Jesper Haeggström (Karolinska Institutet) spent his VVP sabbatical in the lab of Charles Serhan lab at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

“One facet of my visit that was particularly stimulating was all the informal meetings and discussions with distinguished colleagues both inside and outside my own immediate fields of interest. I remember spending one morning in K Frank Austen’s laboratory, sharing thoughts on intracellular lipid receptors with Peter Weller, and learning the latest new developments regarding in vivo imaging from Ulrich von Andrian. … The central point of my visit was of course Bert Vallee himself. His hospitality and generosity was overwhelming. In his office and in his home, even late at night, we shared thoughts and memories about trifles and important issues, of general as well as of private interest. Bert was a passionate positivist and firmly believed that science is the answer to most, if not all, questions of mankind, which of course was challenging for a skeptical Swede like me. I think of these encounters with Bert with great warmth and realize they taught me that a man’s mind and spirit can stay young and vigorous far beyond the detriments of physical aging.” (Jesper Haeggström, VVP 2008)

Though he had met Bert Vallee in the 1970s, Sir Alan Roy Fersht (University of Cambridge) hadn’t collaborated with him before and was surprised to be invited to become a VVP.  He spent a fruitful month working next to Bert in Peter Cowley’s lab.