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Who is John “Wick” Johnson? A Road With Many Turns
John H. “Wick” Johnson was born in Dallas, TX. When he was a boy, his main interest was fish and fishing. He could never get enough learning about the various species of fish. He wanted to know their habits, habitats, prey, and, as a result, a great deal of their physiology. He received a rod and reel for his 10th birthday and fished every time he was allowed. He read every magazine and book on fish he could get his hands on. When he was 12, his family moved within a bicycle ride from a stream and lake. Also that year, he received a fly rod. This opened up a whole new area because he could learn how to tie flies. For this, he had to learn a lot of aquatic entomology to tie the proper imitation of a species of insect. Anatomy was involved in this activity as the insects differ anatomically, as do the vertebrate imitations that are used in fly fishing. This is a passion he enjoys with his wife to this day. They fly fish for everything from sunfish in fresh water to tarpon and sailfish in salt water.
An English Major Playing Sports
It turned out to be the most fascinating course he had taken as an undergraduate to date. As he looks back on it, this was probably due to the way the course was taught and the fact that he was an English major. The professor included the names and history behind the people responsible for advances in concepts. The course was tough in that it was as much biochemistry as cell biology and the work involved was extensive, but the lectures were the most captivating of any he had attended. From there he took science courses as electives and was able to fulfill the requirements for a second undergraduate degree in Microbiology, one year after obtaining the English degree. Physiology TrainingHe received his PhD degree in 1978 from Oklahoma State University where his research was on the changes in the biophysics of membranes during bacterial cell division. After a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at Cornell University studying signal transduction in tumor cells, Dr. Johnson joined the faculty of the Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1981. As he began his research in the field of diabetes, it became quickly apparent to him that an understanding physiology and metabolism was essential to his work. Although he had taken a number of courses during his undergraduate and graduate studies, whole animal physiology was something that required a new set of tools and expanded his appreciation of the complexities of system interactions. It soon became apparent that the pathways and genes were only part of the story.
Changing Career Paths
First, shortly after joining Parke-Davis, he was placed on drug development teams in addition to his research responsibilities. He had absolutely no idea of what was involved in taking a drug from the bench to the patient. Finding a promising chemical entity for a disease is really what people envision the process to be and, to be sure, this is a major part of the business. However, the meticulous design and conduct of safety studies and clinical trials, the work that goes into making manufacturing feasible, the financial considerations and interactions with the regulatory authorities are huge. The second involved event was the need to obtain outside assistance and technologies. Most pharmaceutical companies have neither the time nor the personnel to develop technology that may be of limited use beyond the current need. Therefore, they enter into collaborative or contract arrangements with biotech and other companies that have the needed expertise. Negotiating terms that gives both parties the necessary deliverables without compromising either party is quite formidable at times. In addition, managing the collaboration can be difficult because of intellectual property protection needs. Dr. Johnson ended up being a principal in a number of these collaborations. Then, when Pfizer and Parke-Davis merged, he was asked to take a position in Licensing and Development. Because he had thoroughly enjoyed the previous experiences, he chose to do so. Current JobHis current position is Director of Licensing and Development for Pfizer, Inc. His job is to canvas the world for new and unique approaches to treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, like diabetes and obesity. This entails finding out as much as possible about the therapy, assessing its technical merit at a high level, working with a technical team for a more in-depth evaluation, working with teams from both Pfizer and the other party to craft an acceptable agreement, and present the opportunity to Pfizer’s senior management. Even though Dr. Johnson’s current position requires a lot of traveling, he finds the challenge very rewarding.
For Fun
Dr. Johnson has also coached youth basketball for the YMCA and Boy’s Clubs. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the Hands-On Science Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Advice for Undergraduate StudentsGraduate physiology curricula today offer you the opportunity to define yourself scientifically. You can be as molecular as you wish or as system based as you wish. Few other areas offer this diversity.
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