisfied. He wanted his research to serve a more immediate human purpose. He embarked on a career teaching managerial economics at Harvard Business School; although he loved the teaching, he found the research unsatisfying.</p> <p class="inputText">In the midst of a promising career, with a growing family to support, he dropped everything and made a midlife course correction. Although he was already a professor in the business school, he undertook basic studies in biology. He soon found a new application of his mathematical prowess in the emerging field of genomics, the study of all the genes in a given organism, and their function in sickness and in health.</p> <p class="inputText">He played a leading role in the Human Genome Project, and is the first listed author on the article describing the complete human genome published in <i>Nature</i> in 2001. Today, he is Founding Director of the Broad Institute, a joint project of Harvard, MIT and the Whitehead Institute, where he is leading a revolution in our understanding of the nature of life — and the causes and treatment of disease.</p>"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/lander-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2800"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1120"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:description" content="<p class="inputTextFirst">From an early age, Eric Lander made a name for himself as a mathematical prodigy, winning the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Class valedictorian at Princeton, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he was poised for a career as a theoretical mathematician. Yet he was dissatisfied. He wanted his research to serve a more immediate human purpose. He embarked on a career teaching managerial economics at Harvard Business School; although he loved the teaching, he found the research unsatisfying.</p> <p class="inputText">In the midst of a promising career, with a growing family to support, he dropped everything and made a midlife course correction. Although he was already a professor in the business school, he undertook basic studies in biology. He soon found a new application of his mathematical prowess in the emerging field of genomics, the study of all the genes in a given organism, and their function in sickness and in health.</p> <p class="inputText">He played a leading role in the Human Genome Project, and is the first listed author on the article describing the complete human genome published in <i>Nature</i> in 2001. Today, he is Founding Director of the Broad Institute, a joint project of Harvard, MIT and the Whitehead Institute, where he is leading a revolution in our understanding of the nature of life — and the causes and treatment of disease.</p>"/> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Eric S. 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Lander, Ph.D.</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">Human Genome Pioneer</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-2650 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-scientist"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane fade in active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">You take pieces you love and then you fashion a life out of it, rather than looking for the pieces to fit some particular mold.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">Founding Director, Broad Institute</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> February 3, 1957 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p class="inputtextfirst">Eric Steven Lander was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His father was disabled by multiple sclerosis through much of Eric’s childhood and died when Eric was 11. Although Eric’s mother had been trained as an attorney, opportunities for women lawyers were few at the time, so she worked as a teacher to provide for Eric and his younger brother Arthur. In junior high school, Eric became fascinated by mathematics. At New York’s Stuyvesant High School — a public school specializing in math and science — Lander led the school’s math team, and won a silver medal for the United States in the International Mathematical Olympiad. At age 17, a paper he wrote on quasiperfect numbers won the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search. He participated in the American Academy of Achievement’s 1974 Salute to Excellence program in Salt Lake City as a student delegate.</p> <figure id="attachment_23435" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-23435 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-23435 size-full lazyload" alt="A 17-year-old Eric Lander celebrates his first place finish in the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Standing behind him are second place finalist Frank Leighton, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Glenn Seaborg, and third place finalist Linda Brockenstedt. Seated on either side of Eric Lander in the front row are Dixy Lee Ray of the Atomic Energy Commission and John W. Simpson of Westinghouse." width="1024" height="683" data-sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young.jpg 1024w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A 17-year-old Eric Lander of New York’s Stuyvesant High School celebrates his first place finish in the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Standing behind him are second place finalist Frank Leighton, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and third place finalist Linda Brockenstedt. Seated on either side of Eric Lander are Dixy Lee Ray of the Atomic Energy Commission and John W. Simpson of Westinghouse.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">Lander continued to excel in mathematics as an undergraduate at Princeton University, but he also found time to work as a reporter on <i>The Daily Princetonian</i>. Intrigued by politics, polling and statistics, he persuaded the Gallup organization to support his poll of university students in the 1976 presidential election. In an elective class on constitutional law, he met fellow student Lori Weiner for the first time. Eric made a point of joining campus committees and other activities Weiner was involved in. The two became friends quickly, but romance blossomed more slowly.</p> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander graduated from Princeton in 1978. He was valedictorian of his class and was awarded the Pyne Prize, the university’s highest undergraduate honor. He pursued graduate studies at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, studying combinatorics and applications of representation theory to coding theory. He completed his Ph.D. thesis on symmetric design but had grown restless in the world of pure mathematics. On returning to the United States, he was certain he wanted to marry Lori Weiner but was less sure how to apply his training in mathematics.</p> <figure id="attachment_22104" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22104 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22104 size-full lazyload" alt="February 6, 1994: Dr. Eric Lander, head of the Whitehead Institute's genome center, holds a sequencing gel plate. This particular plate is used to catalog the genes of mice. (Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS)" width="2280" height="3429" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1.jpg 2280w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1-505x760.jpg 505w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">February 6, 1994: Dr. Eric Lander, head of the Whitehead Institute’s genome center, holds a sequencing gel plate.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">Rather than consulting his former math professors at Princeton, he sought advice from the university’s political scientists and statisticians, who urged him to try his luck in Boston, where the large concentration of universities might lead to unexpected opportunities. To his surprise, Lander was offered a job as lecturer in managerial economics at Harvard Business School. The field was new to Lander, but he plunged ahead, and became a popular lecturer and professor. He married Lori, and the two started a family.</p> <figure id="attachment_40497" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-40497 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/wp-JohnGearhart-and-eric-lander.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-40497 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1551" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/wp-JohnGearhart-and-eric-lander.jpg 2280w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/wp-JohnGearhart-and-eric-lander-380x259.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/wp-JohnGearhart-and-eric-lander-760x517.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/wp-JohnGearhart-and-eric-lander.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Dr. John D. Gearhart, pioneering geneticist who first identified and isolated human stem cells, speaks to Dr. Eric S. Lander prior to their symposium presentation at the 1999 Academy of Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. Alongside them is an Academy of Achievement member and geneticist Dr. Janet Davison Rowley, who was the recipient of innumerable honors, including the National Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">Although Lander enjoyed his teaching duties at Harvard, he had not found the career he was looking for. He was completing a book on information theory when his brother, Arthur, now a physician and neurobiologist, suggested he apply this interest to the most complex information system of all — the human brain. The proposal excited Eric Lander, but the more he explored the subject, the more he felt the need for basic training in biology. At Harvard, the business school professor sat in on undergraduate lab classes taught by graduate assistants. He quickly came to enjoy laboratory work and began to moonlight in the molecular genetic laboratory. Lander took a leave of absence from Harvard to pursue genetics research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His mathematics background proved invaluable in identifying the minute genetic variations that predispose individuals to a host of disorders, including cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia and obesity.</p> <p class="inputtext">Lander made the rounds of international conferences, speaking on the application of mathematics to genetics. In 1986, he joined the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. The following year he received a MacArthur Fellowship — often called the “genius grant” — to further develop mathematical techniques of genetic analysis. He was offered tenured positions in the biology departments at both Harvard and MIT. He accepted the position at MIT first, although his subsequent career has bridged both institutions.</p> <figure id="attachment_22107" style="width: 671px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22107 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22107 size-full lazyload" alt="On February 15, 2001, a draft of the human genome was published in the journal "Nature," Volume 409, Number 6822. The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Center for Genome Research, was listed first (the order was according to total genomic sequence contributed). Eric S. Lander was the first author named." width="671" height="884" data-sizes="(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2.jpg 671w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2-288x380.jpg 288w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2-577x760.jpg 577w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">On February 15, 2001, a draft of the human genome was published in the journal <em>Nature</em>, Volume 409, Number 6822. The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Center for Genome Research, was listed first (the order was according to total genomic sequence contributed). Dr. Eric S. Lander was the first author named in the draft.