Dear Dr. Wildfire,

I am writing in response to your well-written article which is entitled, “The Incredible Disappearing Teacher”. While I agree with many of your points of view, I do not agree with many as well. Below will focus on what I find disagreeable.

Here is the link to your article (for interested readers):

View at Medium.com

You speak of students coming to you for help. As a professor myself, albeit an assistant professor, I find it odd that you would take it upon yourself to persuade or dissuade based on your biased experience which is apparently a negative one. When students come to me for advice, the first thing I want to know is what their long-term goals in life are. They come to me with a passion and I intend to help them know what is required of them to be successful. I give them career advice as to what they need to do. I do not tell them that they should not do this or that based on my own experience. Generally, if you want a particular type of advice, if you ask people who did it that way they will tell you to do it that way. You obviously are an exception to this.

You should not dissuade people from being a teacher if that is what they feel they want to do. Each student comes in with their own experiences. We need teachers who are passionate about teaching. Let students follow their dreams. To say that someone is too smart to teach is borderline insane. We need highly intelligent people in the education system. You stated that you recommend “other lines of work, like fast food and cafes”. I do not understand your logic there.

In terms of all of your hard work culminating in nothing, are there no deliverables along the way that would suggest anything you are doing is worthwhile? Perhaps this is teaching students and helping create the next generation of whatever it is that is your specialty.

You don’t need to lie. You should tell students what they need to do to be successful in what they are aspiring to be. Your complaint of feeding the nation’s need for a cheap, disposable workforce of professional babysitters is a deep issue. The system is broken. The nation itself does not value teachers and the nation definitely should. This doesn’t mean that we should dissuade highly intelligent people from being teachers. My thoughts turn to my own children. I want them to be successful. I want them to have great teachers. Am I personally willing to pay higher taxes? Definitely. It is sad that grade schools are needing to spend a great deal of time fund raising so they can buy the things they need. You hear of horror stories of teachers spending their own money for the young students to have things they need. This is ridiculous and the system is broken. Is the answer to dissuade intelligent students from being teachers? Maybe the bright aspiring students can help fix this broken system. You should teach students the system is broken and teach them that we need people to fix this problem. We need bright minds fixing this issue. It will not fix itself and the answer is not to make such a deficit of good teachers in the nation, that the system completely fails. If we let the system fail, then we fail our children. Let’s help the system succeed.

My suggestion would be to be honest in sharing your opinions but ask the students to be aware of the issues and tell them it desperately needs to be fixed. It is up to them whether they follow their passion. Students do not lack information in regards to what the salary will be like, etc. They have all of that information available to them. Let them decide for themselves.

Based on what you have written, I’d recommend you quit your job and find something that you are happy with (a good balance between the salary you want/need and what you like to do). Everyone should decide for themselves how that balance works for them. If there is someone who wants to make a lot of money, they are not going to care perhaps if they have to do something that is disgusting to other people. Perhaps someone else is happy making a modest living and also being able to do something they really enjoy. It appears you are the type of person that wants to be paid more and you don’t really care what you have to do to make the money. That is not how everyone works.

Sincerely,

Corey

 

Source:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24300077

The inter-departmental R3 Graduate Science Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health emphasizes the three “R’s” (rigor, responsibility and reproducibility) of good scientific practice. We aim to innovate science education at the graduate level and beyond by bringing more critically-creative thinking, interdisciplinary practice, as well as social responsibility into the training for life and public health scientists.

 

The biomedical work force should be:

• Open-minded, broadly thinking and self-directed practitioners, communicators, and educators
• Skilled in scientific reasoning and methodology across the disciplines
• Creative in complex problem solving
• Versed in critical reflection on a wide range of science topics
• Role models in academia, industry, community outreach, scientific public service, health policy, government- and non-government organizations, science communication, and public heath practice.
• Outstanding mentors and change agents in their workplaces and communities, dedicated to good scientific practice.

A strong list of BME-related companies

July 2, 2018
By Jennifer Reiley
Junior David Moore in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University is furthering his medical technology knowledge this summer with an internship at the vaccine branch of the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The overall goal of the research project Moore is a part of is to develop a method to use extracellular vesicles (EVs) as clinical biomarkers for cancer. Extracellular vesicles are tiny spherical particles that are released by cells and are involved heavily in cell-to-cell communication and in transporting compounds, such as proteins, DNA and RNA in and out of cells. Moore said research interest in EVs has skyrocketed due to their potential use as biomarkers for disease as well as their therapeutic potential.

