On the 25th Lee E. Farr Lecture at the Yale School of Medicine

Abstract

Dr. Jeffrey Flier delivered the 25th memorial Lee E. Farr Lecture on May 8, 2012, at the culmination of the annual Student Research Day at the Yale School of Medicine, during which 92 students presented their research as posters and five were honored for their outstanding student theses. YJBM traditionally publishes the abstracts of outstanding student theses, and those of the recent years 2009 [1], 2010 [2], and 2011 [3] may be found in earlier issues of this journal. The award winners in 2012 were Marko Boskovski, Daniel (Pete) Duncan, Don Hoang, Badri Modi, and John Thomas, but due to many of these authors’ prior and pending submissions to other journals, this year we will only publish one of the award-winning abstracts. Serendipitously, Don Hoang’s thesis titled “Leptin: A Novel Hormone of the Parathyroid Gland” is closely related to the topic of this year’s Farr Lecture [4]. This annual lecture is given in memory of Dr. Lee E. Farr, a 1933 graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and an accomplished physician and scientist. During his career, Dr. Farr developed a therapy for pediatric nephrosis, constructed the first nuclear reactor for medical use, served as a physician for the U.S. Navy, researched the health effects of the atomic bomb, and authored more than 200 scholarly publications [5]. Dr. Flier’s lecture was the 25th in the series, the 24th of which, given by Dr. George Lister, was also adapted for publication in this journal [6]. Recent Farr lectures of note have been given by Dr. Paul Greenard, winner of the Nobel Prize for his research in neuronal synaptic transmission; Dr. Stuart Orkin, a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator who outlined the role of stem cells in cancer; Dr. Lewis Landsberg, a specialist in hypertension and obesity and also Dean of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, a longtime collaborator and good friend of Dr. Flier’s who was the first person to clone the leptin gene [7] and continues his research on that topic as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator [8]. In his presentation, Dr. Flier discusses his research on insulin, leptin, and FGF21 in the context of his reflections upon his life’s work and his advice for young investigators. In addition to commenting on the basic science of his research, Dr. Flier also comments on the value of mentors and mentorship, lifelong collaborations and friendships formed during his career, the importance of finding one’s own balance of time devoted to family and to research, and the permanence of the “extraordinary profession” of medicine [9]. Dr. Flier also urges young investigators to remain alert for opportunity and to embrace surprises. For further reading on the basic science, a mini review of leptin and the pathogenesis of obesity has appeared in this journal [10]. For further reading on advice and encouragement for young investigators, see Dr. Lister’s 24th Farr lecture [6].