I came from a background in immune regulation and a long interest in the inhibition of immune responses, which I began together with Richard Gershon, Charlie Janeway, and others at Yale. In the mid-to-late-1980s this led me to think about the phenomenon of negative selection and how it might come about. I had just read a book on developmental biology that indicated that practically nothing was known about programmed cell death in development, and the phenomenon of negative selection (in which antigen-stimulated developing T cells disappear from the thymus) seemed a good system for study. It was!

Each time an idea is successfully tested experimentally, each time an unexpected result turns out to be reproducible—these are enormously satisfying. When one of the terrific people in my lab manages to do this, that just about makes my week. Sometimes my year. I think this is true for most scientists, isn't it?

Apoptosis affects every cell type and organ system; it is an important part of normal development and homeostasis, and the major protection from spontaneous cell transformation leading to cancer. It is also the basis for degenerative diseases and many types of tissue damage. An in-depth understanding of apoptosis and how it can be controlled has wide-ranging implications for health and disease.

I am enormously enthusiastic about the field of apoptosis, and our work represents only a very small contribution to this extraordinary area of study. I didn't know that our work was highly cited, but I'm very pleased since I am very proud of the wonderful people I have had a chance to work with.

I always say that one should never get into science to become famous, get rich, or attain power—this will almost inevitably lead to terrible disappointment. Hopefully one does science because it’s great fun—yes, there are MANY things we do that are NOT fun, but overall, science is a blast. Remember why you got into it in the first place, and hold that as a part of why you continue to do it, and this will bring satisfaction and success. Enlist all your energy, creativity, and enthusiasm for your work (who, in the world, should be more interested in your work than you are?).

The most important lesson? Read. Read a lot. Not only in your field. Ideas come from mixing the observations and ideas of others and integrating them with your own.

I have to admit that I pretty much LIKE the way science is conducted and presented. I believe in process, and I think that the way we do science today is a result of an interactive process that constantly changes on its own. Many of the changes we seek to make in a unilateral way negate this concept (funding by political lobbying, elimination of professionally edited journals, etc), which would be a mistake.

Science is a system of faith—when we read a paper we have to believe that the work was actually done as stated, and that the results were examined critically. Scientific meetings are one way that we can interact in order to form these opinions about each other that are so critical to this faith system. We should not deceive ourselves that this is not important, or that they can be replaced by simply webcasting lectures.

Similarly, the hard work that goes into the management and supervision of journals by dedicated scientists provides an invaluable service to the community, allowing us to begin to sort through the volume of information that can be overwhelming (especially when we try to read outside our fields of expertise). While the free availability of literature (even of older literature) has proven to be invaluable, I wouldn't want to see an undermining of the service that these scientists provide to us.

In short, the system sorts itself out quite nicely—if I had the power to make a sweeping change, I think I'd opt not to use it.

While I'm not entirely sure why I am being listed here, I appreciate it. Most of all, it gives me a chance to thank two people who hugely influenced and continue to influence my life. My parents, Warren and Lila Green. As a child I grew up taking it for granted that families go camping, take nature hikes, transplant wildflowers, learn the birds and trees, and investigate the natural world in every way. They encouraged me to explore my interest in science, and supported my strange decision to do it professionally. Both my sister and I are now scientists (Susan Trivelpiece, my sister, is a wildlife biologist who studies penguins in the Antarctic; I am enormously proud of her). I think we owe our scientific careers in great part to these two amazing people. So thank you for giving me the opportunity to say "thanks" in public.

Douglas R. Green
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology
La Jolla, California, USA