 r.
Michael Buckley, of the Prince of Wales Hospital and the
University of New South Wales in Australia, is the lead author
of the paper, "Expression and amplification of cyclin
genes in human breast-cancer" (Oncogene, 8 [8]: 2127-33,
August 1993), which has been cited a total of 301 times to
date, placing it among the top 20 most-cited papers in breast
cancer research of the 1990s. In this interview, Dr.
Buckley talks about his work and its impact on the field.
|
What prior research or whose prior work helped to start you on your
way?
The research which is the subject of
this citation classic was conducted in the laboratory of Professor
Robert Sutherland in the Division of Cancer Biology in the Garvan
Institute for Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. It was Rob
Sutherland's vision that cell-cycle control would prove to be a
fertile field for breast cancer biology that lead to this paper. The
cyclin paper was a new initiative for the laboratory but was based on
a long-standing interest in cell-cycle regulation in breast cancer
cell lines by Drs. Elizabeth Musgrove and Charles Watts.
What would you rate as your most difficult or trying professional
moment?
Possibly the most difficult professional moment in my career was
being faced with a message from the National Health and Medical
Research Council of Australia that a project grant application did not
have sufficient priority for funding despite reviewer's comments that
the research must be funded.
Which of your professional achievements brings you the most
satisfaction?
The focus of my research has shifted to the field of genetic
mapping of complex phenotypes. One of the most satisfying facets of my
professional career has been seeing the payoff of several years of
investment in setting up new research and analytical methodologies for
identifying the genetic basis of human variation and disease.
What impact might your work and research advances in your field have
on the general public?
Breast cancer is a common disease. If
we are to progress in our understanding of this difficult disease we
have to set in place a sure foundation of understanding of breast
cancer biology. If the community does not invest in this our progress
will be limited to serendipitous advances. I fully expect that the
complete description of breast cancer cell biology will occur in my
lifetime and that this will provide the intellectual foundation for
improved means of detection, estimation of prognosis, and treatment of
the tumour.
Did you expect your work to become highly cited, or is this
surprising to you?
I am continually surprised by nice events. What it does demonstrate
is the vision and depth of understanding of molecular processes in
breast cancer in the Cancer Biology Division at the Garvan Institute.
What lessons would you draw from your work to pass on to the next
generation of researchers?
The main lesson I would pass on from
this case is never to eschew the documentation of basic molecular and
cellular physiological events as "stamp collecting." The
description of cellular physiology is the pedestal of our efforts to
regulate tumour cell growth.
If you had the power to make a single, sweeping change in the way
that scientific research is conducted and presented, what would it
be?
Daniel Thomas reported being told by
a friend, who had received a Nobel Prize, on the morning after he
received notification that he too had been awarded the Nobel Prize for
his work on bone marrow transplantation, that such a signal honour
didn't make him an expert in all fields of human endeavour and he
shouldn't be tempted to comment beyond his competency. I think that
that is exceedingly good advice!
Dr. Michael Buckley
Molecular & Cytogenetics Unit
Haematology Dept.
Prince of Wales Hospital
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
|
ESI Special Topics,
September 2001
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/breast-cancer/interviews/dr-michael-buckley.html
|
|
