By Lauren Dorsey, Staff Writer
More than half a century after graduating from Woodstock Union High School (WUHS), Dr. Victor Ambros stepped back through its doors Thursday — this time not as a student but as a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. “It’s been so strange to return, to see what things have changed and what things have stayed the same,” Ambros told the Standard on Thursday. “It’s a different world, and yet so many parts of it look familiar.”
Ambros and his colleague Gary Ruvkun won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine this past fall for their discovery of microRNA, small molecules that help regulate gene expression. The two scientists initially uncovered microRNA while researching mutations of C. elegans, a one-millimeter-long transparent worm, in the 1980s.
Over the past few decades, their discovery has been transformational, as microRNAs are not confined to tiny roundworms. Subsequent research by labs around the world has revealed that these molecules are present in everything from mammals to plants. Perhaps most significantly, the human genome has hundreds of microRNAs, and the control the molecules exert over cell function and division has significant implications for the potential treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer.
Throughout his presentation, Dr. Victor Ambros focused on two ideas: the importance of creativity, and that anyone can be a scientist. Courtesy of Ryan Becker
Ambros, who was part of the class of 1971, returned to WUHS last week to give two talks: one to the middle school students and another to the high school students.
The Nobel Prize winner approached the opportunity to speak at WUHS with all the diligence, attention to detail, and sky-high ambition one might expect. Ambros corresponded back and forth with the school’s science teachers to ensure the level of the presentations hit just right for what the kids were learning, spent hours agonizing over how to convey the research in a way that was both accurate and simple enough for kids to understand, and filled the presentation with examples he hoped would stick with students long after the talk was over.
Above all, he tried to ignite in his audience something he deemed an essential quality of any scientist: curiosity. “The thing is, all kids are scientists [because] all kids are curious,” said Ambros. “Sometimes, though, we can lose it a little bit, because life gets more and more complicated, [but] curiosity is the main engine of discovery in the world.”
Ambros explained that when he was a kid, he was particularly curious about tree leaves. “I wondered how the heck a birch tree or a maple tree makes every one of its leaves a birch or maple shape,” said Ambros. “Now, you guys are probably sitting there thinking, this guy’s crazy, it’s just because it’s a maple tree and a birch tree, right?” He explained that while that may be superficially true, like almost anything, if you drill down far enough into the mechanisms of how something works, it gets complicated. “What I’m saying is that there’s something inside the seed of a birch tree, when it goes in the ground, that has the information about what that tree is going to look like that’s actually deeply mysterious, and it’s a subject of research today,” said Ambros. “You may think there aren’t new discoveries to be made, but actually most of what we need to know remains mysterious and we will need science to uncover how things work for centuries to come.”
Throughout both of his speeches, Ambros spent much of his time trying to encourage every single student in the room to seriously consider science as a career. “Science is something that is done by regular people,” said Ambros. “It’s a profession that needs everyone, and you don’t have to be super smart to do it.” He wasn’t afraid to point to his own story to get that message across. Ambros explained that when he was a student at WUHS, his lowest grades were in arithmetic and science, and he had a habit of cutting class to go skiing, and yet, he said, he has had an incredible career. “These days, I’m often the least-smart person in the room, which is a wonderful feeling, to be surrounded by so many people with such great ideas,” said Ambros.
Left: Throughout his presentation, Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Victor Ambros focused on two ideas: the importance of creativity, and that anyone can be a scientist. Right: Dr. Victor Ambros eats lunch with students in the school cafeteria at WUHS. Courtesy of Ryan Becker
Ambros also touched on the role public funding has played in the United States in making modern science possible. He explained that his Nobel Prize-winning research was funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and that NIH-funded research on C. elegans alone has resulted in four Nobel Prizes. It has also funded studies that uncovered more than 99% of the drugs approved over the past 10 years, he said. “Our publicly funded research is an amazing system, and it’s incredibly successful because so many discoveries have come from NIH-funded research,” said Ambros. “It’s an incredibly powerful system that has worked incredibly well for decades.”
Later, in an interview with the Standard, Ambros more fully expressed his dismay at the recent federal cuts to NIH and other research institutions, including the National Science Foundation, that have happened over the past few months. “Everybody is really frightened, and many people are unemployed,” said Ambros. “Up until a few months ago, [the United States] was the magnet for all talent across the world, and now it’s the opposite. I don’t think there’s anything that’s happened in our history so suddenly that’s so transformative and so bad.”
He went on to say that he wished there was a way the public could see the benefits of the role they play in the advancement of science. “If they did, they would view things like this a little differently, because what’s happening and what’s being taken away is something that they, the public, have helped build through their own blood, sweat and tears,” said Ambros.
After Ambros’s talks, there was time for questions, and he got quite a few. They ranged from inquiries on his sources of inspiration to several on the likelihood of people one day being able to regenerate entire limbs. Through them all, he was careful always to circle back and build up the students he spoke to. “Great question,” opened nearly every answer, and he often ended his responses with reflections on the students’ success. “You guys are way ahead of the game with the stuff you’re learning here today,” said Ambros after one inquiry about his research.
As the questions wound down and everyone began to disperse for lunch, the effect of Ambros’ visit was evident, from the smiles plastered on the faces of the students who lingered to grab a selfie to the joy evident in the teachers taking the photos. “Your presentation and demeanor really welcomed questions and enthusiasm from the kids,” science teacher Ryan Becker told Ambros after the kids had left. “They can feel when someone is sincere.”
No one’s enthusiasm, however, was more evident than Ambros’ own. “The experience visiting the school has been really special and encouraging to me personally because I can see that so many kids here are spirited and inquisitive,” Ambros told the Standard. “They really seem to be supporting each other, and I can see this genuine affection amongst the kids, which is wonderful and encouraging for an older person to witness.”