Mark D. Fleming
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
Mark D. Fleming begins the interview discussing his childhood, which was dominated by his father's job at IBM [International Business Machines]. Fleming moved to various communities in the Eastern United States, where the majority of his friends also had fathers working for IBM; a scientific and technological atmosphere pervaded his childhood. Fleming discussed his matriculation at Princeton University and the academic influence of organic chemistry professor Maitland Jones, Jr. Throughout his undergraduate career, Fleming conducted research during summers at the University of Vermont, where he met his future wife as well as where he developed an interest in blood research. Following graduation from Princeton, Fleming received a Marshall Scholarship, which allowed him to pursue D Phil work with Sir Jack E. Baldwin at the University of Oxford; Fleming described the differences between scientific research in Europe and the United States in some detail. Following his D Phil work, Fleming undertook medical training at the Harvard Medical School's Health, Sciences, and Technology Program, which was academically rigorous and stimulating. He developed into a clinically-oriented research pathologist, beginning with his work in Laurie Glimcher's laboratory at the Harvard University School of Public Health and continuing into his post-doctoral research with Nancy Andrews at Children's Hospital. Due to a unique job offer at Children's Hospital, Fleming smoothly transitioned from post-doctoral researcher to full-time principal investigator. Throughout the interview, Fleming discussed issues related to funding and laboratory management and the manner in which he encourages the academic growth of his own research students. The interview concludes with a discussion of broader issues in the biomedical sciences including increasing the racial diversity of students and of faculty in the sciences, scientific literacy, and collaborations.
Education
Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Princeton University | AB | Molecular Biology |
1990 | University of Oxford | DPhil | Organic Chemistry |
1993 | Harvard Medical School | MD |
Professional Experience
Harvard University School of Public Health
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Honors
Year(s) | Award |
---|---|
1987 | Marshall Scholarship, Oxford University, Oxford, England |
1987 | Senior Prize for Academic Excellence, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University |
1987 | Phi Beta Kappa, Princeton University |
1987 | Summa Cum Laude, Princeton University |
1993 | Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Prize, Harvard Medical School |
1993 | Magna Cum Laude, Harvard Medical School |
1997 | American Society of Hematology Travel Award |
1998 | American Liver Foundation Research Fellowship |
1998 | American Society of hematology Fellow Scholar Award |
1999 | Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences |
2004 | Ramzi Cotran Teaching Award, Children’s Hospital |
Table of Contents
Father's career at IBM. Moving to various IBM locations including Manassas, Virginia and South Burlington, Vermont. Early interests in natural science.
Princeton University. Molecular Biology. Organic Chemistry. Summer research at the University of Vermont. Burgeoning interest in blood research. Meeting his wife.
Marshall Scholarship to study at Oxford University. Sir Jack Baldwin's research group. Discovering a bifunctional enzyme. Dealings with Eli Lilly and Company. Scientific ethics and publishing. Transitions between molecular biology and chemistry.
Harvard Medical School. The Health, Sciences, and Technology Program. Rigorous scientific and collaborative atmosphere. Medicine as science. Research with Laurie Glimcher. Children's Hospital Boston. Post-doctorate with Nancy Andrews. Long-standing collaboration. Research on NFE2. Medical and scientific ethics.
Children's Hospital Boston. Transition from post-doctoral research to Principal Investigator. Ramzi Cotran. PI style. Pew Biomedical Scholars Award.
Grants versus contracts. NIH funding. Private Foundation Funding. Funding people not projects
Interim Chairman. Publishing. Collaborations. Laboratory management. Scooping other research groups. Teaching.
Wife's Ph.D. in cell biology. Balancing careers and children. Time in Vermont.
Funding. Service to the community. Scientific literacy. Consulting. Immunohistochemistry and Pathology. Collaborations. Scientific Outreach.
About the Interviewer
Karen A. Frenkel is a writer, documentary producer, and author specializing in science and technology and their impacts on society. She wrote Robots: Machines in Man’s Image (Harmony 1985) with Isaac Asimov. Her articles have appeared in many magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, CyberTimes, Business Week, Communications Magazine, Discover, Forbes, New Media, Personal Computing, Scientific American, Scientific American MIND, The Village Voice, and Technology Review. Ms. Frenkel’s award-winning documentary films, Net Learning and Minerva’s Machine: Women and Computing aired on Public Television. She has been an interviewer for Columbia University’s Oral History Research Center’s 9/11 Narrative and Memory project, The National Press Foundation’s Oral History of Women in Journalism, and the International Psychoanalytic Institute for Training and Research’s Oral History. Professional memberships include: The Authors Guild, National Association of Science Writers, Writer’s Guild of America East, and New York Women in Film and Television: Past Member of the Board and Director of Programming. Her website is www.Karenafrenkel.com.