Professor Paul White, interviewed by Dr Aisah Aubdool.
What is your background and career pathway to date?
I did a BSc, then a PhD in cardiovascular pharmacology at Monash University. After completing a postdoc at the Children’s hospital in Melbourne, I was ecstatic to be offered a position back at Monash Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences as a lecturer. After 22 years working with incredible people, I am now Deputy Dean, Associate Dean Education and Head of Department.
What inspired you to pursue an academic career? Did you have a role model who influenced your decision to work in science, specialising in pharmacology?
After wandering blindly through half a BSc, I fell in love with pharmacology. I loved the application of biological science that made a difference to people’s health, and I had some great lecturers. As a PhD student, I was fortunate to be in the same department as Arthur Christopoulos – he and others showed me what passion and dedication can achieve. My cardiovascular research success has been largely a result of teaming up with an incredible scientist, Dr Lauren May. During my career, I have been hugely influenced by a number of great mentors – such as PK Rangachari at McMaster University and Tom Angelo from University of North Carolina. Finding great people with complementary skills to work with has been a common theme to my most successful and enjoyable endeavours.
How did you choose your PhD project and what did you enjoy the most during your PhD?
I scraped into a PhD project - thankfully there was an opening with Wendy Hope and Roselyn Rose’Meyer on my area of interest: cardiovascular pharmacology. At first, I loved the technical side of my project – learning to cannulate carotid arteries was terrifying, but so rewarding once I mastered it. From then on, learning to ask important research questions, and answering them using robust and reproducible approaches was the most rewarding part of my PhD.
What would you consider your greatest achievement so far? What is your secret of success in science?
I am most proud of my discovery that some adenosine A1 receptor ligands can be powerful cardioprotective agents in animal models and show no unwanted cardiodepressive effects, unlike prototypical agonists – so called biased agonism. Our team at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, led by Lauren and myself, and working with a great medicinal chemist in Peter Scammells, have done a lot to understand the basis of this discovery since then. I am also really proud of the work I did as a postdoc and the consultancy I did on a project led by Chris Wraight and George Werther – discovering an antisense oligonucleotide “lead” that went into clinical trial was quite a journey!
Tell us about your current research.
We are working on biased agonists for a range of cardiovascular indications, really focusing on screening novel compounds in models that include aspects of the disease-context, such as aging and diabetes. Our recent work really highlights the false hits and missed opportunities that occur when screening compounds exclusively in cell lines. I am also an educational researcher, and my most recent passion in that area is the development of core concepts of pharmacology education (see coreconceptspharmacology.org).
What does your typical work week look like? How has this changed with the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic?
I spend a large amount of time working with education leaders in my faculty and university as part of my Deputy Dean / Associate Dean Education roles. So, lots of meetings and emails! I sadly haven’t been in the lab in years, but I do love the regular discussions with our PhD students.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I spend a heap of time with my wonderful partner Jen and my six lovely kids. I have coached junior football (of the Australian variety) and now basketball for over a decade – it’s so rewarding to see them learn and succeed, and sometimes to learn to deal with challenges. I play piano badly and am currently learning basic woodworking.
What are on your thoughts on mentorship, and how would you choose a mentor?
Mentorship is so important – find people that you value and ask them for advice. I have been so pleasantly surprised by the willingness of people I was frightened to approach to give up their time to help me improve. Choose someone you think is the best in the world at what they do, in an area that matches your passion. And don’t worry if some approaches don’t work out.
What would be your advice for the next generation of early-career researchers and New Starting Investigators?
It’s a pretty tough environment for early-career researchers. What inspires me is that I see so many clever and passionate people who want to achieve great things in science. My advice is to follow your passion, but also be focused and realistic about your career path.
What are your top tips for networking?
Have a clear idea of what networks you need to develop, and then put yourself in a target-rich environment! What I have found is that approaching people at conferences who have inspired me has led to a number of great, lasting research relationships.
Who do you admire the most in the world of pharmacology?
Arthur Christopoulos (and not because he is my boss!).
Rapid-Fire Round with Professor Paul White:
Favourite Movie?
Don’t watch too many movies. 'The Wire' is the best TV show ever made.
Favourite Scientist?
Ray Land.
Sweet or savoury?
Savoury.
Tea or Coffee?
Tea. I don’t drink coffee to the bemusement of most people.
In vitro or In vivo?
In vivo.
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