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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm: The Adrenaline Fueled Adventures of an Accidental Scientist
The rollicking memoir from the cardiologist turned legendary scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize that revels in the joy of science and discovery.
Like Richard Feynman in the field of physics, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz is also known for being a larger-than-life a not-immodest, often self-deprecating, always entertaining raconteur. Indeed, when he received the Nobel Prize, the press corps in Sweden covered him intensively, describing him as “the happiest Laureate.”
In addition to his time as a physician, from being a "yellow beret" in the public health corps with Dr. Anthony Fauci to his time as a cardiologist, and his extraordinary transition to biochemistry, which would lead to his Nobel Prize win, Dr. Lefkowitz has ignited passion and curiosity as a fabled mentor and teacher.
But it's all in a days work, as Lefkowitz reveals in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, which is filled to the brim with anecdotes and energy, and gives us a glimpse into the life of one of today's leading scientists.
Like Richard Feynman in the field of physics, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz is also known for being a larger-than-life a not-immodest, often self-deprecating, always entertaining raconteur. Indeed, when he received the Nobel Prize, the press corps in Sweden covered him intensively, describing him as “the happiest Laureate.”
In addition to his time as a physician, from being a "yellow beret" in the public health corps with Dr. Anthony Fauci to his time as a cardiologist, and his extraordinary transition to biochemistry, which would lead to his Nobel Prize win, Dr. Lefkowitz has ignited passion and curiosity as a fabled mentor and teacher.
But it's all in a days work, as Lefkowitz reveals in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, which is filled to the brim with anecdotes and energy, and gives us a glimpse into the life of one of today's leading scientists.
331 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 20, 2020
not usually my kind of book, but this was utterly delightful
September 23, 2021
Very interesting and readable memoir like stories. Didn't know anything about Robert J Leftkowitz but I enjoyed it anywho
March 1, 2021
Историята на един нобелов лауреат - от детството му в Ню Йорк до заветната царемония в Стокхолм.
Робърт Лефковиц приема предложение да се занимава с наука, за да избегне участие във войната във Виетнам. Първоначално желанието му е да бъде клиничен лекар - кардиолог, тъй като баща му умира от инфаркт твърде млад. Книгата описва интересни анекдоти от ежедневието, ролята на случайността и късмета в израстването на младите лекари.
Талантът на Лефковиц не остава незабелязан и той е поканен да оглави лаборатория в университета Duke, Северна Каролина. Екипът му прави важни открития за структурата и функцията на рецепторите за адреналин (алфа и бета), които стават основа за разработване на нови класове лекарства. Бета блокерите са едни от най-често използваните лекарства и до днес.
Робърт Лефковиц дълго време чака своята Нобелова награда. С тъга описва отминаващите години и разочарованието, когато научава, че отново победителите са други. В един момент губи надежда, че науката вече е напреднала прекалено много и той ще бъде забравен от историята. През 2012 г. Нобеловата седмица отново започва по традиция с наградата за медицина и физиология. Отново победителят е друг. Но в средата на седмицата Лефковиц по��учава заветното обаждане от Стокхолм. Самият той е изненадан, че е спечелил Нобеловата награда по химия, а винаги е очаквал да бъде по медицина.
Животът след наградата се променя рязко и описанието е интересно за всички, които по една или друга причина са придобили неочаквана слава. Прочетете книгата дори само заради това.
Робърт Лефковиц приема предложение да се занимава с наука, за да избегне участие във войната във Виетнам. Първоначално желанието му е да бъде клиничен лекар - кардиолог, тъй като баща му умира от инфаркт твърде млад. Книгата описва интересни анекдоти от ежедневието, ролята на случайността и късмета в израстването на младите лекари.
Талантът на Лефковиц не остава незабелязан и той е поканен да оглави лаборатория в университета Duke, Северна Каролина. Екипът му прави важни открития за структурата и функцията на рецепторите за адреналин (алфа и бета), които стават основа за разработване на нови класове лекарства. Бета блокерите са едни от най-често използваните лекарства и до днес.
