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December 2001 Reporter

Annual Meeting Speakers Connect Past with Future

Nobel Laureates Speculate on Future of Medical Education

Women Physicians and the Pioneers who Followed Them

On the Home Front: Military Med Students

A Word from the President

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Nobel Laureates Gather at Annual Meeting to Speculate on the Future of Medical Education

By Barbara A. Gabriel

Donald Kennedy, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of Science magazine, moderated a group discussion among four Nobel Laureates at the AAMC's 112th Annual Meeting that addressed pressing issues in medical education.

Moderated by Donald Kennedy, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of Science, a lively discussion among four Nobel Laureates on Nov. 5 at the AAMC's Annual Meeting revolved around issues ranging from the impact of the Human Genome Project on medical education to the need to promote student interest in scientific study.

David Baltimore, Ph.D., president of the California Institute of Technology and winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize for discoveries concerning the interaction between tumor viruses and the genetic material of the cell, emphasized the need to bring "the enormous strength of the range of American science" to bear on the study of genomics in the wake of the Human Genome Project. He noted the need for interdisciplinary study in this area, including the work of non-medical schools. When the discussion turned to the recent threat of bioterrorism, Dr. Baltimore called for a "credible national voice" to communicate health information to the public. Americans would be put more at ease, said Dr. Baltimore, by a respected medical leader than by politicians who, though well-meaning, lack medical expertise.

J. Michael Bishop, M.D., followed up Dr. Baltimore's comments by stressing the value of scientifically prepared physicians in the current fight against bioterrorism. Professor and chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Bishop was recognized with a Nobel Prize in 1989 for his discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. "Our times call for producing more scientifically astute physicians more likely to perform clinical research, and we are not doing that," said Dr. Bishop. He called for weaving the excitement of discovery into the medical school curriculum and linking the study of science to the improvement of human welfare. "We need to illustrate to physicians that science, as well as medicine, is a powerful agent of altruism."

Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., the John S. Dunn Distinguished Chair in the Department of Integrative Biology, Pharmacology, and Physiology at the University of Texas Houston Medical School, added that teachers need to reach out to students as early as possible to implant in them the curiosity that drives a passion for scientific research. A 1998 Nobel Laureate for his discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system, Dr. Murad also pointed to studies indicating that it is at least as monetarily lucrative to do research as it is to serve patients.

The Nobel Laureate panel was rounded out by Torsten N. Wiesel, M.D., professor emeritus at Rockefeller University, who was recognized in 1981 for his discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system. Dr. Wiesel, a neurobiologist from Sweden, urged students of science not to confine themselves to postdoctoral training in this country. He pointed out that experiencing the different cultures and scientific approaches that other nations have to offer can greatly enrich individual study.