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">The professor of managerial economics had become a professor of biology, but his management studies did not go to waste. In 1990 Lander founded a new Center for Genome Research at Whitehead and MIT (WICGR). The new center became a major partner, with the National Institutes of Health and other research labs, in the international Human Genome Project (HGP). The HGP intended to make its data freely available to the public, and soon found itself in a race with the for-profit company Celera Genomics, which planned to patent its findings.</p> <p class="inputtext">Lander pushed his team to complete their work ahead of schedule, developing new methods for sequencing human genes. The target date moved from 2005 to 2003. The public draft of the human genome was published in the journal <i>Nature</i> in 2001, years ahead of schedule. The WICGR was listed first among the article’s contributors, with Eric Lander as the first named author.</p> <figure id="attachment_22097" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22097 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22097 size-full lazyload" alt="March 13, 2002: Dr. Eric Lander, founder and director of the MIT Whitehead Institute/Center for Genome Research, delivers the keynote address during the BioITWorld Conference and Expo in Boston, Massachusetts. Lander discussed how managing the avalanche of biological information, as in the Human Genome Project, is requiring the marriage of information technology and biology. ( Photo by William B. Plowman/Getty Images)" width="1600" height="900" data-sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1.jpg 1600w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1-380x214.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1-760x428.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">March 13, 2002: Dr. Eric Lander, founder and director of the MIT Whitehead Institute/Center for Genome Research, delivers the keynote address during the BioITWorld Conference and Expo in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Lander discussed how managing the avalanche of biological information, as in the landmark Human Genome Project, is requiring the marriage of information technology and biology. (Photo by William B. Plowman and Getty Images)</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">The work of Lander’s team at WICGR continued, sequencing genes of the mouse, pufferfish, <i>Neurospora crassa</i> fungus and <i>Sacharomyces cerevisiae</i> yeasts. These organisms are among the most useful for basic medical research, easing the identification of key gene regulatory elements throughout the plant and animal kingdoms.</p> <p class="inputtext">In 2003, Lander became founding director of the Broad Institute, merging the genome research efforts of the Whitehead Institute, MIT and Harvard. The Broad Institute is dedicated to creating comprehensive tools for genomic medicine, and developing their application to the understanding and treatment of disease. By assembling a catalogue of the variations of the human genome, Lander and his associates are determining which variations are linked to which diseases, identifying precise molecular targets for potential therapies. Lander has developed a molecular taxonomy of cancer, grouping each form of cancer according to gene expression, determining their relative susceptibility to chemotherapy or other treatments. In 2004, <i>Time</i> magazine name Eric Lander one of the “100 Most Influential People of Our Time.”</p> <figure id="attachment_22095" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22095 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22095 size-full lazyload" alt="September 4, 2008: The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT received an unprecedented $400 million gift from its philanthropic founding partners Eli and Edythe L. Broad: an endowment intended to establish the Institute as a permanent biomedical research organization. The Broads announced their gift at a ceremony featuring speeches by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, MIT President Susan Hockfield, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, Nobel Laureate David Baltimore of Caltech, and Broad Institute director Eric Lander." width="2280" height="1517" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1.jpg 2280w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1-760x506.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">September 4, 2008: The Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received an unprecedented $400 million gift from its philanthropic founding partners Eli and Edythe L. Broad: an endowment intended to establish the Institute as a permanent biomedical research organization. The Broads announced their gift at a ceremony featuring speeches by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, MIT President Susan Hockfield, Harvard President Drew Faust, Nobel laureate David Baltimore of Caltech, and Broad Institute director Eric Lander.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext">Today, in addition to directing the Broad Institute, Eric Lander continues to participate in teaching the undergraduate introductory biology course at MIT. Shortly after the 2008 presidential election, president-elect Barack Obama named Eric Lander to co-chair to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.</p></body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 1999 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.scientist">Scientist</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> February 3, 1957 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p class="inputTextFirst">From an early age, Eric Lander made a name for himself as a mathematical prodigy, winning the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Class valedictorian at Princeton, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he was poised for a career as a theoretical mathematician. Yet he was dissatisfied. He wanted his research to serve a more immediate human purpose. He embarked on a career teaching managerial economics at Harvard Business School; although he loved the teaching, he found the research unsatisfying.</p> <p class="inputText">In the midst of a promising career, with a growing family to support, he dropped everything and made a midlife course correction. Although he was already a professor in the business school, he undertook basic studies in biology. He soon found a new application of his mathematical prowess in the emerging field of genomics, the study of all the genes in a given organism, and their function in sickness and in health.</p> <p class="inputText">He played a leading role in the Human Genome Project, and is the first listed author on the article describing the complete human genome published in <i>Nature</i> in 2001. Today, he is Founding Director of the Broad Institute, a joint project of Harvard, MIT and the Whitehead Institute, where he is leading a revolution in our understanding of the nature of life — and the causes and treatment of disease.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/WrfA9dcyGgY?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=2814&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_36_24.Still003-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_36_24.Still003-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">Founding Director, Broad Institute</h2> <div class="sans-2">Washington, D.C.</div> <div class="sans-2">June 19, 1999</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>This is not your first visit to the American Academy of Achievement’s annual Summit of young scholars and international leaders. You’ve been here before.</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/ayEShBHaQuA?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=89&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_10_58_06.Still008-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_10_58_06.Still008-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: For me this is a return trip to the American Academy of Achievement. I first came in 1974, as a high school senior, to the American Academy of Achievement after having won the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. And for me it was a very interesting experience. I had grown up in Brooklyn, New York, and really not gone all that far from Brooklyn in my days. Certainly never out West, and certainly never to a place like Salt Lake City, where that particular Achievement Banquet was held. It was remarkable meeting this range of students from all over the country, from so many different cultural backgrounds, meeting large numbers of people who had never heard of a bagel, for example. It was really interesting meeting some of the adult honorees, but I must say I was most struck and most remember the other students, the cross-section of American students I met then. So for me, it was a very eye-opening affair, and it’s really charming and wonderful to be back now, 25 years later, and to look back on myself then, and see myself out in the audience with all these wonderful, bright high school students today. And I think it perhaps gives me just a little bit of a special relationship to talk to them about what their next 25 years may be like. I certainly imagined at the time that I had more of a plan than it turned out I did. I’m trying to give them some notion that, in fact, their lives are probably going to be like that, too. That whatever they’re planning today, the most exciting things that will really happen in their lives are things that don’t even exist yet.</p> <p></p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p class="inputtext"><b>Today you’re known to us as a professor of biology, a leader of the Human Genome Project, but you originally trained as a mathematician.</b></p> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: After I left graduate school and pure mathematics, I didn’t know what in the world I wanted to do, and by a series of accidents — largely because I’d randomly met some economists and statisticians — I got a job teaching as a professor at the Harvard Business School. Not the sort of thing that usually happens as an accident, but it was a very lucky accident. I taught managerial economics there for nine years.</p> <figure id="attachment_22100" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22100 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22100 size-full lazyload" alt="Eric Lander (third from left) with his teammates on the Stuyvesant High School math team, and their teacher, Irene Finkel (second from left)." width="400" height="210" data-sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1.jpg 400w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1-380x200.jpg 380w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">17-year-old Eric S. Lander (the third from left) with his teammates on the Stuyvesant High School math team, and their science teacher, Irene Finkel (second from left).</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext"><b>You say it was an accident that led you to Harvard Business School. Can you talk about that accident?</b></p> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: Sure. Well, in one sense my own career sounds very linear and straightforward. I was a math whiz in high school. I was a math major in college. I went on a Rhodes scholarship, to do a math Ph.D. A very linear chain. But in point of fact there were wonderful distractions all along the way. When I was in college, my very first week, I came back from a play, stopped in at a beer and pretzel party at the student newspaper,<i>The Daily Princetonian</i> at Princeton. I had a wonderful time and stayed for four years doing journalism. I loved writing. I worked on the newspaper just a vast majority of my time in college. I took a great course from John McPhee, a spectacular nonfiction writer. I was a stringer for <i>Business Week</i> magazine over the summer on an internship. I just really loved it.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/A9aywVv4F3U?