In a recent BioTechniques (Vol. 51, No. 4), Kristie Nybo interviews Barry Honig, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Director of the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, all at Columbia University.
Honig has made important contributions to the development of tools for structural biology, though I know him -- though not very well -- as a computational biologist.
For me, the interesting part of the interview was the first, after Nybo asks, "In building your career, what was your most significant obstacle." His answer: He was so interdisciplinary that it was difficult for him to find a home.
Honig earned his Ph.D. in chemical physics, then switched to biology for his postdoc. "But when I finished my postdoc," he says, "I encountered a form of cultural bias that still exists to a lesser extent today: physicists and chemists viewed working in biology as a lower level activity while biologists, rightfully, said I wasn't a real biologist. Consequently, I couldn't find a job."
"Was I a chemist? A biologist? What department would I be comfortable in?," he asked himself. "It was a long struggle, and one I still see today with young people doing interdisciplinary research." Eventually he made his way to Columbia, where he found a very comfortable fit.
Honig has made important contributions to the development of tools for structural biology, though I know him -- though not very well -- as a computational biologist.
For me, the interesting part of the interview was the first, after Nybo asks, "In building your career, what was your most significant obstacle." His answer: He was so interdisciplinary that it was difficult for him to find a home.
Honig earned his Ph.D. in chemical physics, then switched to biology for his postdoc. "But when I finished my postdoc," he says, "I encountered a form of cultural bias that still exists to a lesser extent today: physicists and chemists viewed working in biology as a lower level activity while biologists, rightfully, said I wasn't a real biologist. Consequently, I couldn't find a job."
"Was I a chemist? A biologist? What department would I be comfortable in?," he asked himself. "It was a long struggle, and one I still see today with young people doing interdisciplinary research." Eventually he made his way to Columbia, where he found a very comfortable fit.
