Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
July 12, 2023 - At NHGRI, the scientific director leads the institute’s robust Intramural Research Program (IRP). Over its 30-year existence, the IRP has had four scientific directors: Jefferey Trent, Ph.D.; Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.; Dan Kastner, M.D., Ph.D.; and Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., who is the current scientific director.
In their conversation, moderated by Office of Communications Director Sarah Bates, M.S., the four scientific directors discussed the history of the IRP, the important contributions of its researchers and administrators, the many hurdles and successes, and some fun stories along the way. Additionally, each scientific director reflected on how their leadership style contributed to shaping the IRP’s science and culture.
Learn more about the NHGRI Scientific Directors: genome.gov/history/conversation-with-4-scientific-directors
Chapters:
00:00 - Opening Theme Music
00:37 - Revisiting the various printed IRP brochures (Eric Green)
05:11 - Character and cultural tone of IRP when I was scientific director (Jeffrey Trent)
09:44 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Jeffrey Trent)
10:42 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Eric Green)
12:35 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Dan Kastner)
14:53 - Dan Kastner actively enabled investigators' growth (Eric Green)
17:14 - Being an active enabler helped me learn about our research (Dan Kastner)
17:40 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Charles Rotimi)
22:26 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Dan Kastner)
29:02 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Eric Green)
33:15 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Jeffrey Trent)
37:35 - Government is a team sport /surround yourself with talented people (Eric Green)
38:57 - Most of our federal support staff is underappreciated (Jeffrey Trent)
39:51 - Dan Kastner was my mentor (Charles Rotimi)
46:47 - Francis Collins and Michael Gottesman were my mentors (Eric Green)
48:58 - Janet Rowley was my mentor (Jeffrey Trent)
51:39 - Importance of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) (Eric Green)
54:09 - The BSC is sensitive to the dynamics of tenure track investigators (Charles Rotimi)
58:03 - Stephen Katz and Michael Gottesman were great sources for advice (Dan Kastner)
01:00:00 - The grand challenges of genomics won't be solved in the next three decades (Eric Green)
01:04:07 - Utilizing big data to make decisions will be a challenge (Charles Rotimi)
01:07:09 - Combining genomics with other omics technologies may help us disambiguate diseases (Dan Kastner)
01:11:07 - Study genomic data from our American Indian tribal populations (Jeffrey Trent)
01:13:01 - We should be de novo sequencing everybody (Jeffrey Trent)
01:14:53 - IRP has helped "seed the field" (Eric Green)
01:16:51 - IRP has propelled genomics in a way we don't fully appreciate (Charles Rotimi)
01:18:18 - Closing Remarks (Sarah Bates)
Credits:
Moderator and Executive Producer:
Sarah Bates, M.S., M.A., Director, Office of Communications, NHGRI/NIH
Panelists:
Jeffrey Trent, Ph.D., Scientific Director (1992-2002)
Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director (2002-2010)
Dan Kastner, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director (2010-2021)
Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., Scientific Director (2021 - Present)
Associate Producers: Britny Kish, Zachary Utz
Cameramen: Alvaro Encinas, Ernesto del Aguila
Videographer: Alvaro Encinas
Graphics and Technical Support: Darryl Leja, Mukul Nerurkar
July 12, 2023 - At NHGRI, the scientific director leads the institute’s robust Intramural Research Program (IRP). Over its 30-year existence, the IRP has had four scientific directors: Jefferey Trent, Ph.D.; Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.; Dan Kastner, M.D., Ph.D.; and Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., who is the current scientific director.
In their conversation, moderated by Office of Communications Director Sarah Bates, M.S., the four scientific directors discussed the history of the IRP, the important contributions of its researchers and administrators, the many hurdles and successes, and some fun stories along the way. Additionally, each scientific director reflected on how their leadership style contributed to shaping the IRP’s science and culture.
Learn more about the NHGRI Scientific Directors: genome.gov/history/conversation-with-4-scientific-directors
Chapters:
00:00 - Opening Theme Music
00:37 - Revisiting the various printed IRP brochures (Eric Green)
05:11 - Character and cultural tone of IRP when I was scientific director (Jeffrey Trent)
09:44 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Jeffrey Trent)
10:42 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Eric Green)
12:35 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Dan Kastner)
14:53 - Dan Kastner actively enabled investigators' growth (Eric Green)
17:14 - Being an active enabler helped me learn about our research (Dan Kastner)
17:40 - Analogy for my role as scientific director (Charles Rotimi)
22:26 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Dan Kastner)
29:02 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Eric Green)
33:15 - Strengths and weaknesses during my tenure (Jeffrey Trent)
37:35 - Government is a team sport /surround yourself with talented people (Eric Green)
38:57 - Most of our federal support staff is underappreciated (Jeffrey Trent)
39:51 - Dan Kastner was my mentor (Charles Rotimi)
46:47 - Francis Collins and Michael Gottesman were my mentors (Eric Green)
48:58 - Janet Rowley was my mentor (Jeffrey Trent)
51:39 - Importance of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) (Eric Green)
54:09 - The BSC is sensitive to the dynamics of tenure track investigators (Charles Rotimi)
58:03 - Stephen Katz and Michael Gottesman were great sources for advice (Dan Kastner)
01:00:00 - The grand challenges of genomics won't be solved in the next three decades (Eric Green)
01:04:07 - Utilizing big data to make decisions will be a challenge (Charles Rotimi)
01:07:09 - Combining genomics with other omics technologies may help us disambiguate diseases (Dan Kastner)
01:11:07 - Study genomic data from our American Indian tribal populations (Jeffrey Trent)
01:13:01 - We should be de novo sequencing everybody (Jeffrey Trent)
01:14:53 - IRP has helped "seed the field" (Eric Green)
01:16:51 - IRP has propelled genomics in a way we don't fully appreciate (Charles Rotimi)
01:18:18 - Closing Remarks (Sarah Bates)
Credits:
Moderator and Executive Producer:
Sarah Bates, M.S., M.A., Director, Office of Communications, NHGRI/NIH
Panelists:
Jeffrey Trent, Ph.D., Scientific Director (1992-2002)
Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director (2002-2010)
Dan Kastner, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director (2010-2021)
Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., Scientific Director (2021 - Present)
Associate Producers: Britny Kish, Zachary Utz
Cameramen: Alvaro Encinas, Ernesto del Aguila
Videographer: Alvaro Encinas
Graphics and Technical Support: Darryl Leja, Mukul Nerurkar