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_39_02_24.Still001-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_39_02_24.Still001-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">One of the things I did was I decided to start a public opinion poll in 1976 for the presidential election. George Gallup’s organization is located in Princeton, and I got up the courage to go across the street and convince the Gallup organization to help us start a student poll, which we did. We involved a number of colleges up and down the East Coast, and launched a public opinion poll. That got me talking to a bunch of economics professors and political science professors and statisticians, and I just made some friends there, even though I was a math major doing other things. When it finally came to pass that I got into graduate school, and I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do, it seemed to me that all this, economics and worldly things, would be useful. It was something I ought to think about doing, so I went back and I saw them. I didn’t go back and see my math professors. I went back and saw people like Ed Tufte, a political scientist and statistician, and he pointed me to a few people in Boston. And they pointed me to the Harvard Business School, saying that was a place that would take an itinerant mathematician with good credentials, who didn’t necessarily know anything about economics, and would let them learn on the job. And sure enough, I don’t quite know why they did, so they gave me a position teaching managerial economics, and I didn’t know a thing about managerial economics but neither did the students. I was okay, and I learned faster than they did so it worked out just fine.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p class="inputtext">In fact, I became an exceedingly popular teacher, and I just threw myself into the teaching and the work, but after a year or two, I realized that while I enjoyed the teaching tremendously, the research component — the sort of serious research that I had been doing — I still felt was missing in my life, and I had no clue what I wanted to do.</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/wYzimKtGtjk?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_09_27_12.Still007-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_09_27_12.Still007-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">One summer I was finishing up a book, coming out of my thesis on a very abstract subject — algebraic combinatorics, for goodness sakes! — and I didn’t know what to do, so I spoke to my brother. My brother was a development neurobiologist and was going through graduate school, and Arthur suggested to me, “You’re a mathematician. You know all about information theory. You should learn about the brain. The brain is a really great place to apply it.” So being hopelessly naive, I said, “Okay, I’ll learn neurobiology this summer.” I got a couple of books and papers and things on mathematical aspects of neurobiology. They were interesting, but they didn’t ring very true, and I, in any case, decided I had to learn more neurobiology. So I started learning about neurobiology, wet lab neurobiology. I decided in order to do that I needed to know more biology, so I decided, okay, next semester I’d learn biology.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_22099" style="width: 1934px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22099 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22099 size-full lazyload" alt="September 21, 1994: Doctors Eric Lander and Johanna Hastbacka, post-doctoral fellow, view a DNA sequencing gel showing the gene for dwarfism. The gene was discovered at the Whitehead Institute." width="1934" height="1379" data-sizes="(max-width: 1934px) 100vw, 1934px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1.jpg 1934w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1-380x271.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1-760x542.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">September 21, 1994: Doctors Eric S. Lander and Johanna Hastbacka, post-doctoral fellow, view a DNA sequencing gel showing the gene for dwarfism. The gene was discovered at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.</figcaption></figure></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/QY9LEXys0-E?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=49&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_41_17.Still004-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_41_17.Still004-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I sat in on a biology course. I took the laboratory component of it, freaking out the poor graduate student who has this business school professor sitting in on his course. But he was kind enough to take me back to his lab and introduce me to his own advisor, and Peter and Lucy Cherbas gave me a bench in their laboratory and taught me how to clone genes. So I moonlighted cloning genes in their lab for a couple of years, figuring that genetics was the most rigorous place to start, figuring I’d work my way back up to the brain. That’s how I became a biologist. I became a biologist very much through that suggestion of my brother’s, and through this lucky series of accidents, and stumbling upon people who were kind enough to take me, and then picking up biology on street corners — admittedly very good street corners — in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But largely, most of my biology education came while I was teaching as professor of managerial economics at Harvard Business School.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>It’s never too late.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: It’s never too late. It leaves me singularly unqualified to advise my students on how they should run their careers, because they certainly think that this is a crazy way to do things, and I occasionally have to remind them that these crazy ways to do things are about the only ways that really in the end turn out satisfying.</p> <p><strong>It’s fun to read a brief bio of you, because for all the world it looks like it’s a typo. We go from, “Ph.D. in math, taught managerial economics at the Harvard Business School…” </strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Then it switches to molecular biology.</p> <p><strong>“Oh! Obviously they made a mistake. That must be somebody else’s bio.” We’re glad to hear the story directly from you, because it finally makes sense.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Well, as much as any of these do make sense.</p> <p><strong>We talked to John Gearhart recently. He started out studying apples and pears and ended up in gynecology. He had no idea he was going to be in stem cell tissue research. Is there a message there for kids?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: It’s a crucial message for kids. In my case, after I began to pick up biology, I still wasn’t really clear what I was going to do with it. I was despairing for several years of having thrown away a great career in mathematics. Not really pursuing this thing at the business school that I had, and learning biology, and what was I going to do with it?</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/mg_aXpa4SLA?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_44_49_28.Still005-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_44_49_28.Still005-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I eventually talked the business school into letting me take a year’s leave of absence, and I went down to MIT to work with some geneticists working on the nematode worm, which is a very good model of genetics, and by chance, again, one Tuesday afternoon I met David Botstein. He was a yeast geneticist who had recently come up with a brilliant idea for how to do human genetics, but what he really was lacking was a mathematical quality, because it needed a lot of mathematics to really develop it. So David and I just hit it off. We started talking. He was from the Bronx, I was from Brooklyn. We were arguing in the halls, having a great time, and one thing led to another, and I dropped everything else I was doing and began to work intensely with David on these ideas about human genetics.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_22105" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22105 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22105 size-full lazyload" alt="Nobel laureate Richard Roberts presents Eric Lander with the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Acheivement at the 1999 Summit in Washington, D.C. Twenty-five years earlier, Lander attended the Academy Summit as a student delegate. (© Academy of Achievement)" width="2280" height="1489" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1.jpg 2280w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1-380x248.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1-760x496.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Awards Council member Dr. Richard J. Roberts, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, presents Dr. Eric Lander with the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Acheivement at the 1999 Summit in Washington, D.C. Twenty-five years earlier, Dr. Lander participated in the 1974 Academy Summit in Salt Lake City as a young student delegate.</figcaption></figure></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/dWsbiJDLKWY?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_04_23_25.Still006-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_04_23_25.Still006-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I got invited — David dragged me along — to an international meeting in Helsinki in ’85, and then he got me invited to speak at a famous meeting at Cold Spring Harbor in 1986. The meeting that year was on human genetics, and it is the scene of the famous debate on the Human Genome Project that took place. And there were all these highfalutin Nobel Laureates up on the stage expressing opinions, and then they turned to the audience, and even though I was tremendously inhibited and intimidated, I raised my hand anyway and sort of threw myself into the discussion. Remarkably, after the discussion, a couple of senior people came over and said, “Oh, do you want to come to dinner? We really liked some of the things you said,” and we were chatting. And a couple of weeks later I found myself invited to participate in some meeting on the Genome Project, and a couple of months after that I found myself invited to chair some subcommittees on the Genome Project, and I quickly realized that there were no experts on this subject, and I could pass for an expert on this and that was just fine. So all told I was still very worried about it. I asked Botstein, “What am I going to do to ever get a job in this?” I was still teaching in the business school at the time, while I was moonlighting doing all this, and I said, “I don’t look like a standard issue molecular biologist. Who’s ever going to give me a job?” David said, “You’ve got it all backwards. It’s the guys who look like standard issue molecular biologists who have a problem. They all look the same. You look different. Any place would be glad to have one of you. Maybe not two, but glad to have one of you.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p class="inputtext">And he was so right, because…</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/2qS2NPVSXh0?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=84&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_11_13.Still002-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_41_11_13.Still002-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">The way it shook out, by 1988 or so, was here I had this training in genetics. I had training in mathematics that was turning out to be tremendously important for all this genome stuff. I had a background in business, from having taught at a business school, at a time that biology was organizing its first large scale project that required organizational thinking. And I had a bunch of experience from journalism writing, at a time when expressing what this project was about and formulating it was tremendously important. So I suddenly had a recipe for a whole bunch of skills here that fell together, and I’d love to take credit for having planned it that way, but it wasn’t that way at all. It was completely by accident. And I found, within a year or so after that, I had an offer of tenured positions teaching at both Harvard and MIT in biology. A year after that, I launched one of the first Human Genome Centers in the United States. A year or two after that, I helped co-found a biopharmaceutical firm, and onward like that, but it was very much an accident. Even as recently as two years ago, when I got elected to the National Academy of Sciences, around age 40 or so, I found myself rather surprised and stunned to be taken seriously at all this stuff. Because I still viewed myself — as I still sort of do view myself — as an accidental interloper in all this, who just stumbled upon this field, but a very lucky field to stumble upon, and some very wonderful people to guide me along the way.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_22094" style="width: 2000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22094 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22094 size-full lazyload" alt="October 2, 2003: Eric Lander, founder and director of the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research, tries to complete the technical description of the human genome project in 24 seconds during the Nano-Lecture series at the Ig Nobel awards ceremony at Harvard University. (AP Photo/SEVANS)" width="2000" height="1188" data-sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1.jpg 2000w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1-380x226.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1-760x451.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">October 2, 2003: Eric Lander, founder and director of the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research, tries to complete the description of the human genome project in 24 seconds during the Nano-Lecture Series.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext"><b>Timing can play a big role in any career. In your case, it seems like the timing was unbelievable.</b></p> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: Genomics didn’t exist at the time that I came down to MIT and met David Botstein. The few beginning seedlings were beginning to come up, and I found myself bumping into one of the people who knew a lot about it, and within 12 months of that point the Genome Project was breaking on the world scene. The timing couldn’t have been better. I had nothing whatsoever to do with the timing — it was dumb luck — but somehow managed to take the opportunity and run with it.</p> <p class="inputtext"><b>There were other changes happening just as you were becoming involved in biology. One change was the proliferation of computers in biology, and the whole concept of computational neurobiology. Twenty-five or 30 years ago that’s not how people did science.</b></p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/djm8SS3n7lE?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_10_58_06.Still008-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_10_58_06.Still008-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: Fifteen years ago computers played no significant role in biology. Biology has only become a computational discipline primarily in the last decade or so. So the time that I was getting into it as a mathematician, I was reasonably convinced that what I had done in mathematics was utterly irrelevant, and would be utterly irrelevant in the biology I did. Now biological computation — bioinformatics — are becoming tremendously important areas, and it’s becoming very clear that a large portion of biology is going to start with the information first, to generate the hypotheses for the lab, and so the field will have undergone a dramatic transformation over this period. If I had sought really good advice when I was in school, no one would have told me to use mathematics as a way into biology. Luckily, I never sought any of that advice. It just sort of happened.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_22098" style="width: 1255px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22098 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22098 size-full lazyload" alt="Dr. Eric S. Lander in his lab. (Rubenstein)" width="1255" height="1377" data-sizes="(max-width: 1255px) 100vw, 1255px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1.jpg 1255w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1-346x380.jpg 346w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1-693x760.jpg 693w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Dr. Eric S. Lander in his MIT laboratory. His most important work may be his development of a molecular taxonomy for cancers. The cancers are grouped according to gene expression as well as information like their response to chemotherapy is collected for each group. The division of cancers into homogeneous subgroups will also allow increased understanding of the molecular origins of these cancers and aid the design of more effective therapies.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Do you have any sense of destiny at work in all this?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: No, not a chance. I don’t think it was a sense of destiny.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/SCGZq3KDFoI?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_09_27_12.Still007-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_09_27_12.Still007-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I think we construct our lives out of the pieces we have, and the only rules to go by are to surround yourself by wonderful people, by smart people, very decent people, and then, as the physicists say, wait for productive collisions to occur. If there are a large number of high energy collisions, then there’s a large subset of productive collisions. So if you put yourself in those environments, things happen. And you take the pieces you have, which have to be the pieces you love. I didn’t go into journalism with the idea that writing would turn out to be tremendously important to me as a scientist. I didn’t go into studying the brain and biology with any idea of where I’d end up. You take the pieces you love, and then you fashion a life out of it, rather than looking for the pieces to fit some particular mold.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_22092" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-22092 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-22092 size-full lazyload" alt="March 25, 2005: Dr. Eric Lander photographed at the Broad Institute. A member of Whitehead Institute and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Eric S. Lander is one of the driving forces behind today’s revolution in genomics, the study of all of the genes in an organism and how they function together in health and disease. (©2005 Rick Friedman)" width="2280" height="1564" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1.jpg 2280w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1-380x261.jpg 380w, /web/20181229133907im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1-760x521.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">March 25, 2005: Dr. Eric S. Lander photographed at the Broad Institute. A member of Whitehead Institute and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Eric S. Lander is one of the driving forces behind today’s revolution in genomics, the study of all of the genes in an organism and how they function together.</figcaption></figure><p class="inputtext"><b>That’s beautifully said. When you tell the story today there’s a lot of humor and a cheery spirit, but there must have been a point when you had doubts about this jagged journey. Were there any setbacks or self-doubts along the way?</b></p> <p class="inputtext">Eric Lander: Oh, it was mostly setbacks and self-doubts.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181229133907if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/rggUmT8dUp8?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=110&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_12_14_08.Still009-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lander-Eric-1999-MasterEdit.00_12_14_08.Still009-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I now tell the story with a smile because it’s all worked out just fine, and I look back and I laugh. But through all of these peregrinations, through different fields and random walks, I was very frequently depressed about all of it, and deeply worried about this. After all, world class math student, a Rhodes scholar, won thesis prizes in mathematics. I had a great career prospect to go ahead and do pure mathematics. I discarded all of that and I wasn’t sure what for, and I recriminated often about that. I worried deeply about it, that I would never really have a good position in a university, or doing anything else for that matter. So anybody who imagines that you make these transitions without tremendous agonizing is absolutely wrong. I tell the story with a laugh today, but certainly it’s a very painful thing to be searching around like that, and not knowing what you really want to do. Eventually, you make enough transitions that you realize that life is about making those transitions. I still doubt I made them very gracefully. I reckon I have a few more career changes left in me, and I don’t imagine I’m going to do them completely gracefully. I hope, for the sake of my wife and my kids, I do them more gracefully than the ones I’ve done up to now, and worry maybe a little bit less, but you take these seriously. You throw yourself into them and they matter a lot, and somehow there’s great internal turmoil as you reinvent yourself and find out what you really want to do. What you have to do is balance it with a lot of fun along the way, but I would certainly be wrong to say that the whole thing was easy. It certainly, I don’t think, looks easy in retrospect, and it certainly wasn’t easy. What I was very blessed by was wonderful people to do it with, and wonderful help.</p> </div> </div>     <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>When did you get married along the way?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I met my wife at university. In fact, we met in a constitutional law class. I always had an interest in law, because my parents were lawyers, and Lori and I met in a constitutional law class when we were sophomores. We got to know each other much better during our later college career. We never really dated, but we worked on a zillion projects together. And right after we graduated from college we traveled together in Asia for a couple of months, and when I went off to graduate school, we already both knew that we would get married. I actually proposed to her while I was still in graduate school, and we agreed that as soon as we were back on the same continent — she was in law school in Florida, I had graduate school in England — that we’d get married. And we did, so we’ve been married since.</p> <p><strong>So did she go through all of these twists and turns with you?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: She’s been through all of the twists and turns in the road, and she can tell the real story of all of those things. She’s wonderful. Her support through all of those things has meant so much. She jokes that I had my mid-life crisis early, and I think that’s absolutely right. I think as long as I’ve had them already and don’t have any new sets, she’ll be just delighted. She was very supportive about all of these changes. I was just beginning to get interested in molecular biology. Everything I’ve done I’ve got very enthusiastic about. I would drag her to the lab late at night and show her how to do radioactive labeling of DNA and things like that with great enthusiasm, and she’d put up with it with great equanimity.</p> <p><strong>What is her field?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: She’s a lawyer. She went to law school and became a securities litigator and also public interest. She worked for a large law firm, Skadden Arps, for a number of years. Ten or 11 years doing securities litigation, and running their pro bono program as well, and then about five years ago she left Skadden and has been home with the kids and painting. She’s also an artist. She does a lot of painting. When the kids grow up, who knows?</p> <p><strong>How would you explain — to someone who doesn’t know what a genome is — what makes this project so exciting? Let’s start with genes themselves. Why are genes so important?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Genes code for all the protein components of the body. Basically, genes are the information storage of heredity. The human being has a total of 100,000 genes, give or take, and that sum total of all the genetic information is called the “genome.” If we can completely understand the structure of the human genome, then we have a complete component list of all of the proteins that the body makes. In a sense, that goal, the Human Genome Project, is very much akin to the revolution in chemistry that happened in the period of about 1869 to 1889, when all of matter was described in terms of a finite list, a finite chart that captured its properties. That changed the face of chemistry, because it meant that matter was predictable, through only a finite number of elements. Biology now is getting its own periodic table. In the 21st Century, we will know that the human body is composed of some set of 100,000 proteins, and all biological programs will start from that list. If you want to understand any particular thing, you’ve got to understand it in terms of those components. There aren’t any more components to go look for, at least at the level of proteins. So the effect on biology in the next century will be much like the effect on chemistry in this century. For chemists, the predictability of matter gave rise to industries, the chemical industry. The mysteries of the periodic table, and why there were rows and columns of elements, gave rise to some of the deepest theories of this century, quantum mechanics. I think so, too, understanding the component list of the human body, the human genome, will give rise to both very practical consequences and very theoretical consequences. The students looking back, 20 years from now, will not be able to imagine what it was like to practice biology without these tools. Indeed, they’ll assume they were always there. They will look back to this earlier period with a romantic notion, like 19th Century African explorers going off into the jungle with their machetes, searching for a gene and sometimes coming back triumphant with a gene in hand, and sometimes never being heard from again. But that romantic picture of exploring the deepest, darkest continent of biology will be replaced by a Landsat image with accuracy down to the single DNA letter. It will be a very different world, and it will be hard to imagine what anything was like before it.</p> <p><strong>It seems like we’re about to come over a hump, like the crest of a hill, and the view from the top will be very different from what we can see now.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: It will. That’s not to trivialize in any sense the work that has to come. In some sense, the description of genomes is just the start. All it does is it lays out the 100,000 components on the surface of the table. It doesn’t tell us how they act. It doesn’t tell us their roles. It doesn’t tell us the circuits they build. It doesn’t tell us the variation in the population. In some sense, it will be seen not as the culmination that the media today wants to associate with the Genome Project, but as barely the start. Indeed, I don’t view the sequencing of the human genome as itself a goal. I view it as the starting line, not the finish line in any particular race.</p> <p><strong>But these are the next frontiers, aren’t they?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: The next frontiers are to understand how organisms work from a global perspective. Up to now, we’ve been trying to study processes like cancer one gene at a time. We have the problem of the blind man and the elephant. Some cancer researcher is feeling the trunk and describing the elephant to be one thing, and someone is back at the tail feeling it to be something else, and others are down at the hard toenails, and they’re all describing the same elephant, because we don’t have a global picture of all the components. It sounds like we’re talking of very different things. The exciting thing to me is that in the next decades ahead, we’re going to be able to take any medical process, any cellular process, and describe it in terms of the activity of all 100,000 genes simultaneously. We’ll step back and we’ll see patterns, we’ll see continents emerge that were completely unclear when we were down on the ground.</p> <p><strong>You’ve already done significant work in the area of cancer, hypertension and diabetes. Can you tell us a little bit about where this is going?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Much of the work of the 20th Century human genetics has been understanding the basis of relatively rare genetic diseases — cloning genes for simple Mendelian traits, traits that show simple transmission through families. It has been tremendously important, but in point of fact, it’s not the majority of burden of disease. Most of the diseases that affect people are common genetic diseases which are polygenic in origin. Much of my own research interest, much of what my lab has worked on, is the tools to dissect polygenic diseases. Genes where there are multiple components, working together with environment. But it has got to be said this is still in its infancy. The tools to dissect polygenic traits really are just beginning to get going. We have some examples of them, and we can point to examples in cancer, for example, a modifier gene in cancer, where there’s a particular genetic mutation that causes an intestinal cancer. It exists both in the human and in the mouse. And in the mouse, we learned that if you move that mutation from one strain to another by breeding, some strains don’t die of that cancer — in fact, get very few polyps in their intestine — and others do. So there are modifier genes that can change the course of this cancer, and that’s a polygenic interaction. A much subtler interaction. So in that particular case, we’ve been able to identify what that gene is, and it begins to point us to the pathways that may be involved.</p> <p>There are a few more examples like that, but I think this is the work of the 21st Century. To tease apart the much more textured, much more complicated picture of the common genetic diseases. If there was any one problem I would say my scientific career revolves around, it’s that problem of trying to tease apart complex disease. But I say “revolves around,” rather than just “focuses on,” because to answer a question like that, one has to build tools, apply them and test them, and then build new tools. So much of my career swings back and forth between building new methods, testing them, building new methods, testing them. One hopes we can verge, in the next couple of decades, on a set of general and powerful tools that will let us do it for any disease. There are some ideas out there of how that could happen.</p> <p><strong>You’ve made huge strides in the speed with which you are mapping the human genome. A couple of years ago, you were two years ahead of schedule. Where do you stand now?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Well, it depends. The goal posts have been moved forward, in fact. Originally, it was thought that the sequence of the human genome wouldn’t be produced until the year 2005. More recently, taking advantage of the fact that things were at least two years ahead of schedule, we just said, “Move up the goal posts to 2003.” I think that is still probably pretty realistic.</p> <p>There is currently a whole hullabaloo about competing to try to produce a rough draft of the human genome sequence within the next year or so, and I think that’s a fine thing to go after. I think some of it has to do with competition with private industry, and all sorts of things. In point of fact, the real project is — over the next three years or so — to produce a high-quality sequence that can be used as the foundation stone for genetics in the next century, and I think it’s certain that that will happen. Minor details of competition aside — and claims from these groups and those groups — it is so clear already, the tools are in place that we will have this foundation and we will have it in a publicly available way. I feel very strongly, as a member of the Genome Project, that this information should all be completely available to the general public. So at our Genome Center, we always followed a policy of data release before publication. We would put all the maps we built on our computer, on our web site, long before publication. And this policy, in fact, has been adopted rather broadly across the Genome Project. With an improvement in computer tools, we post our data every 24 hours. Whatever we have done in the last day is up on the computer the next day.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any idea how many hits you get?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Oh, goodness! The last I checked we got something in the neighborhood of about 100,000 hits a week, but that was a while ago. I don’t know. There’s a lot of data there. We also deposit our data into the national databases, and for many purposes it’s more convenient to hit them there, but the intermediate forms of our data are on our web site. We get an awful lot of hits, because people are very interested in these data. We deposit it without intellectual property protection, no patents on it. I’m in favor of patenting things of use. I’m all in favor of patenting genes that can be used as therapeutics, but I think that biomedical research and the general public will be ill-served by patents willy-nilly on pieces of DNA here and there. I think they’ll serve as a great impediment and disincentive to researchers who have to do the hard job of turning genes into therapies. So we deposit our data without any sort of patents, any sort of restrictions, and one way or the other, whatever happens in the private sector, whatever private databases are made, whatever patents are put on things, there will be a completely, totally, publicly available version of the human genome on the web in the next couple of years for anybody to download.</p> <p><strong>There has been a lot of controversy about the release of investigator’s research. Some of the scientists who are pounding away in labs feel very protective of their stuff. Where do we stand with that now?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: There are a number of questions involved in the release of data. When I was talking of projects that are primarily infrastructure building, like the sequencing of the human genome or building maps, there is no excuse for not releasing those data immediately, because those are data where they are tools. There is interpretation to be done, but that interpretation should be done by many people. There are also projects that require large sums of money, and they become public trusts rather than private hunting grounds, so that those data should be made available so that everyone can extract information from them. When you’re talking about a research project that requires a great deal of interpretation, understanding the basis of a genetic disease, understanding a cancer, there are very good reasons not to be publicly disseminating that until one has passed peer review. There are challenges. There are mistakes that can occur along the way. If every time somebody had a good idea, and they put it on the web without any sort of peer review, or any sort of checking, you could run the risk that the general public would be deeply confused, and I think, at some level, lose its trust in research claims. So there is a process of peer review. On the other hand, we want to get information out. If there are ways to get information out and stamp it as tentative, that’s a good thing. So there’s a struggle between tremendous need for sharing in science, and also a need for care about anything that’s an interpretation, as opposed to a raw fact.</p> <p>These things will get solved. There is an amendment that was passed to a particular bill last year, that says that any scientific data produced with government funds should be released under a Freedom of Information Act request, even if it was produced at a private institution based on federal funds. This doesn’t limit itself to data that has been published. It doesn’t limit itself to data that has been used for federal regulations. It’s a wholesale endorsement of anyone demanding data from a scientist. I don’t think this serves anyone.