Carla Shatz (Sapp Family Provostial Professor of Biology and Neurobiology and the David Starr Jordan Director of Stanford Bio-X) spent her VVP sabbatical at Columbia University’s newly formed Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute (ZMBBI).

 

Before the VVP, I don’t think I understood the power or utility of sharing my own experiences – both in science and in life. I met with Mike Purdy, Executive Vice President for Research at Columbia, who wanted to know everything about Stanford Bio-X, which I direct, and about how Stanford has built so many cutting-edge and successful interdisciplinary institutes. I was taken unawares by the genuine interest of students and junior faculty in the course of my research training, decisions and discoveries, and my personal life story. The VVP did more than expand my scientific horizons. It deepened my understanding of myself, and what I can offer to others. For this experience I am profoundly thankful.