David Lawrence, PhD — Breaking down Barriers
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David Lawrence, PhD — Breaking down Barriers
Breaking down Barriers
Given the multi-disciplinary nature of his research, it is little wonder that Lawrence places a strong emphasis on working with experts in various areas of science. He abhors the barriers that impede collaboration across departments at many universities.
“Unfortunately, the way most universities are set up—with divisions and departments that were created more than 100 years ago—impede both scientific progress as well as the mission of education itself,” he says. “There generally isn’t such a thing as pure chemistry, pure medicinal chemistry, or pure biology anymore.
“Barriers between departments can prevent or preclude the sort of interactions that allow science to move forward. In addition, graduate students and postdocs in departments suffer from lack of exposure to other disciplines. Undergraduates suffer in coursework if the impact that one area of science has on another is not discussed. So it’s unfortunate that these divisions and barriers exist, but they’ve existed for a long time. Now we have to work really hard to break them down.”
Lawrence practices what he preaches. To make sure that he gets the perspectives of both biologists and chemists, he has split his lab into two, half in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the other half in the Department of Chemistry.
“This will force me to go back-and-forth on a day-to-day basis between these two parts of campus and interact with both chemists and biologists,” he says.
Lawrence is also trying something different to facilitate strong communication between his two labs. Each lab will be equipped with video-conferencing equipment, including giant plasma screens. This setup will allow for continuous, real-time communication rather than limit conversations between the labs to scheduled meetings.
"I wish I thought of this way of connecting my labs, but to be honest, Bob Blouin, the dean of the School of Pharmacy, immediately recognized the potential problems a split lab could encounter and suggested an innovative technological solution," Lawrence says.
“I think that’s something unique that will keep the chemists, medicinal chemists, biochemists, and biologists in my labs talking with one another and perhaps it will serve as a starting point for other labs that have collaborations with the other side of campus. I wanted something where group members can talk on an informal basis.”