Two Nobel laureates shared their wisdom Oct. 27 (Photo: Sara Dekorte)
Nobel laureates Dr. Peter C. Doherty and Dr. Harald zur Hausen honoured the Carleton community Oct. 28 with a pair of lectures on their personal successes and their thoughts on what it takes to rub elbows with the greats in the scientific and medical fields.
The casual lectures from the two scientific icons covered everything from microbiology and swine flu to even some profound observations on the male condition.
Doherty, who earned his stripes researching the immune system and how the body’s killer-T cells identify and destroy virus-infected cells, was awarded a Gairdner award in 1986 and shared a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just a decade later.
Zur Hausen won his Nobel Prize just last year, along with a Gairdner of his own, for his discovery that papilloma viruses are responsible for cervical cancer — a landmark finding in the development of the current Human Papilloma Virus vaccine.
Zur Hausen also has significant experience as a former university professor, and has proved he is more than a one-trick pony with his previous contributions to the discovery of the cancer-causing abilities of other viral agents. As such, he had some valuable advice for Carleton science and medical students.
“Work hard, think a bit un-dogmatic and try to develop your own original concepts,” he said.
It’s a message echoed by Doherty, who admits it doesn’t always take decades of work to make your mark in the field.
“Science is in many ways a young person’s game,” he explained, “It’s one area of activity where you can quickly establish yourself and quickly get a reputation.”
His advice: take the time to find out what you really love and don’t think you’re committed if you find yourself getting bogged down in a stream you aren’t passionate about — you can always switch.
In fact, he said, “a lot of innovation happens when people who train in one field, come across into another.”
His lecture focused on the idea of keeping a fresh, unconstrained outlook towards everything you do. After all, he said, thousands of researchers may do great work on the subject, but you only get the prize for the initial discovery.
And as Doherty put it, “That’s a pretty good deal.”
Doherty also used the opportunity to push people to “take advantage” of the H1N1 vaccination program that’s gearing up across the country this week; noting the low levels of natural resistance among young people.
Doherty and zur Hausen recently met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Parliament Hill along with three other Nobel laureates as part of the Gairdner Foundation’s 50th anniversary.