Робърт Лефковиц дълго време чака своята Нобелова награда. С тъга описва отминаващите години и разочарованието, когато научава, че отново победителите са други. В един момент губи надежда, че науката вече е напреднала прекалено много и той ще бъде забравен от историята. През 2012 г. Нобеловата седмица отново започва по традиция с наградата за медицина и физиология. Отново победителят е друг. Но в средата на седмицата Лефковиц по��учава заветното обаждане от Стокхолм. Самият той е изненадан, че е спечелил Нобеловата награда по химия, а винаги е очаквал да бъде по медицина.
Животът след наградата се променя рязко и описанието е интересно за всички, които по една или друга причина са придобили неочаквана слава. Прочетете книгата дори само заради това.
February 15, 2021
Great stories which are easily understandable even if one doesn't work in the same scientific domain.
March 28, 2021
While it doesn't compare with Feynman's memoirs, this is still very readable and occasionally funny. I appreciated reading Lefkowitz's blow-by-blow description of the Nobel award festivities. Usually this is somewhat glossed over in memoirs, but Lefkowitz is obsessed with scientific competition and recognition, and isn't ashamed to boast and glory in it. I appreciated his self-centered honesty, though I'm still not quite sure that I get the point of racing to do science ahead of two or three other groups doing the exact same thing in parallel—what novelty are you contributing? There is a good mixture between science and personal stories.
> To efficiently deal with the deluge of offers I was receiving from other schools, I composed three different generic letters turning down such requests. These three letters conveyed varying levels of angst, with the amount of angst being proportional to the stature of the university. Letter C was polite and brief. Letter B was longer and indicated a higher level of angst. Letter A was reserved for inquiries from the top universities in the country.
> Many young scientists in the early stages of their independent careers get distracted by constantly chasing the Bigger Better Deal. I have always subscribed to the simple idea that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
> In the 1970s, many people were skeptical that receptors existed. … At a national meeting in 1973, I presented a talk outlining my belief in receptors as physical entities as well as my aspiration to prove their existence. This talk was followed by a discussion panel featuring the legendary Raymond Ahlquist as a member. Ahlquist was the researcher who, in 1948, first discerned that there were two types of adrenergic receptor, which he termed alpha and beta. He was also an ardent skeptic of the existence of receptors as physical entities. In addressing the question of whether it might be possible to learn more about alpha and beta receptors by purifying them from tissues to study their properties in isolation, Ahlquist had written that such studies would only be worthwhile “if I was so presumptuous as to believe that alpha and beta receptors really did exist. There are those that think so and even propose to describe their intimate structure. To me they are an abstract concept conceived to explain observed responses of tissues produced by chemicals of various structure.”
> I introduced myself and immediately started into an energetic lecture about receptor theory. There were fifteen students in the class and from my first word they were all scribbling furiously in their notebooks, so I was impressed with their level of attentiveness. After five minutes, though, one of the students raised his hand. “Excuse me, Dr. Lefkowitz, but I think you’re in the wrong room. This class is Biochemistry 101 and the students are taking an exam. I know because I’m the proctor.”
> How had it come to this? My lab had spent fifteen years, starting from scratch, systematically developing every procedure that would be necessary to purify the receptors and set up the ultimate elucidation of the gene sequence. We had developed radioactive ligands to track the receptors and cutting-edge techniques to purify the receptors. The idea that some other group was now going to beat us in becoming the first to learn what the receptors actually looked like was galling. Adding further salt to this wound was the fact that Ross and colleagues were beating us using all of the procedures that we had developed and published.
> Venter jokingly credited me with his subsequent success. As he told it, for a period of fifteen years his lab had competed with mine and been scooped by us at every significant point. The cloning of the beta receptor gene was for him the last straw, and he realized he needed to find a different line of work. After losing this race, he became interested in developing technologies to sequence DNA more quickly, and ultimately decided to sequence the human genome.
> Everywhere I went on campus, my colleagues would ask, “How is the sequencing going? What does the receptor look like?” My answer was always the same. “This receptor isn’t going to look like anything. It’s the first receptor of its type to be identified, so it’s going to look completely unique.” As the sequence came into focus, however, I realized that I was spectacularly wrong. The beta-2 adrenergic receptor did look like something else: specifically, it looked like rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein found in the eye. The primary sequence identity between the beta-2 receptor and rhodopsin was not very high and confined to just one region, but both had seven predicted transmembrane regions and they were clearly related
> “How was it?” Brian asked. I wanted to be encouraging, but I also didn’t want to lie to him. I put my arm around him and leaned in. “Brian,” I said, “That was the best talk you could have given.” Brian smiled. This line would become a running joke between us for years to come.
