Who is David Pollock? - New Investigator

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Who is David Pollock?
From University to Drug Company and Back Again

David Pollock was born in Indianapolis, IN on September 29, 1955 and spent his formative years in the mid-sized town of Evansville, IN. He enjoyed many subjects in school, including biology and chemistry, but he also loved music, drama, and sports. His aptitude in math and science combined with the efforts of a few inspired teachers made him want to learn more. The “quest for knowledge,” as his high school chemistry teacher would say, is a noble pursuit. Also, David’s work as an athletic trainer in high school not only allowed him to participate in sports indirectly but also fueled his interest in understanding how our bodies work.

David stayed in his hometown and went to college at the University of Evansville. He received a scholarship to continue as an athletic trainer for the college football, basketball, and baseball teams. His first two years in college as a biology major were rather uneventful, as he took the usual array of introductory classes. However, it was in his junior year when he took an advanced human physiology class that he experienced a “revelation.” With the help of a truly inspired teacher, Dr. Eugene Schroeder, David discovered that physiology was the subject that really got him excited. This experience made him want to learn more. He knew that in order to understand more about how the body works, he would have to continue his studies in graduate school. However, he first had to take time to get married to another biology major, Jennifer Pollock.

David enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Cincinnati and graduated with a degree in physiology in 1983. He then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology. Although when he started graduate school he thought he would end up teaching college, Dr. Pollock decided that a career as an independent researcher was what he truly wanted.

Using Physiology to Discover New Drugs
Dr. Pollock’s first job opportunity came in 1988 when he went to work at a research institute that was just being established by several faculty in the physiology department at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The institute struggled financially, and so when a job offer came along to work in the Drug Discovery Division at Abbott Laboratories a year and a half later, he took it. He got the job through a friend he had met while attending a meeting of the American Physiological Society. Working in Drug Discovery was quite exciting, and Dr. Pollock was able to apply his abilities as a physiologist to help develop several potential new drugs, including endothelin antagonists that should soon be approved for treatment of heart failure and prostate cancer.

Back to School
Just when it seemed that he had found his niche, Dr. Pollock got to the point where his original desire to work as a physiologist at a university and teach as well as do research began to grow again. In 1995, he accepted a faculty position in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia. In some ways, it was like starting over, but the excitement of a challenging new position was wonderful. He has been able to pursue some research questions that he could not pursue at a drug company. More importantly, however, he is able to work with students and other trainees and pass his excitement on to them. What makes it especially enjoyable is that he gets to work closely with his wife, now Dr. Jennifer Pollock, on many research and educational activities.

Free Time
David spends most of his free time with his three children, Luke, Sam, and Michaela. They keep him busy with baseball, soccer, scouts, and other activities. He does manage to find a little time for himself for playing on the church softball team, intramural basketball, and the occasional round of golf.

Advice for New Investigators
Just because you now have some independence, do not think you should sit back and take things for granted. You need to stay engaged with the scientific community and maintain a steady level of productivity. Improving your networking skills will help you develop contacts for future collaborations, job opportunities, and other career enhancing activities. Be sure to seek advice from older investigators, and remember, get a second opinion.

Recent Publications
1. Pollock, D.M., G.H. Allcock, A. Krishnan, B.C. Dayton, and J.S. Pollock. Upregulation of endothelin B receptors in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 278: F279-F286, 2000.

2. Cai, Z., J. Xin, D.M. Pollock, and J.S. Pollock. Shear stress-mediated nitric oxide production in inner medullary collecting duct cells. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 279: F270-F274, 2000.

3. Pollock, D.M., and J.S. Pollock. Evidence for endothelin involvement in the response to high salt. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 281: F144-F150, 2001.

4. Pollock, D.M. Contrasting pharmacological ET_B receptor blockade with genetic ET_B deficiency in renal responses to big ET-1. Physiol. Genomics 6: 39-43, 2001.