</p> <p><strong>Is this material that has not passed peer review?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: This is un-peer reviewed. It could be a study-in-progress, unpublished, and unused by the government for rule making. For my own part, I’d be perfectly happy to endorse such a Freedom of Information Act requirement on data that has been peer reviewed and identified by a federal agency as used in its rule making. I think the public has a right to know what the underlying data are. I’m hopeful that the senator who put that regulation in, is in fact, coming around to that point of view. I chair a group called the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy, and we take some pretty strong positions on things like this. I think data sharing is tremendously important. It’s at the heart of the science. It’s the only way that science advances. At the same time, there is an importance in protecting half-baked data — and the data fully baked — to get out there, because science is full of half-baked ideas, and you really don’t want to see the results of people’s failed cooking experiments.</p> <p><strong>There are other ethical dilemmas regarding genetic data. For instance, suppose a woman learns she carries the gene for a very serious breast cancer. What kind of deleterious effect could that have on her career, on her life, on her health insurance? There are women who have already faced this issue.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: There are tremendous ethical dilemmas raised by genetic research. Take the example of breast cancer. We know of two genes, mutations in which predispose to early onset breast cancer, and it’s possible for a woman to be screened and know that she does have such a mutation that greatly increases her risk of breast cancer. How should we handle this? I think there are a number of considerations. First off, we have to ask who has the right to find out this information. I think the woman alone. We have to be very careful that under no circumstances can anyone compel her to find out that information — say an insurance company — or can anyone else find out that information from her. I think this has to be a completely personal decision, but I think that’s not enough. I think to say it’s up to each person, it’s a private question whether you want to seek that information, isn’t enough with a society where most people wouldn’t know how to use that information, how to interpret that information. If we’re really going to be serious about individual choice in this information, then we’ve got to be deeply serious about education. We have to make it the case that the general public knows enough about genetics that when situations like this arise they can go find out more. They have to have access to information, to counseling. I think we have a long way to go before we’re in a situation that people — that we can really say people have free choice about it, because no choice is free without it being informed.</p> <p>Finally, there’s the question: Is it information you could act on? And how could you act on it? A couple of years ago, when I would talk about the dilemmas raised by breast cancer screening, there were no clear therapies that you could use. That’s no longer the case. There are now therapies that can be used. If a woman knows that she has a high risk of early onset breast cancer, she can take tamoxifen, and there’s increasingly good evidence that tamoxifen will decrease the risk of breast cancer. She can also have a bilateral mastectomy. It’s also clear that this reduces greatly the risk of breast cancer.</p> <p><strong>There’s a new drug, isn’t there?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Yeah, there’s raloxifene. There’s a variety of drugs. None of these are without serious issues. Therefore, people are going to need counseling to say, “Should I follow any of these courses?” and we have to be careful that counseling is nondirective, that it is up to the person, and that the person is informed enough. But then we have the difficult situation where we don’t have a therapy.</p> <p>It’s possible today to explain about half of the risk for early-onset — I’m sorry — for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease by a single mutation, a single common variant, in fact, on chromosome 19: apolipoprotein E gene. Individuals who have apolipoprotein form four, E4, have a much higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. And those who have a double dose have a very much higher risk. You can find out. It’s cheap and easy. In principle, the lab reagents to do that test cost me a dollar, but there’s nothing that I could tell you to do about it. There’s not a single therapy you could do in the face of knowing that you have much higher risk for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. That’s going to be the case for a lot of situations. In order to be able to create therapies and cures, we need to know the molecular basis of a disease. But that means we’re going to know the molecular basis first, be able to diagnose, and not to be able to offer therapies perhaps for a few years. A decade, maybe decades, maybe in some cases never. There’s no guarantee that understanding leads to a cure. Ignorance almost always prevents a cure, but understanding takes time, and for each disease it will be different. So we’re going to live through a period where we have a tremendous amount of accreting knowledge, but each disease will be its own situation, and how to act on that knowledge will be a changing matter, and people will need continuing information and education about it. We have a tremendous amount of work to do to make sure that people are able to use the fruits of the genetic revolution themselves, and to use them to full advantage.</p> <p><strong>The privacy issues in this informational age are really serious.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: The privacy issues are stunning. If I wanted to invade someone’s privacy, it’s easy enough. It doesn’t take much genetic material. Some unscrupulous reporter could easily get a cocktail napkin that a presidential candidate wiped his or her mouth with, take it back to a laboratory, extract DNA, and find out whether this candidate is at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease. We had a president of the United States who later had Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s not unreasonable to guess that a genetic test in 1979 might have identified Ronald Reagan as at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. I don’t know if, in fact, he had the apolipoprotein E4 variant or not, but it’s reasonable he might have. Would we have elected our oldest president if, in fact, we had known this? There are tremendous ways to invade privacy, and I think there is a need to protect privacy in the strongest possible terms. Here is where we do need legislation — and legislation with teeth — to say that genetic information is a very personal thing, and there are very serious consequences for invading the privacy of it.</p> <p><strong>Genetic information can tell us so many things about ourselves: how we’re going to age, what diseases we’re going to get. What do you do with that information except become a neurotic mess?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: We run a risk of a naive biological determinism, too. One thing I worry about is that as we begin to understand the role of genes better and better, we will tend to forget — not scientists, but the general public — will tend to forget that genes are only part of the story. They are where the light is good, and so we look there now. But, in fact, good geneticists know that everything is a product of genes and environment in a very interwoven fashion. So I do dearly hope that the Genome Project does not give rise — I certainly want to prevent the Genome Project from giving rise — to some naive biological determinism that says we are nothing more than the sum of our genes. Geneticists don’t believe that. Geneticists believe genes are an important part of the story. By understanding that part of the story, we’re in a so-much better position to try to understand the rest of the story.</p> <p><strong>Right now we have amniocentesis, and can learn the sex of a child before it’s born. But some people choose not to find out the sex of their child. Maybe that will be the case with some of the gene information too. People may decide, “Okay, I could find that out, but I don’t want to.”</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I know how to go back to my lab and do the Alzheimer’s test but I don’t see any point in doing it. I haven’t had a genetic test for anything in particular.</p> <p><strong>We know it wasn’t what you ended up doing, but how did you get into math originally?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I got interested in math by accident. I had a wonderful sixth grade teacher who was my math teacher. I only found out many years later he was actually a social studies teacher who was substituting doing math, but he somehow got me tremendously excited and interested about that, and it just stuck and stuck, past there for many years. But it wasn’t a professional mathematician, it wasn’t anybody who had any experience doing math. It was a guy called Jack Druckman, and he just did a great job.</p> <p><strong>Where was this? Where were you in sixth grade?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Brooklyn, New York, where I grew up. Born and bred in Brooklyn all my life.</p> <p><strong>And what school?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: That would have been Junior High School 78, Brooklyn, New York.</p> <p><strong>What kind of work did your parents do?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Both my parents were trained as lawyers. Indeed, they met in law school. Although from the time that I was about five years old my dad was ill. He had multiple sclerosis and really didn’t practice past then. By the time I was about six or so, (he) was in hospital, until he eventually died, at about 11. So my mother supported our family, partly as a lawyer, but mostly as a schoolteacher through my growing years.</p> <p><strong>She had a law degree but she taught school?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Yeah. In Brooklyn, New York, a law degree wasn’t a ticket to necessarily a tremendously financially successful future. Certainly, as a woman lawyer in New York it was not a ticket to anything in particular, and so she practiced some real estate law. But a much steadier line of work was teaching school, and that’s what she did for a long time.</p> <p><strong>How many kids?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I had one brother, younger by a year-and-a-half.</p> <p><strong>You’ve probably been exposed to Frank Sulloway’s thesis about older and younger siblings.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Read the book, yes.</p> <p><strong>So how do you fit in, in your family?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Oh, I think I probably fit as a typical first child.</p> <p><strong>In what way?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I always had the sense of responsibility and seriousness that a first child had, particularly a first child without a father at home, which I think impacts all areas but accounts for even more in terms of the weight of responsibility one feels. My brother — who actually also is a scientist, he’s a neurobiologist— he’s definitely much looser and freer in a “second child” sort of way. It’s, I suppose, a kind of natural thing when you come in as a first child that you feel a certain weight of responsibilities.</p> <p><strong>Do you think that affected your life, or your personality, being that responsible person?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Oh, I reckon it did. I think in many ways much of my early development was somewhat conditioned by being very good at things, being very good at math, being very good at school, and taking with it a whole lot of expectations about what I ought to go do. So in fact, much of my school years were pursuing academic excellence. It was all wonderful. I loved mathematics. I did well in high school. I did well in college. I went on and did well in graduate school. But it meant that only after I got out of graduate school did I stop to ask what did I really want to do, and I wasn’t really sure at all. So in fact, I don’t begrudge it for a moment. I had a wonderful time doing all those sorts of things, but there was a certain sense that there were things to be done, and only later do you stop and say, “Okay. Now why am I doing this and where exactly am I going with any of it?” And that, for me, happened after I left graduate school.</p> <p><strong>What effect do you think your dad’s illness and early death had on you?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Hard to say. As a scientist, I’m inclined to say, ‘We don’t have the control.” I don’t know. We don’t have the alternative of what would have happened. Certainly it meant that I was raised by a mother who worked extraordinarily hard, and threw herself into myself and my brother, and it was a different sort of a family because of it, but I don’t know. You know, I sometimes wonder, as a father now, what the effect is of a father or a mother per se, and you know, it’s something I’ll just never know.</p> <p><strong>How did your mother react when you were going in the direction of math and science?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: She was super about things like this. She never took this terribly seriously, in a wonderful way. When I was a high school senior, I won the Westinghouse Science Talent Search — now the Intel Science Talent Search — and she was excited for me. She was pleased for me. I called her from Washington to say it had happened and it was great. I flew back to Brooklyn, came in the door with my coat on, and she said, “Oh, before you take off your coat, could you take out the garbage?” And to me that was — we’ve always joked about it — but that was exactly what my mother was about. It was, “Oh, wonderful,” I’d won a national science contest, but could I also take out the garbage. I mean, she always made sure that I remembered who I was and where I came from, and I think that was a wonderful thing.</p> <p><strong>Was she supportive of your going into science?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I was barely going in science, more math. Yes, in a teasing sort of way. She was never a mother who checked our homework or pushed anything. She left us largely to our own responsibility. She always teased us, when my brother and I would talk about math or science she would always say, “Don’t talk dirty at the table about using all these highfalutin words.” Of course she went to college and she was well-trained and all that. So in a certain sense she left us our own space to do those things. She clearly tremendously cared about our education, took us to museums and did things, but left a tremendous amount of space for us to find out what we wanted to do, and I think that actually had a huge impact, rather than having a parent who was right on top of you doing those things, and it is a lesson I try to think about a lot with my own kids now.</p> <p><strong>What did she mean by saying that? Was it because she didn’t know what you were talking about?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Yep. Yep. There was a certain sense of “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you’re happy about it,” but it also meant, “I’m not going to be overly impressed by it per se,” which sent a message of, “You’re not supposed to impress me. That’s not what it’s about.”</p> <p><strong>Not putting you in your place, but giving you a perspective.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Reminding you that you have a place in the world, and it’s being a kid from Brooklyn, and that’s a wonderful thing to be, but whatever becomes of you, you’re still that person. It’s a certain sense of rootedness that’s pretty important.</p> <p><strong>What book did you read when you were growing up that was really important to you?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I would say none. I wasn’t a great reader when I was young. I did lots of things. Having a wife who loves to read, and loved to read from when I met her, I’m struck at how much books mattered to her early on. They didn’t matter to me then. Somewhere around 30 or 35 I became incredibly engrossed as a reader, and now I’m an inveterate reader, but books per se didn’t have a huge influence on me then.</p> <p><strong>Okay. What books had an influence on you at 30? We don’t give up until we have an answer!</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Oh, my goodness. I think at 30 it’s too late to have spectacularly influential books on your life. I have wonderful books that I’m tremendously fond of but I wasn’t shaped by them.</p> <p><strong>Okay. But what books?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I’m a tremendous fan of Jared Diamond’s recent book, <em>Guns, Germs and Steel</em>. I think it’s a brilliant book. One of the best books I’ve read ever, and it’s just brilliant because he tries to take on really big questions, really important questions, and teaches about historical contingency. What might have happened “but for…” And I think it reminds us that the world is a pretty complicated place, and that simplistic explanations about why some peoples turned out the way they did are unlikely to be true, but it’s a complicated set of contingencies, and we oughtn’t to be too prideful about how any particular group turned out. I just think it’s a brilliant book that will have great, great impact. I’m delighted to see that — now that it’s in paperback — it’s on the bestseller list, and lots of people are reading it, because I think when it first came out — but I know Jared, in fact, from a number of events and things, and he’s just a brilliant writer. So I’ve got to say that’s my top book at the moment.</p> <p><strong>What people inspired you or were role models when you were growing up?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: They were local. They tended to be the math teacher at junior high school, Jack Druckman, the math teacher in high school, Irene Finkel, who ran and supported the math team. They tended to be very local heroes. I was never one at those times for distant heroes and truly heroic legendary heroes. They were the local teachers who really made a huge difference in my life.</p> <p><strong>What was your first teaching experience?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: I actually started out teaching when I was in high school. Stuyvesant (High School) had a math team, and one of the responsibilities being the captain of the math team was to teach, every morning, five days a week, for an hour, to all the other people on the math team. So by age 14 or 15 I was teaching. When I was in college — actually when I was a senior in high school — I took a summer National Science Foundation Math Program, which was a wonderful program. I went back to teach in that for four summers after that, and that was a wonderful experience. I taught six days a week, six hours a day, for six weeks. When you teach like that, you can’t prepare lesson plans. You’ve got to know what you’re doing and go with the flow. I loved it, because the students were some of the best high school math students in the country, and you’d start off teaching a course on something, but halfway through the students would say, “We’d rather study something else.” In fact, we gave a problem set one night, and the students got so enthusiastic about it that at 11 o’clock, when they were all going home, they said, “Why don’t we instead make the course on this?” And they full well expected that tomorrow morning we would have the course switched over to that, and so we did. So in fact, by the time I got around to teaching as a professional, as a professor, I had had hundreds of hours of teaching under my belt, and I’m so grateful for that, because I think the experiences of teaching in those ways, teaching where you have to go with the flow, is something that young professors, young teachers, don’t get enough of. When I look at graduate students today, I find that they get a couple of hours TA-ing — teaching assistants — in a course. And how in the world can you learn the really complicated business of teaching without a tremendous amount of trial and error, and just experience?</p> <p><strong>You’ve said that even the brightest high school students may not be able to imagine what they’re capable of.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Oh, certainly. Things that they can’t imagine doing, that they don’t imagine they’re capable of. One of the perhaps problems for the brightest high school students is that everybody has such great expectations of them. Expectations are a good thing. Having parents and loved ones who have great expectations of you, it’s great. There’s something supportive about that. You should bask in it. But there’s a certain sense in which expectations also narrow you in a way. They constrain you in a way. And there comes a really important time to break out of — to escape from — all those expectations. I think the very best students have the most expectations, and they feel it most important to live up to them. At some point, they’ve just got to decide not to live up to anybody else’s expectations, but to go find out what they want to go do themselves.</p> <p><strong>That’s like what Linus said in the <em>Peanuts</em> comic strip: “There’s no heavier burden than a great potential.”</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: That’s right. I didn’t know that <em>Peanuts</em> has this wisdom as well but this is absolutely right. Great expectations can be a great burden.</p> <p><strong>What does the American Dream mean to you in your life?</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: The American Dream to me means that anything is possible. I think that’s something that’s so uniquely American. I tremendously enjoyed going to graduate school in England, but one thing that struck me was that my fellow graduate students imagined when they were in graduate school that they knew what their lives were about. They knew that they were mathematicians or scientists or English majors. They felt that, early in schooling, they had been channeled in a certain way, and perhaps in some ways, still, in England, through class in certain ways. None of my fellow graduate students — English graduate students — felt that they could do anything with their lives, and it was really puzzling to them that I wasn’t at all clear that I wanted to be a mathematician, but I was still in graduate school and that I had this — I think — uniquely American sense that you could always do whatever you wanted. You could reinvent yourself in some ways. Now that’s not to say it’s easy. It’s not to say it’s not a struggle. It’s not to say it will always work. But to me, what America is about, is a statement that the individual can continue to learn, continue to change, and that we all help each other to do that. I think that’s a tremendously strong aspect of America. Something that I very much want to make sure we never lose.</p> <p><strong>Thank you.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: Good. Well, this was fun.</p> <p><strong>It was great that you had this much energy after your long day.</strong></p> <p>Eric Lander: It was nice and relaxing sitting here with you guys.</p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D. Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>16 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.317157712305" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2.jpg" data-image-caption="On February 15, 2001, a draft of the human genome was published in the journal "Nature," Volume 409, Number 6822. The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Center for Genome Research, was listed first (the order was according to total genomic sequence contributed). Eric S. Lander was the first author named." data-image-copyright="20001-nature" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2-288x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/20001-nature-2-577x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65263157894737" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1.jpg" data-image-caption="Awards Council member Dr. Richard J. Roberts, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, presents Dr. Eric Lander with the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Acheivement at the 1999 Summit in Washington, D.C. Twenty-five years earlier, Dr. Lander participated in the 1974 Academy Summit in Salt Lake City as a student delegate." data-image-copyright="slide-scan002" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1-380x248.