PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dr. Dan Liebl has been leading his own lab within The Miami Project for the past ten years. He recently sat down for a quick conversation with Marc Buoniconti to discuss his introduction to neurosciences, his work here at The Miami Project and the importance of the steps The Project is taking to move the field forward.
Marc: Everyone has a point in their life they decide what they want to do, was there somebody or something that turned you on to a career in science? Dr. Liebl: I’d have to go back to my childhood and describe why I did not chose other more obvious pathways. I grew up in the heart of the Midwest, Wisconsin, where my entire relation continues to reside. My father owned a machine shop that focused on metal working, and I was raised in a very ‘blue collar’ environment. I worked in the machine shop for four summers through college, which confirmed my desire to do something other then work in a factory. Surprisingly, I had no examples of higher education, in that, I was the first member of my entire extended family to enter college. At the University of Wisconsin, I started as pre-med since Medicine was a profession that interested me. In fact, becoming a Scientist was not even on my radar, since I really had no exposure to the Scientific community. Marc: So why not pre-law or business? Dr. Liebl: I’ve always enjoyed science and math, and at that time in my life medicine was attractive. I didn’t know it then, but as I went through college I realized that working in medicine wasn’t really my ball of wax either. After college, I decided to go out and explore the world and that exploratory nature is what really attracted me to science, since science is ultimately about exploration.
Read Marc's interview with Dr. Dan Liebl
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