David Moore standing on brick sidewalk in garden with castle-like structure in the background.“Since they are released from cell membranes, the surface makeup of extracellular vesicles closely matches the surface of the parent cell,” Moore said. “Thus, the analysis of a cell’s EVs can yield much information about that cell, which is why they could be useful in analyzing how cancer cells as well as normal cells are responding to treatment.”

Moore said the research could have a significant impact on the way doctors treat cancer, especially for early detection.

“In recent years, there has been a huge emphasis on personalized cancer treatment — targeted medicine — as there are many different types of cancers, and everyone responds the disease differently,” Moore said. “Thus, if the method we are working on turns out to be successful it could be incredibly beneficial to doctors in determining very quickly if the treatment they are using is working on the particular patient being treated or if they need to change the type of treatment.”

The team is working on creating an analysis pipeline for detecting/isolating certain types of EVs released by cancer cells within the body and using the isolated EVs and their cargo to determine the effectiveness of cancer treatments. Dr. Jennifer Jones, the team lead, is a radiological oncologist, and Moore said one of the eventual goals of this research would be to use collected EVs from the blood of her cancer patients to determine if they are responding positively to radiation treatments.

Each intern is assigned their own task that fits into the main framework of the project and collaborate to complete tasks. Moore is collaborating with a team of two other undergraduates, two post-baccalaureate and one post-doctoral researcher. He is working with one of the post-baccalaureates to learn the different techniques to help him carry out his summer project, and will be expected to be the flow cytometry expert among the undergraduate summer intern team by the time he leaves.

“Flow cytometry is an analysis tool used to gain information on cells and other small cellular particles such as extracellular vesicles,” Moore said. “Throughout the summer I will be learning techniques such as (EV) isolation and flow cytometry data analysis.”

One of Moore’s first responsibilities will be to cultivate two cell lines — prostate and colorectal cancer cells — in order to collect their EVs for future analysis. He said he is drawing from previous research with cell cultures in the Pharmacoengineering Laboratory directed by Dr. Corey Bishop in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The Texas A&M lab aims to engineer drug delivery platforms for personalized and targeted medicine, augment, restore or inhibit cellular functions of interest via gene modulation, and elucidate structure-function relationships to enable the design of superior drug carriers.

Moore said the decision to study biomedical engineering came a result of a love of the science and an interest to pursue a career in medicine, either in research or as a practicing doctor.

“I decided I wanted to apply my passion for chemistry and biology, to approach medicine from a more innovative, technological perspective,” Moore said. “That is how I decided biomedical engineering might be the best choice of major for me.”

Soft Robotics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is a leading RNAi therapeutics-based company. RNAi is the process whereby mRNA is effectively knocked down. The purpose of RNAi is to reduce protein transcription levels.

Alnylam is based out of Cambridge, MA (U.S.). They announced on June 20th that they have appointed Masako Nakamura as the Senior Vice Presidenct and the Head of Asia. Prior to, she was the Vice President and GM of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (Japan). She was also in top leadership positions at Genzyme. Jing Marantz will also be joining Alnylam as the Senior Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs. She was previously the VP of Global Medical Affairs at Alexion. She was was also the Global Medical Lead at Biogen.

The following are direct quotes (source)

Masako Nakamura, Senior Vice President, Head of Asia

“Extending Alnylam’s operations into the Asian region, particularly Japan, is a critical step in preparing to launch RNAi therapeutics globally,” commented Ms. Nakamura. “Leveraging my expertise in introducing and commercializing orphan drugs in Asian and global markets, I look forward to charting the Company’s course from a research and development organization to a multi-product commercial organization and improving the lives of patients with rare diseases one patient at a time.”

In this role, Ms. Nakamura will be responsible for the strategic direction and execution of Alnylam’s operations in the Asian region with an initial focus on Japan. This will include building capabilities and sequencing the potential commercial launches in Asia of patisiran in 2019 and givosiran and lumasiran thereafter.

Ms. Nakamura comes with over 25 years of rare disease/orphan drug biotech industry experience. Most recently, she served as Head of Asia & Vice President/General Manager, Japan at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, K.K. Previously, Ms. Nakamura held several senior positions at Genzyme Corporation including the roles of Vice President, International Marketing and Strategic Planning, and General Manager, Japan, where she led the expedited approvals and successful launches of several rare disease drugs. Prior to her tenure at Genzyme, she held commercial leadership roles at Genetics Institute within the Hemophilia and Oncology space.