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/slide-scan002-1-760x496.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5049504950495" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1.jpg" data-image-caption="February 6, 1994: Dr. Eric Lander, head of the Whitehead Institute's genome center, holds a sequencing gel plate. This particular plate is used to catalog the genes of mice. (Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="Human Genome Mapping Project" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RR002537-1-505x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4448669201521" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/News_20160210_LanderFull-1.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Eric Lander, Director of the Broad Institute, photographed in 2012. (© Tony Cenicola/The New York Times/Redux)" data-image-copyright="news_20160210_landerfull" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/News_20160210_LanderFull-1-263x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/News_20160210_LanderFull-1-526x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.501976284585" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lander-e-1.jpg" data-image-caption="2016: Dr. Eric Lander is the president and founding director of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a new kind of biomedical research institution focused on genomic medicine. In 2003, Dr. Lander founded the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a unique research institution focused on genomic medicine that spans Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Dr. Lander is also Professor of Biology at MIT and Professor of Systems Biology at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lander additionally serves as Co-Chair of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (Rubenstein)" data-image-copyright="lander-e" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lander-e-1-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lander-e-1-506x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.525" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1.jpg" data-image-caption="Eric Lander (third from left) with his teammates on the Stuyvesant High School math team, and their teacher, Irene Finkel (second from left)." data-image-copyright="lan0-003" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1-380x200.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lan0-003-1.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.71315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1.jpg" data-image-caption="September 21, 1994: Doctors Eric Lander and Johanna Hastbacka, post-doctoral fellow, view a DNA sequencing gel showing the gene for dwarfism. The gene was discovered at the Whitehead Institute." data-image-copyright="GENE_DISCOVERY" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1-380x271.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GENE_DISCOVERY-4244-1-760x542.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.0966810966811" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Eric S. Lander in his lab. (Rubenstein)" data-image-copyright="Dr. Eric S. Lander in his lab. (Rubenstein)" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1-346x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/eric-lander-lab_6c81d9eb5d51-1-693x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.56315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1.jpg" data-image-caption="March 13, 2002: Dr. Eric Lander, founder and director of the MIT Whitehead Institute/Center for Genome Research, delivers the keynote address during the BioITWorld Conference and Expo in Boston, Massachusetts. Lander discussed how managing the avalanche of biological information, as in the Human Genome Project, is requiring the marriage of information technology and biology. ( Photo by William B. Plowman/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="BioITWorld Conference and Expo" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EricLander_72387605-1600x900-1-760x428.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3333333333333" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Dr_Eric_Lander_Director_of_the_Broad_Institute_of_MIT_and_Harvard-1.jpg" data-image-caption="December 4, 2002: Dr. Eric Lander, Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, speaks at the Mouse Genome Sequencing Press Conference." data-image-copyright="dr_eric_lander_director_of_the_broad_institute_of_mit_and_harvard" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Dr_Eric_Lander_Director_of_the_Broad_Institute_of_MIT_and_Harvard-1-285x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Dr_Eric_Lander_Director_of_the_Broad_Institute_of_MIT_and_Harvard-1-570x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66578947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1.jpg" data-image-caption="September 4, 2008: The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT received an unprecedented $400 million gift from its philanthropic founding partners Eli and Edythe L. Broad: an endowment intended to establish the Institute as a permanent biomedical research organization. The Broads announced their gift at a ceremony featuring speeches by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, MIT President Susan Hockfield, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, Nobel Laureate David Baltimore of Caltech, and Broad Institute director Eric Lander." data-image-copyright="broadsept4" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BroadSept4-1-760x506.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.59342105263158" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1.jpg" data-image-caption="October 2, 2003: Eric Lander, founder and director of the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research, tries to complete the technical description of the human genome project in 24 seconds during the Nano-Lecture series at the Ig Nobel awards ceremony at Harvard University. (AP Photo/SEVANS)" data-image-copyright="LANDER" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1-380x226.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AP03100203867-1-760x451.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.68552631578947" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1.jpg" data-image-caption="March 25, 2005: Dr. Eric Lander photographed at the Broad Institute. A member of Whitehead Institute and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Eric S. Lander is one of the driving forces behind today’s revolution in genomics, the study of all of the genes in an organism and how they function together in health and disease. (©2005 Rick Friedman)" data-image-copyright="Dr Eric Lander" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1-380x261.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147426-1-760x521.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3793103448276" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147421-1.jpg" data-image-caption="March 25, 2005: Dr. Eric Lander photographed at the Broad Institute. A member of Whitehead Institute and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Eric S. Lander is one of the driving forces behind today’s revolution in genomics, the study of all of the genes in an organism and how they function together in health and disease. (©2005 Rick Friedman)" data-image-copyright="Dr Eric Lander" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147421-1-276x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/42-15147421-1-551x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69078947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/01-11-11-eric-landere-1.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Eric Lander, Founder and Director of the Broad Institute, a leader in genomic research. (Courtesy of the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute)" data-image-copyright="2011: Eric S. Lander" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/01-11-11-eric-landere-1-380x263.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/01-11-11-eric-landere-1-760x525.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young.jpg" data-image-caption="A 17-year-old Eric Lander celebrates his first place finish in the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Standing behind him are second place finalist Frank Leighton, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Glenn Seaborg, and third place finalist Linda Brockenstedt. Seated on either side of Eric Lander in the front row are Dixy Lee Ray of the Atomic Energy Commission and John W. Simpson of Westinghouse." data-image-copyright="wp-lander-young" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-lander-young-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on September 22, 2017</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever science-exploration ambitious curious " data-year-inducted="2000" data-achiever-name="Blackburn"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/blackburn-760_ac-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/blackburn-760_ac-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Nobel Prize in Medicine</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2000</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever science-exploration ambitious curious " data-year-inducted="2005" data-achiever-name="Buck"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/linda-buck/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/buc0-001a-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/buc0-001a-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Linda Buck, Ph.D.</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Nobel Prize in Medicine</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2005</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever science-exploration curious spiritual-religious pioneer work-in-medicine " data-year-inducted="1994" data-achiever-name="Collins"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/francis-s-collins/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/collins-001a-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/10/collins-001a-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Francis S. 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Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-ghosn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Ghosn</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. Townes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/david-trimble/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Trimble</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert Edward (Ted) Turner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/desmond-tutu/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Archbishop Desmond Tutu</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-updike/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Updike</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/gore-vidal/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gore Vidal</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/antonio-villaraigosa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Antonio Villaraigosa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lech-walesa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lech Walesa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/herschel-walker/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Herschel Walker</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181229133907/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James D. 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