Nordic Life Science 1
“It’s best when someone in your group shows you e
xciting data,” he says. “I like watching people in our lab be successful and have something to work toward.” Julius himself was inspired by his own mentors and people with whom he worked. Since he is aware of numerous outstanding scientists, Julius says that sometimes it hasn’t sunk in that he has won the Nobel Prize. “There was some element of being totally shocked when I got the telephone call. There are so many great discoveries, and so many deserving scientists, that it is still kind of a shock,” he says. One of Julius’ goals now, as a scientist and educator, is to see the public’s faith in science restored. Many Americans continue to question the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and refuse to get vaccinated because they think the vaccines are not safe, based on videos or information they saw on the internet or their political beliefs. Large numbers of people and public officials also dispute the existence of climate change. “COVID-19 and climate change have brought this issue [rejection of science] to the forefront,” states Julius. “How do we get people back to fact-based thinking? We need to be making decisions based on data and not opinions.” Vaccines, he notes, are among the most significant discoveries of all time. “Most of us will never develop therapies that are as impactful worldwide,” Julius continues. “They are one of the great developments in modern medicine. I’m not sure how we change the views on that. All of us need to learn to make decisions based on facts and data.” Some of the misinformation, he adds, comes from the greed and self-interest of some individuals. “We have to get back to a place where we trust scientists, doctors and engineers,” Julius emphasizes. Among the long-term and ongoing solutions to this skepticism is public engagement, he believes. “Public funding of education and science are critical to society. For continued advancements, we need to support publicly-funded research and curiosity-based science.” NLS 74 NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG