Ashlan Musante
U.S. Student to Germany
Field: Chemistry
Home Institution: Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts
Host Institution: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
Grant Dates: 2008-2009

On my Fulbright research grant I worked in the lab of Dr. Tanja Weil in the research group of Prof. Dr. Klaus Müllen at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.  Generally speaking, the Weil group specializes in the production of bio-hybrid materials, which allows us to improve the delivery profile of existing therapeutic molecules (e.g. drugs, genes) by employing the technique of bio-conjugation.  This allows us to use both organic and biological chemical techniques to attach a relatively small molecule like the anti-cancer drug Doxorubicin to a large, human protein, rendering it more biologically-friendly and potentially safer for a patient receiving chemotherapy.

I applied for a Fulbright as a chemist because it offered me an excellent opportunity to research in Germany, a well-established "scientific epicenter" in Europe.  The Max Planck Institutes (MPI) in particular are extremely well-funded, oftentimes cutting edge research centers across scientific disciplines.  I feel very grateful for the opportunity to work at an MPI and to attend the Nobel Laureate Conference during my Fulbright.

A highlight outside my research activities was attending the 59th Conference of Nobel Laureates at Lindau in June 2009.  Lindau is a tiny Bavarian town on the Bodensee — a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, straddling the German, Swiss, and Austrian borders.  I found it amusing that many German-speaking conference presenters translated Bodensee into “The Lake of Constancy” as opposed to Lake Constance, the correct English name (a literal translation is Floor Sea) which I thought was a pretty cute Übersetzungfehler (translation mistake).  When the German Fulbright Commission presented all the Fulbright chemists in Germany with the opportunity to attend this conference in January 2009, I don’t think that my fellow Fulbrighter Shane Parker and I knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into.   Nevertheless, we applied and enthusiastically accepted the Commission’s sponsorship. 

The 2009 Conference of Nobel Laureates at Lindau was dedicated to Chemistry and aimed to connect Laureates with younger generations of scientists and researchers in order to facilitate knowledge exchange. Upon arriving in Lindau, Shane and I were greeted at the meeting venue by an entourage of reporters, security personnel, and various high-tech conference miscellanea. The opening ceremony was headed by a German countess and guests of honor in attendance included José Barroso, President of the European Commission, the Princess of Thailand, and many Indian dignitaries.

Two dozen Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physiology and medicine, and

Osamu Shimomura, Japan, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 2008 and Fulbrighter Scholar at Princeton University, 1960

physics attended the conference.  Of the Laureates in attendance, three are Fulbright Program alumni: Osamu Shimomura of Japan (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2008.Fulbright Scholar at Princeton University, 1960); Aaron Ciechanover of Israel (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2004, Fulbright Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981-84); and Erwin Neher of Germany (Nobel Laureate in Medicine 1991, Fulbright Student at University of Wisconsin, 1966).

The meeting followed the same format over the course of the week. The 600 or so “young researcher” participants from 67 different countries crammed onto the Lindau city buses to get to the conference venue every morning to hear six Laureates give short talks for about 35 minutes. In the afternoon, every Laureate who spoke during the morning sessions gave smaller two-hour-long individual lectures/question-and-answer sessions in the afternoon that we had the opportunity to attend.

The themes of the morning and afternoon talks seemed to be completely up to the Laureate who was giving them – for example, Dr. Richard Ernst (the inventor of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, the organic characterization technique that was the precursor to MRI) talked about his passion for collecting Asian art, and Dr. Sir Harry Kroto stirred up some controversy by addressing his concerns with religious fundamentalism in the world bearing a grave threat to science and humanity.  Dr. Kurt Wüthrich took off his belt to demonstrate folding of the genome. All three of the fresh-faced 2008 chemistry Laureates gave talks, including Fulbright alumnus Dr. Shimomura. Considering my heavy undergraduate study of green fluorescent protein (GFP), hearing them speak one after another was pretty amazing.

The meeting itself was incredible. It was incredibly well-funded, and all of the materials and extras were top-notch. We got free business cards to exchange with one another, and they gave all of us a book with portraits of Nobel Laureates.
 
There was also lots of opportunity for walking, ice cream, taking pictures of the pretty town, and drinking Weißbier (wheat beer) at streetside pubs.

The best part, however, about this conference by far was the intimate contact that we were allowed with the Laureates. There were very few times where the conference organizers whisked off the guests of honor to a separate VIP room during coffee breaks and we pretty much ran into them everywhere. They were gracious, happily and enthusiastically answered our questions, and posed for photos and gave out autographs. Above all, however, they were cool. Nearly every scientist I heard speak accepted a great deal of personal responsibility for outreach and education (not just for scientists but for everyone) and a sense of detachment from the prestige of the Nobel Prize. Despite the far-reaching impact of their scientific work, all of the Laureates stressed (in one way or another) that they were hard-working, successful and good at what they do...but in no way extraordinary. That in itself is extraordinary.

This conference was an amazing experience and a fitting way to end my time as a Fulbrighter in Germany.

Read Ashlan’s entire blog post at http://ashlaninde.blogspot.com/2009/07/life-changing-experience.html.

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