Confessions of an Immunologist: Some Career Options for Microbiology Graduates

by W. J. W. Morrow

Following the request to write a piece for the Festschrift commemorating David Hughes and the foundation of the Microbiology Department, I was filled with sense of panic! Partly, this was due to the fact that the deadline was only five days away and also I could not imagine that I had anything to say that was not prosaic or trite. After a little reflection, however, it occurred to me that although I am still a practising scientist, my career has been quite varied and did not follow the conventional lines that either my teachers or I had envisaged when I was an undergraduate over 20 years ago. In speaking to students, I have noticed time and time again, that they tend to have restricted ideas on the way in which they may develop, vocationally. This is probably due to a certain amount of environmental conditioning but mostly due to a dearth of good advice and the unavailability of suitable role models. In writing this following account, I will outline the twists and turns in my own career in the hope that I may provide some guidance, directly or indirectly, to those entering the real biological sciences.

 

Although my professional progress has at times seemed subject to the whim of fortune, my decision to study microbiology at Cardiff was a very definite decision. I did my homework carefully when it came to evaluating various departments around the country. I read course prospectuses and I talked to as many students, scientists and other people "in the know", as I could. This all led me to the conclusion that Cardiff was the place to be. It was, by all accounts, a well-organised dynamic group that, under the leadership of David Hughes, was taking a progressive and modem approach to microbiology.

 

Cardiff was the first choice on my UCCA form and I was delighted to receive an offer. I entered the University in 1970 and after a frustrating preliminary year being taught the old chestnuts, zoology, botany and chemistry I finally commenced my studies in microbiology. In retrospect, my undergraduate days were very happy. The learning curve for academic pursuits, as well as just about every other aspect of life, was steep. Nevertheless, I felt those years were a period of intense intellectual stimulation and in 1974 I graduated with a respectable degree.

 

When I applied to Cardiff, I was very attracted to its orientation around industrial microbiology. However, as I progressed through the course, I became less interested in activated sludge and increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of infectious disease. Thus, in the post-finals euphoria of the summer of 1974 I found myself applying for PhD studentships in the general area of microbial pathology. Eventually, I plumped for a position at Plymouth Polytechnic. The subject of my project was the immune system of the dogfish. To this day, it is not clear to me why I undertook this particular line of investigation! I had certainly shown no particular aptitude for immunology during my time In Cardiff - in fact, If I'm honest. I was somewhat hostile to the subject as I found it esoteric and conceptually difficult. The unfortunate dogfish was the butt of endless jokes when used as a dissection specimen in zoology, and for years after I automatically linked the fish with the smell of formalin! Nevertheless, my Karma was inescapable and in fact I spent three very enjoyable years in Plymouth in the pursuit of a PhD.

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In July 1977, I found myself in London in Professor Ivan Roitt's Department of Immunology at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School. I had decided that mammalian immunology was at the cutting edge of biological research and I successfully obtained a post-doctoral fellowship to work on autoimmune
diseases. My time at the Middlesex was a period in which I matured scientifically and was made acutely aware of the anthem of the academic "publish or perish". However there is an irony about the fact that I chose to work in this particular Department. In Cardiff, following the immunology lecture course in my final year, not only did I think it highly unlikely that I would ever study immunology but I sold (the only textbook I ever parted with), Ivan Roitt's "Essential Immunology". This classic primer, then in its first edition (it is now in its eighth iteration) was just beginning its phenomenally successful print run. At the time, I found the book inaccessible and at times pretentious (although conceding it was good value). So not only did I end up following a career in immunology but I also went to work for a man who had substantially contributed to the agonies of my learning process. Never say never.

In all, I spent five years at the Middlesex and during the last two of these, my interests started to go full circle as I began to make connections between viruses (particularly retroviruses) and the aetiopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. This curiosity changed my life more than I could ever imagine during the heady post-punk days of the early 1980's. In September 1982, filled with excitement and more than a little trepidation, I boarded a jumbo jet bound for San Francisco. I was the recipient of a Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and my plan was to work on the role of retroviruses in murine autoimmune disease with Professor Jay Levy at the University of California. On my first day in San Francisco, Professor Levy announced that he wanted me to work on a "new disease" which was manifesting as opportunistic Infections and cancer In young homosexual men. The disease was, of course, AIDS, although the name was not yet coined. At the time there were approximately 15 cases in San Francisco. I had no idea that what we were witnessing were storm clouds gathering for an epidemiological storm of unprecedented magnitude. I have to admit to being initially suspicious and reluctant to get involved. To me it seemed that the syndrome was not a "real" disease and would probably disappear of its own accord. Also, if it did turn out to be a tangible entity it might even be dangerous! And besides I had my own agenda for investigating mouse- retroviruses. As circumstances would have it, I had very little choice and my studies began initially as tentative efforts to find an animal model and fulfil Koch's postulates and later progressed to vaccine development - the latter being an area of research in which I have been engaged until this day.

In the mid-1980's, I started to give serious consideration to my career direction (as opposed to the nature of my research) and raison d'etre. Until this time I had blundered from one job to another without giving much thought about my "position". Tenured faculty positions were not available in San Francisco, so I started to consider the industry option. During my deliberations I was head-hunted to set up an AIDS research group in a new biotechnology company, IDEC Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, Southern California. I happily accepted the offer and at first, the trappings of industry seemed idyllic. I had a large office, lavish laboratory facilities and responsibility for a large research team. The salary and other financial perks were also very attractive. While I did achieve my goal of taking products into clinic (although I did not cure AIDS), I came to realise that I was an academic at heart and wanted the freedom to indulge myself in my own scientific fantasies (funding permitting). I was also experiencing a strong emotional pull to return to my roots in the UK. Thus, in 1992, almost 10 years to the day I arrived in the New World, I departed to take up my current position as senior lecturer in immunopathology at the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Here at Barts I am continuing to pursue vaccine development and the immunopathology of HIV infection as my major principle research interests.

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I have no idea how this story will end. I am currently engaged in fairly conventional academic activities and for the most part thoroughly enjoying myself. However, things can change. Universities and the NHS are under siege from a vicious and uncaring government obsessed with financial short-termism. Prestigious institutions with long and distinguished track records are under threat and grant funds are in pitifully short supply. Fortunately the joy of science endures. Should the climate become overwhelmingly hostile I may consider alternative possibilities in tertiary education and industry. Or perhaps I may just open a coffee shop! Time alone will tell but there is one thing I can say with conviction. My degree in microbiology provided me with a basic, flexible, education in scientific thought and method which has enabled me to conduct research into several fascinating areas of biomedical science. I will be forever indebted to Professor Hughes and his staff for not only providing formal tuition but instilling in me the delights of scientific discovery.