> Teach trainees to build their careers around problems, not techniques. Sometimes trainees learn a new technique and then spend the next few months or years, or in some cases their entire careers, looking for other problems to which they can apply their newly learned technique over and over again. This is exactly the wrong approach for developing a career in science
> When the slides were ready, I would give a series of practice talks, sometimes by myself and sometimes in front of small groups of trainees from my lab. The hard work on the slides and practice talks prepared me well for my renewal presentations. However, these efforts also served another purpose: they showed my trainees how hard I was working to make my presentations shine. The unspoken message was that I also expected my trainees to work hard on their presentations
> To efficiently deal with the deluge of offers I was receiving from other schools, I composed three different generic letters turning down such requests. These three letters conveyed varying levels of angst, with the amount of angst being proportional to the stature of the university. Letter C was polite and brief. Letter B was longer and indicated a higher level of angst. Letter A was reserved for inquiries from the top universities in the country.
> Many young scientists in the early stages of their independent careers get distracted by constantly chasing the Bigger Better Deal. I have always subscribed to the simple idea that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
> In the 1970s, many people were skeptical that receptors existed. … At a national meeting in 1973, I presented a talk outlining my belief in receptors as physical entities as well as my aspiration to prove their existence. This talk was followed by a discussion panel featuring the legendary Raymond Ahlquist as a member. Ahlquist was the researcher who, in 1948, first discerned that there were two types of adrenergic receptor, which he termed alpha and beta. He was also an ardent skeptic of the existence of receptors as physical entities. In addressing the question of whether it might be possible to learn more about alpha and beta receptors by purifying them from tissues to study their properties in isolation, Ahlquist had written that such studies would only be worthwhile “if I was so presumptuous as to believe that alpha and beta receptors really did exist. There are those that think so and even propose to describe their intimate structure. To me they are an abstract concept conceived to explain observed responses of tissues produced by chemicals of various structure.”
> I introduced myself and immediately started into an energetic lecture about receptor theory. There were fifteen students in the class and from my first word they were all scribbling furiously in their notebooks, so I was impressed with their level of attentiveness. After five minutes, though, one of the students raised his hand. “Excuse me, Dr. Lefkowitz, but I think you’re in the wrong room. This class is Biochemistry 101 and the students are taking an exam. I know because I’m the proctor.”
> How had it come to this? My lab had spent fifteen years, starting from scratch, systematically developing every procedure that would be necessary to purify the receptors and set up the ultimate elucidation of the gene sequence. We had developed radioactive ligands to track the receptors and cutting-edge techniques to purify the receptors. The idea that some other group was now going to beat us in becoming the first to learn what the receptors actually looked like was galling. Adding further salt to this wound was the fact that Ross and colleagues were beating us using all of the procedures that we had developed and published.
> Venter jokingly credited me with his subsequent success. As he told it, for a period of fifteen years his lab had competed with mine and been scooped by us at every significant point. The cloning of the beta receptor gene was for him the last straw, and he realized he needed to find a different line of work. After losing this race, he became interested in developing technologies to sequence DNA more quickly, and ultimately decided to sequence the human genome.
> Everywhere I went on campus, my colleagues would ask, “How is the sequencing going? What does the receptor look like?” My answer was always the same. “This receptor isn’t going to look like anything. It’s the first receptor of its type to be identified, so it’s going to look completely unique.” As the sequence came into focus, however, I realized that I was spectacularly wrong. The beta-2 adrenergic receptor did look like something else: specifically, it looked like rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein found in the eye. The primary sequence identity between the beta-2 receptor and rhodopsin was not very high and confined to just one region, but both had seven predicted transmembrane regions and they were clearly related
> “How was it?” Brian asked. I wanted to be encouraging, but I also didn’t want to lie to him. I put my arm around him and leaned in. “Brian,” I said, “That was the best talk you could have given.” Brian smiled. This line would become a running joke between us for years to come.
