Oral Histories

Interview of W. Ian Lipkin

Subtitle:
Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences: W. Ian Lipkin
Series:
Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences
Topic:
Science, Medicine, and Technology
Interviewer:
Maestrejuan, Andrea R.
Interviewee:
Lipkin, W. Ian
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
Interviews in this series, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, document the research of "outstanding scientists from quality institutions" chosen by the Pew Scholars Program to receive four-year stipends.
Abstract:
Growing up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago; undergraduate studies at Sarah Lawrence College; travels in Europe; works for the Indian Health Service at Tishomingo, Oklahoma; living in London while studying at the Institute of Neurology; studying clinical medicine at Johns Hopkins University and University of Pittsburgh; residencies at the University of Washington and University of California, San Francisco; opens a clinic for AIDS patients with neurological disorders; viral immunologist Michael B. A. Oldstone accepts Lipkin as a postdoc; collaboration with Floyd E. Bloom; Opendra "Bill" Narayan's lecture on Borna disease inspires Lipkin's interest in Borna disease virus; characterizes Borna disease virus with Michael C. Wilson; hopes for medical applications of Bornavirus research; the aggressive atmosphere of the animal virology field; Lipkin establishes his lab at University of California, Irvine; his style of mentoring; maintaining a balance between science and the rest of one's life; professional activities outside the lab; the role played by clinician-researchers in the biomedical research community; Lipkin's decision not to conduct bench work as head of a lab; balancing funding between basic and applied sciences.