Jing L. Marantz, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Head of Medical Affairs

“It’s a pleasure to join Alnylam, a company with a patient-focused mindset and a robust patient access philosophy,” said Dr. Marantz. “Integration of clinical and commercial strategy is critical to seamless entry of novel medicines into the rare disease marketplace, while keeping patient needs top of mind. I hope to offer many learnings to help facilitate this integration.”

In her role, Dr. Marantz will be responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of Alnylam’s Medical Affairs expertise area. She and her team will serve as a key interface between clinical and commercial activities, responsible for building and executing scalable global medical affairs strategies across product life cycles. Under her leadership, the Medical Affairs organization will continue to be highly patient focused and responsible for providing scientific and medical expertise and support for Alnylam’s products and pipeline to all external stakeholders. It will also help establish Alnylam as a trusted scientific partner with medical and patient communities.

Dr. Marantz brings over 18 years of pharmaceutical experience with an extensive background in medical affairs. Most recently, she was Vice President, Global Medical Affairs, Complement Franchise at Alexion after serving as Head of U.S. Medical Affairs, responsible for three marketed rare disease products across hematology, nephrology, metabolic, and neurology indications. Previously, she was the Global Medical Lead for TECFIDERA®, Biogen’s flagship product in neurology. Prior to her role at Biogen, Dr. Marantz held senior leadership positions at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam (Nasdaq: ALNY) is leading the translation of RNA interference (RNAi) into a whole new class of innovative medicines with the potential to transform the lives of people afflicted with rare genetic, cardio-metabolic, and hepatic infectious diseases. Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, RNAi therapeutics represent a powerful, clinically validated approach for the treatment of a wide range of severe and debilitating diseases. Founded in 2002, Alnylam is delivering on a bold vision to turn scientific possibility into reality, with a robust discovery platform and deep pipeline of investigational medicines, including four product candidates that are in late-stage development. Looking forward, Alnylam will continue to execute on its “Alnylam 2020” strategy of building a multi-product, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a sustainable pipeline of RNAi-based medicines to address the needs of patients who have limited or inadequate treatment options. Alnylam employs over 800 people in the U.S. and Europe and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information about our people, science and pipeline, please visit www.alnylam.com and engage with us on Twitter at @Alnylam or on LinkedIn.

Alnylam Forward Looking Statements
Various statements in this release concerning Alnylam’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including, without limitation, Alnylam’s views with respect to global commercialization of investigational RNAi therapeutics, including the potential timing for the launch of patisiran and other investigational medicines in Asian territories, and expectations regarding “Alnylam 2020” guidance for the advancement and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and future plans may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, Alnylam’s ability to discover and develop novel drug candidates and delivery approaches, successfully demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its product candidates, the pre-clinical and clinical results for its product candidates, which may not be replicated or continue to occur in other subjects or in additional studies or otherwise support further development of product candidates for a specified indication or at all, actions or advice of regulatory agencies, which may affect the design, initiation, timing, continuation and/or progress of clinical trials or result in the need for additional pre-clinical and/or clinical testing, delays, interruptions or failures in the manufacture and supply of its product candidates, obtaining, maintaining and protecting intellectual property, Alnylam’s ability to enforce its intellectual property rights against third parties and defend its patent portfolio against challenges from third parties, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval, pricing and reimbursement for products, progress in establishing a commercial and ex-United States infrastructure, competition from others using technology similar to Alnylam’s and others developing products for similar uses, Alnylam’s ability to manage its growth and operating expenses, obtain additional funding to support its business activities, and establish and maintain strategic business alliances and new business initiatives, Alnylam’s dependence on third parties for development, manufacture and distribution of products, the outcome of litigation, the risk of government investigations, and unexpected expenditures, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors” filed with Alnylam’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that Alnylam makes with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent Alnylam’s views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Alnylam explicitly disclaims any obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update any forward-looking statements.

Patisiran, givosiran, and lumasiran have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, or any other regulatory authority and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of these investigational therapeutics.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180620005575/en/

Source: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Christine Regan Lindenboom, 617-682-4340
(Investors and Media)
or
Josh Brodsky, 617-551-8276
(Investors)

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