Who is Barry Peterson?
Changing Careers Late in Life
Barry Peterson and his twin
brother were born in Teaneck, NJ on August 22, 1948. His father was a
mechanical engineer and so it wasn’t surprising that Barry found science
and math easier than reading and writing.
In college Barry majored in
physics rather than math, because physics was most like math but it
required only one year of German, whereas math majors had to take two
years of German. (When he was in Berlin last year trying to order a meal,
he wondered then if he hadn’t made a mistake at this early stage in his
career!)
School
Although Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was not his first choice,
Barry attended RPI because they gave him a scholarship (most likely
because his father went there). To this day, he says that his classmates
at RPI were the brightest (although not the most socially astute) people
he’s ever known. This did not help his grade point average but it had a
life-long benefit because he learned that he could compete with the
brightest people and survive.
Barry received his Bachelor in Science in physics from RPI in 1970, the
same year they instituted the lottery for the military draft. Lottery
numbers were assigned by birth dates. His came up 336, so it was clear
that he would not be drafted. (His twin brother, who did not go to
college, was drafted before the lottery was instituted so he was already
in Vietnam. Fortunately he made it home safely). Without the draft
hanging over Barry’s head, he was free to attend graduate school in
physics at the University of Connecticut.
Graduate physics was getting a
little too theoretical for him so Barry started looking for related
programs having to do with the application of physics to real problems.
He found the Biophysics program at the University of Rochester, so he went
there after getting a Masters in Science in Physics from Connecticut in
1972.
One
of the professors at Rochester needed a graduate student to help with his
studies in respiratory physiology. He had a fancy new mass spectrometer
that wasn’t working, so he figured that Barry’s background in physics
would be helpful. Thus began Barry’s career in physiology!
Barry stayed for an extra year in Rochester after getting his PhD in
Biophysics in 1977. He then spent two more years as a postdoctoral fellow
in pulmonary medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
First
Job
After his postdoctoral training, Dr. Peterson returned to the University
of Rochester for 4 years as an Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine
and then went to the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler to
continue his research in acute lung injury for the next 16 years. During
that time he called himself a physiologist, but his best work was in the
development of methods for making physiological measurements.
Changing Careers
Making a move from the academic world to industry so late in a career is
unusual—but Dr. Peterson got help from his daughter. He found a job on
the Pfizer web site by digging through long lists of pharmaceutical jobs
that all required 5-10 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
He finally found one that just said “experience making physiological
measurements in humans.” He applied online for that job, but, as
expected, that application never went anywhere. So he attended a
scientific meeting where Pfizer people would be present and gave his
resume to three or four of them. One of them happened to know the person
who had posted the job so Dr. Peterson got a call the following week. He
mentioned to the interviewer that his daughter had asked him to take her
to the Northeast to look at colleges and that it would be no trouble for
him to stop by to visit for a while in Groton, Connecticut. The
interviewer agreed, they met for an hour, and Dr. Peterson was invited
back for a formal interview.
Part of the formal interview process involved giving a seminar on his
research. It wasn’t until he was preparing for that seminar that Dr.
Peterson realized what the focus of his past research had been. Because
the Pfizer job involved technology development, he decided to review his
work from that viewpoint and was surprised to see a pattern in his studies
that he had not seen before. He got the job in December 1999 and was named
Associate Director of Clinical Technology at Pfizer Global Research and
Development.
Dr.
Peterson’s group has the job of identifying and developing new
technologies that would help in the drug development process. The job is
a delightful, fortuitous, and surprising combination of almost everything
he had done prior to starting at Pfizer. The job makes use of his
background in physics, his work with the human subjects review board for
clinical trials, his experience in the development of pulmonary (and
other) technologies, and his experience directing academic research. The
biggest differences he has seen between his previous academic work and his
current pharmaceutical work is that he no longer has to apply for research
funds, but he does have to be much more careful about confidentiality.
However, he can say that he is working with a variety of universities and
companies to develop new imaging methods for measuring the effects of
experimental compounds on lung diseases. He is also currently directing a
dozen studies in the United States and Europe. He particularly enjoys the
opportunity to travel to the UK, France, and Sweden regularly to work with
his scientific colleagues there (all of whom speak terrific
English—fortunately).
Outside
Interests
Now
that someone else is paying Dr. Peterson to travel, he has taken quite an
interest in it. He also hopes to learn to speak French.
At
home he enjoys woodworking and tennis with his daughter, but there is
currently very little time for either of those activities.
In
his past career in Texas, Dr. Peterson was also very active in supporting
K-12 science and math teachers in the East Texas area—but that’s another
story.
Advice
Dr.
Peterson recommends that graduate students in physiology explore career
options other than just academic postdoctoral positions. While a career
in academia can be an excellent choice, there is a strong tendency to
never make the choice and just follow in the steps of your professors.
There are many other options open to well-trained physiologists who have
learned how to keep on learning their entire lives.
Publications
1. Peterson, B.T., M.L.
Collins, L.D. Gray, and A.O. Azghani. Aerosolized Pseudomonas
elastase and lung fluid balance in anesthetized sheep.
J. Appl.
Physiol. 72: 1927-1933, 1992.
2. Peterson, B.T.
Permeability: Theory vs. practice in lung research. Invited review for
Am. J.
Physiology. 262 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 6): L243-L256, 1992.
3. Peterson, B.T.,
and R.
Tate. Albumin fraction and measurement of total protein concentration.
Am. J.
Physiol. - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 33: H1723-H1726, 1993.
4. Peterson, B.T., D.E.
Griffith, J.C. Connelly, and R. Tate. Differential effects of salmeterol
on lung endothelial and epithelial leakage in sheep.,
J. Appl.
Physiol. 80: 1666-1673, 1996.
5. Peterson, B.T., E.J.
Miller, D.E. Griffith, R. Rowjee, and P. McWaters. Modulation by
pentobarbital of neutrophil responses to E. Coli endotoxins in
sheep: role of lung epithelium. European Resp. J. 16: 697-703,
2000.
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