> Teach trainees to build their careers around problems, not techniques. Sometimes trainees learn a new technique and then spend the next few months or years, or in some cases their entire careers, looking for other problems to which they can apply their newly learned technique over and over again. This is exactly the wrong approach for developing a career in science
> When the slides were ready, I would give a series of practice talks, sometimes by myself and sometimes in front of small groups of trainees from my lab. The hard work on the slides and practice talks prepared me well for my renewal presentations. However, these efforts also served another purpose: they showed my trainees how hard I was working to make my presentations shine. The unspoken message was that I also expected my trainees to work hard on their presentations
Want to read
April 26, 2021Nature's shert review, as a best science pick:
"Cardiologist-turned-biochemist, Robert Lefkowitz won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for showing how adrenaline works through stimulation of specific receptors, with huge implications for drug discovery. Yet he calls himself “an accidental scientist”, because he trained as a physician. Instead of being drafted to the Vietnam War, he served at the US National Institutes of Health. His autobiography is a vividly anecdotal account, influenced by a supervisor’s lesson that data do not tell a story: “A story is something you impose on the data.”
"Cardiologist-turned-biochemist, Robert Lefkowitz won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for showing how adrenaline works through stimulation of specific receptors, with huge implications for drug discovery. Yet he calls himself “an accidental scientist”, because he trained as a physician. Instead of being drafted to the Vietnam War, he served at the US National Institutes of Health. His autobiography is a vividly anecdotal account, influenced by a supervisor’s lesson that data do not tell a story: “A story is something you impose on the data.”
September 22, 2022
Truly remarkable, best biography I have ever read. Thanks to Sohaib for the rec!!!
April 25, 2021
Close to home as this is someone who's lab's incredible research has been formative to my academic career. Lots of familiar names and even a former PhD student in the credits. Interesting read for me but I imagine tedious for most readers. Interesting insight for an outsider to taste the desperation of many academics for peer recognition. The funny stories aren't that funny and the main aftertaste was a huge ego.
June 19, 2023
I read this book because Dr. Lefkowitz had quite the influence on my life. More than 4 years ago. I was a fresh graduate student, and I hadn't any certainty it was the place I should be. I hardly did research as an undergraduate but I had some experiences that gave me some inspiration and inkling that it could be for me. And so I went with it, but when I was in graduate school I was surrounded by peers who were far more sure, and more experienced than me. I struggled a lot in those first months of graduate school, I was just trying to survive. Dr. Lefkowitz has his own story of how he 'accidentally' well into research. Dr. Lefkowitz once gave a talk on his struggles breaking into research which he was doing at the NIH to avoid the draft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYVl3...). But then when you have that break, no matter how small, where you have some success (some data), you realized you've figured something out. It changes you, it's empowering, it's fulfilling, and you have this surge of desire to keep going. And that talk kept me going, chasing a future self who experienced what Lefkowitz experienced. And it did happen for me.
So I wanted to read this book, as sort of a self affirmation about the path I took, and the journey it continues to take me (I am still in research and science). This is a book, that is a decent timeline of the events from growing up to becoming a Nobel Laureate. It's in some ways quite personal, but not overly. It's a book that gives us a sense of a curious man with a steely work ethic who accomplished great things. He was chasing the answers to questions, and letting the ride take him where it may. This is a book about a man who dared to adventure. And the world of science and as a result the greater world is immensely richer for it.
So I wanted to read this book, as sort of a self affirmation about the path I took, and the journey it continues to take me (I am still in research and science). This is a book, that is a decent timeline of the events from growing up to becoming a Nobel Laureate. It's in some ways quite personal, but not overly. It's a book that gives us a sense of a curious man with a steely work ethic who accomplished great things. He was chasing the answers to questions, and letting the ride take him where it may. This is a book about a man who dared to adventure. And the world of science and as a result the greater world is immensely richer for it.
December 9, 2021
This is a fascinating look at research science and the quest as a physician to make a real difference in the world. I am not sure that I quite understood all the science but as the daughter of research scientists who ultimately left, it was helpful to understand some of my growing up years. I also enjoyed seeing Tony Fauci, so much in the news show up here in a bit part.
I loved this book. I got tired of some of the repetition and some of his ego. However, in order to be a world class scientist you need a bit of ego. I thought I would give up but I particularly liked the last two chapters, one on mentoring and on on his roots--Poland, New York and Duke.
I loved this book. I got tired of some of the repetition and some of his ego. However, in order to be a world class scientist you need a bit of ego. I thought I would give up but I particularly liked the last two chapters, one on mentoring and on on his roots--Poland, New York and Duke.
March 5, 2023
Part memoir, part science lesson, part management advice - this is a surprisingly enjoyable book. High points include his bedside stories and his Nobel stories, but overall this is delightful due to Dr. Leflowitz's positive attitude and love of life.
There are a great deal of helpful life lessons, funny stories, as well as intricacies regarding late 20th century biochemistry in here. And the Swedes do awards right. We could take a lesson. But the best part of this is the window into a focused life devoted to the betterment of the world. He is an inspiration, faults and all.
There are a great deal of helpful life lessons, funny stories, as well as intricacies regarding late 20th century biochemistry in here. And the Swedes do awards right. We could take a lesson. But the best part of this is the window into a focused life devoted to the betterment of the world. He is an inspiration, faults and all.
August 31, 2024
This was a really enjoyable description of a Nobel prize winning doctor and researcher's life and career. He's described as similar to Richard Feynman in personality and that feels apt from the reading of the book. On a side note, like so many books and biographies this has pictures from his life thrown in the middle. This is one of the first books I've encountered in way too long where those pictures are inserted between two chapters, and not randomly in the middle of a sentence. Why is that so hard to do?
January 14, 2022
About a man whose father had heart problems, he becomes a doctor, does not want to do two years in Viet Nam so he goes into 'research'. Marries, children, Works at Duke, travels, medical drug use, meets a streetwalker, does not realize she is a streetwalker. Saves some people's lives. divorce, remarry, heart problems. Wins Nobel Prize, and others, tech talk, meets Presidents, shares his likes and dislikes. Shares his post-Prize life. Pix.
May 27, 2021
Medical physician, cardiologist, researcher, scientist, and Nobel Laureate....who has been at Duke for 40 years. Funny book and lots of great advice on life...probably the most interesting man in a room (especially when they are all scientists). But fun and quick read....
Local stories make it interesting also......
Local stories make it interesting also......
October 30, 2021
Enjoyable and engaging memoir. The only criticism is that the scientific work is detailed but not for the non science reader. So there are passages that I glossed over without really understanding and one chapter that was like wading through treacle.
Don’t let that put you off though. Otherwise it is a very readable book. And if you do understand the science it’s probably a 5 star read!
Don’t let that put you off though. Otherwise it is a very readable book. And if you do understand the science it’s probably a 5 star read!
February 19, 2023
It’s a nice memoir, comes out as a self-obsessed one in the first few chapters but this changes towards the end of the book. I enjoyed the bits and pieces of science that he mentioned throughout the book. It might be an interesting read for people who know a bit of biochemistry.
May 12, 2021
Delightful, funny, natural storyteller. Highly recommend.
June 3, 2021
Great stories from the life of a Nobel scientist. Engaging episodes from his time as a cardiologist and from the competitive world of research labs.
December 31, 2021
Learned a lot about the nobel prize in Science.
March 14, 2022
Utterly dull storytelling. Pages where nothing happens and the names of people just roll by...
April 28, 2022
It's a great read and gives a lot of ideas about how to work with the team and how to help mentees.
December 28, 2022
Delightful. Written for a more general audience so I would have preferred more of the science (I am biased haha) but still really enjoyed the book and felt inspired when I finished.
February 13, 2023
I didn't understand a lot of the science involved, but it's an enjoyable story and gives insight into how research is done.
August 31, 2023
Okay Doc I will stay open minded to research :D was it really that funny though? Nope. Jkjk I laughed
October 5, 2023
When you’ve worn a Nobel Laureate’s son’s shorts to summer camp, you read the memoir
February 7, 2022
Read Bob Lekkowitz's book following The Code Breakers
If you are intrigued with science, and scientific advancement, Bob Lefkowitz' book is inspiring, hopeful, and very personal.... More captivating than The Code Breakers as a first person narrative ... Much more than data ... Easy to see and hear and appreciate this excellent story teller's story...
If you are intrigued with science, and scientific advancement, Bob Lefkowitz' book is inspiring, hopeful, and very personal.... More captivating than The Code Breakers as a first person narrative ... Much more than data ... Easy to see and hear and appreciate this excellent story teller's story...
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews