Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
It is a great honor for me to receive the prestigious Gairdner Award for Biomedical Research. The title of this essay might imply that it will contain advice on how to win such a major scientific prize. However, my intention is quite different. More in keeping with the famous civil rights song of the same name, my hope is to articulate a bigger picture view of what matters in the long run. Why do we do science?What is fulfilling about a career in science? Is an international prize the pinnacle of success, or are there more important outcomes?