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Oral history interview with Daniel S. Kessler

  • 2003-Jun-13
  • 2003-Jun-16 – 2003-Jun-17
Photograph Daniel S. Kessler

Daniel S. Kessler was raised in Binghamton, New York, the youngest of three siblings. His mother was a public school teacher; his father taught at Binghamton University and was a published poet. Much of Kessler's life was spent within an academic world, with undergraduate and graduate student and faculty stopping by his family's home. The family also traveled when Kessler's father was on sabbatical, at one point providing Kessler with the opportunity to attend school in Hawaii, during which time he was exposed to the wonderment of science and, especially, marine biology. His time in public schools in Binghamton was typical, though being involved with the university allowed him access to outlets for his interest in music. Kessler matriculated at Cornell University for his undergraduate degree; it was not until he worked in Stanley A. Zahler's bacterial genetics laboratory that he decided to become a scientist. He then went on the Rockefeller University in New York City, New York, for his graduate studies. At Rockefeller, Kessler worked with James Darnell on interferon signaling proteins (the STATs) identifying the activation of STATs in response to interferons, the STAT complex, and its regulation; during this time he also had the opportunity to learn structural biology at Oxford University in Anthony R. Rees's laboratory as part of a summer exchange program and to attend Ronald McKay's summer course in neurobiology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Following his PhD , Kessler decided to pursue postdoctoral research in developmental biology on the regulation of the mesoderm and endoderm germ layers by the transformation growth factor beta signaling molecule, Vgl, with Douglas A. Melton at Harvard University. He then accepted a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to work on the control of mesoderm and endoderm germ layer formation, the behavior of nodal signals during different stages of embryogenesis, and the formation of the Spemann organizer. Throughout his oral history interview Kessler discusses issues like scientific funding; the grant-writing process; the role of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences award for his work; balancing family and career; his future projects incorporating other model systems into his research strategies for studying endoderm germ layer differentiation and dorsal body axis formation; and the history of science and his research. The interview ends a discussion of what Kessler thinks about being a principal investigator, and concludes with more on his father's career.

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