{"id":28294,"date":"2023-07-18T13:24:37","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T13:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/ofe\/?p=28294"},"modified":"2023-10-30T15:24:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:24:40","slug":"week-3-what-if-service-was-your-main-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/ofe\/2023\/07\/18\/week-3-what-if-service-was-your-main-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 3: What if Service Was Your Main Focus?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Podcast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Play Podcast<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The podcast intro music, Peachtree, was composed and performed by Jopsy Bayog, a 2021 NC State graduate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transcript to the podcast can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University of California at San Francisco<\/a> has two major campuses: Parnassus Heights, situated between Twin Peaks and Golden Gate Park, and Mission Bay. The Mission Bay campus is nestled along San Francisco Bay, a baseball throw away from the Giants ballpark and within eyesight of Steph Curry and the Warriors\u2019 home court. As with the institution it calls home, the Mission Bay campus is dedicated to medical and biological sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Keith Yamamoto <\/a>helped envision the Mission Bay campus, chairing the committee that led to its planning. He arrived at UC San Francisco as a postdoc and, fifty years later, his “terrific adventure” continues. And walking around campus, I can see why he would want to stay, as my surroundings clearly align with his philosophy: multidisciplinary endeavors, collaborative initiatives, teaching hospitals, research labs, and, naturally, bike paths and baseball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campus is one chapter in what Dr. Yamamoto calls the \u201cprogressive story\u201d of science. Beyond discovering knowledge, he sees science as developing<\/em> knowledge, something that never stops. Research and teaching are part of that development, of course, but so too is communicating its findings. The story doesn\u2019t end with a published paper or conference presentation – it is an ongoing conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our own conversation, Dr. Yamamoto sat down with me on a beautiful June day by the bay. To get to campus, not only do I walk by the ballpark and basketball arena, but also the Port of San Francisco, Uber\u2019s headquarters, and self-driving cars in the streets, all the while struck by the dynamism of the campus and its city. His office is located on the fifth floor of Genentech Hall. Overlooking the campus and hills of San Francisco, it is adorned with accoutrements from his life and career: books, pictures, artifacts, and awards, as well as bikes and baseball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Yamamoto has been contributing to the story of science for over 50 years, but his part of the conversation started well before that. When he was a child, his father subscribed to \u201cevery magazine that was published back then,\u201d including Scientific American. <\/em>While perusing an edition one day in middle school, he came across an article <\/em>written by Francis Crick, best known for discovering the double helical structure of DNA. In this particular article, Crick proposed the theory of messenger RNA. What stood out to Dr. Yamamoto wasn\u2019t just the theory, but the evidence that led to the hypothesis. That sparked his fascination with science and the way it is communicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has taken this interest to the upper echelons of his field of molecular biology and biochemistry. After earning his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, Dr. Yamamoto received his PhD from Princeton. He first came to UC San Francisco in 1973; half a century later, he is still leaving his mark, and not just in campus footprints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At UC San Francisco, Dr. Yamamoto serves as Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy, professor of Cellular Molecular Pharmacology, and Director of Precision Medicine. His work, however, extends beyond the institution. He also chairs the Coalition for the Life Sciences, is a board member for the publication SciencePlus, <\/em>and serves on the National Academy of Medicine Executive Committee and the National Academy of Sciences Division of Earth and Life Studies Advisory Committee. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Microbiology, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how he serves, and it is this service to the academy that has brought me to San Francisco. Of his many titles, I am particularly interested in his current role as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)<\/a>, the world\u2019s largest general scientific society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most faculty have a service element within their realms of responsibility. Yet, perhaps by design, it is not easily defined. Service can range from department-level to university-wide, from the local community to professional societies. And it can take a variety of forms: committees, task forces, journals, student engagement, outreach. As a result, Dr. Yamamoto interprets service broadly. But whatever it looks like, service equals impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can and should be involved in elements of service throughout our careers,\u201d says Dr. Yamamoto. \u201cGet involved in things where you think you have something important to say, that can have an impact that will improve whatever domain you are trying to address.\u201d He cites as examples improving a graduate program, developing community engagement and outreach programs, and looking at the ways government funding is set up. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He had a strong mentor who set the example. While completing his doctorate at Princeton, Dr. Yamamoto got to know Dr. Bruce Alberts, a leader in the field of biochemistry. Though Dr. Alberts was told to \u201ckeep his head down and get science done,\u201d he took it upon himself to start an after school science program for high school students in Trenton, New Jersey. For Dr. Yamamoto, this demonstrated the impact scientists can have beyond their lab: \u201cwe all have a responsibility to be involved in some element of service that advances the discipline in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led Dr. Yamamoto to ask a series of questions of himself to identify service opportunities that aligned with his own values, something he suggests others do early in their career:<\/p>\n\n\n\n