How to win a Nobel prize in Medicine

Do you dream that one day your name will be famous within the research community? Or that your scientific breakthrough will be so important that you win a Nobel prize? Laura and Jonathan Fishman find out what it takes to achieve these goals

The Nobel prize, for most of us, conjures up images of lifelong fame, fortune, and fantastic living. But how do you attain one of these universally accredited awards? The only way to find out is to tap into the thinking processes of the great minds themselves. We went to the 53rd meeting of Nobel prize winners in medicine and physiology on the beautiful island of Lindau in Lake Constance, Germany. This provided an ideal backdrop for a gathering of 13 Nobel prize winners and about 500 medical students and young researchers from 36 countries around the world.

Philosophy of the Lindau meetings

Since 1901, Nobel prizes have been awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" in accordance with the 1895 will of the Swedish inventor and businessman, Alfred Bernhard Nobel. In 1951, two doctors in Lindau set up a congress to encourage international scientific exchanges with Nobel laureates, to help to rebuild the scientific bridges between nations after the second world war. A total of 53 meetings later, the original concept continues to provide an opportunity for science and medicine students from all over the world to discuss research topics with one another and to pick the brains of and interact with the Nobel prize winners. For many of the winners, the conference gave them the opportunity to communicate their words of wisdom to students who will be the future of medical research. According to Johannes Rau, president of the Republic of Germany, "The Lindau meetings have a special emphasis, allowing personal contact between Nobel prize winners and young scientists. The annual meetings are a forum for encounters and international communication and in this form are probably unique in the world."

Tips from the top

This year, Nobel prize winners included Torsten Wiesel, a US neurobiologist, who has contributed to understanding how the visual system functions; German scientists Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann, who described the function of single ion channels in cells, which is so crucial to cellular signalling in the human body; and Hamilton Smith from the United States and Werner Arber from Switzerland, who discovered and applied restriction enzymes to molecular genetics, leading to the recent completion in the sequencing of the human genome. Wherever your interests lie, whether it is neuroscience, genetics, or cellular biology, this meeting had something for you.

At dinner on the first evening of the conference, we sat next to Edmund Fischer, a professor from the United States who received his Nobel prize for discovering reversible protein phosphorylation as a biological regulatory mechanism involved in hormonal signalling and enzymatic activity. Having the opportunity to speak with the Nobel laureates in such informal settings allowed us to ask specifically about their field of research, the qualities needed to win a Noble prize, and more personal questions about how their lives have changed since winning the prize. We asked Edmund Fischer what it takes to win a Nobel prize. He simply replied, "Luck." When someone asked this question to the other winners, they emphasised hard work, open mindedness, meeting the right people at the right time, and studying the right field at the right time. We also asked how Fischer's life had changed since the prize. He described how his determination in the laboratory has only strengthened, and how he has no plans to retire. He also highlighted the perks of swapping the taxi for the limousine and the guesthouse for the Hilton hotel and the annoyance of the reporters and photographers wherever he goes.

Also at dinner, we introduced ourselves to Torshen Wiesel, a pioneer in visual cortical physiology. We asked him why he moved from clinical medicine into academia. He explained that during his training as a psychiatrist, the lack of understanding of how the brain functions, both in health and disease, frustrated him. He felt we can only achieve a deeper understanding through research. We also asked him if it would ever be possible to combine the two and be both a successful clinician and researcher. He explained that life in medical research is demanding and it would be difficult for anyone to fit them both into a busy schedule and to excel in both. This was, however, his own opinion and not everyone would necessarily agree with this view--many successful clinicians do important research using clinical patients. He advised us that if we had enjoyed the scientific disciplines at medical school, we should spend some time experiencing academic medicine after qualifying. He explained that we were all fortunate as doctors to be, in that if academic medicine did not meet our expectations, we would always be able to return to clinical medicine.

Bert Sakmann told us that he had attended this conference as a student. We asked him whether he imagined returning as a Nobel prize winner himself. He explained that you never imagine that it could be you. But the important message which he took away from the conference as a student and which he hoped we had come to appreciate, was that Nobel prize winners are down to earth people, and despite their fame and glory this never changes.

A busy schedule

Open and informal contact between laureates, medical students, and young researchers took place through lectures, round table debates, and small personal group discussions over the course of the week. On the first afternoon, the students huddled around the great scientists in an informal atmosphere at individual tables for the first small group discussions.

Plenary sessions in the mornings featured roundtable debates or lectures by laureates on actual research topics and general science. Themes included the future of medicine, basic scientific discovery to clinical practice, defining minimal life, the impacts of molecular evolution, neurobiology, and genes and embryos. Topical debates between the Nobel laureates and students included the ethics of embryonic stem cell research, the application of genetic engineering to the production of food for an expanding world population, and the idea of developing portable "gene chips," which would store a person's entire genomic sequence. The theory behind the development of gene chips, leading to the treatment of medical conditions that could one day be tailored to an individual's specific genomic sequence (pharmacogenomics), caused a lot of thought provoking controversy and heated debate.

Alfred Nobel

Each afternoon, informal small group discussions took place between laureates and medical students. During these sessions, the laureate's scientific interests and opinions came out freely, and we acquired a deeper insight into how the laureates accomplished their goals, and the dedication, motivation, and determination that is necessary to win the award. Some students used this time to make contacts for their future careers, or to get some advice on their research from the Nobel laureates.

Applying for the conference

The meetings take place every year at Lindau at the end of June and beginning of July and are principally for medical students with an interest in medical science and with previous research experience.

Registration for the conference requires nomination by your university. If you think you are a suitable candidate, you should speak to the dean of your medical school and ask them if they will consider nominating you, so that then you will be able to apply to attend the next meeting. Alternatively, contact your faculty administrator, who will know which academic at your university nominates students for medical conferences. The selection criteria vary between institutions. Making your keen interest in the conference known to your institution is a must. If the conference attracts lots of interest, academic achievements or previous contributions to medical research may be used to select, as each university can be represented by a maximum number of students.

Excluding the conference fee, the cost of the one week event is around £;450 ($800; €650), for travel within Europe. However, some medical schools may be willing to subsidise part of the cost of the trip. You can get further sponsorship from medical organisations and research institutions. The committee for the conference also has sponsorship funds to reduce the costs of the conference. Contacting them directly for more information is a good idea (box).

This trip has had a big impact on our lives as medical students, and we thoroughly recommend this opportunity to anyone with a strong interest in medical research. We are now even more enthusiastic about furthering our interests in medical research. If we follow in Bert Sakmann's footsteps, we may even be given the opportunity to return to the meeting as future Nobel laureates. As Edmund Fischer said at the end of the conference, "Au revoir, bonne chance, and who knows, in 30 years..."

Laura M Fishman final year medical student, Imperial College, London
Email: laura.fishman@ic.ac.uk

Jonathan M Fishman final year medical student, University of Oxford
Email: jonathan.fishman@medschool.ox.ac.uk


studentBMJ 2004;12:45-88 February ISSN 0966-6494