Journal club: Genetics breaks the relationship between obesity and diabetes

Samoans tend to be physically large people, with a very strong build in addition to being at high risk for obesity. More than 50% of Samoans are obese, one of the highest rates in the world. A recent paper in Nature Genetics mapped this susceptibility to obesity to a mutation in CREBRF (p.Arg475Gln), which is common in Samoans and very rare in the rest of the world. This gene is extremely potent, the strongest obesity-causing polymorphism yet found.

Samoans also have one of the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the world, so it is very easy to point a finger and assume that CREBRF causes both obesity and diabetes. Intruigingly, this is wrong - CREBRF (p.Arg475Gln) drives obesity but actually protects against diabetes! 

Increasingly, the theoretical correlation between BMI and diabetes seems to be breaking down. China is having both an obesity and diabetes epidemic, with the transition to a Western diet, but in China there is essentially no correlation between BMI and diabetes. It is starting to look as if diet drives these two phenomenons independently, and diabetes is not simply a consequence of obesity.

Read the article: Minster, R.L. et al. 'A thrifty variant in CREBRF strongly influences body mass index in Samoans'. Nature Genetics 48, 1049–1054 (2016).

Inbreeding in Flemish academia?

A newly released study of Flemish PhD graduates has found that fully 20% of Flemish PhD graduates go on to get a professorship in a Flemish university. This compares to perhaps 2% of American PhD graduates, so great news for the Flemish system, right?

I would argue the (unpopular) position that this is too high a rate of PhD to professorship transition. This is not to say that good PhD students shouldn't be given good jobs - just that most should find their niche outside academia. In my experience in the Flemish system, I would say perhaps half of PhD students really shine during their PhD (the system does not formally differentiate, but there are "good PhDs" and "average PhDs"). Many of these stars have talents that are not especially well aligned with remaining in academia - perhaps they are more interested in industry, law, journalism or the myriad of other jobs that a PhD is great training for. So the 20% figure is, to me, far to high. A 5-10% figure would be a good success rate based on my experience.

The other pertinent question is whether this system, with such a high success rate, produces the best outcome for Flemish science. Currently, 97% of all professors obtained their PhD in Belgium, and 75% even obtained their PhD at the same university! These are astronomical figures, especially for a tiny country with close neighbours that are also producing amazing PhD students. These numbers are not based on ancient history either, they are from the 2010 professorship appointments. 

My point is not that Flemish universities are producing sub-par PhD students that should be replaced by foreigners. Far from it - we are producing some outstanding PhDs that should be snapped up for prime positions around the world! My point is instead that an institution that is based almost entirely on internal hiring is going to have severe intellectual inbreeding. One great unique thinker is worth a fortune - clone them a 100-fold and have them work together and you get diminishing returns. It also shuts out the brain circulation that you get when externally recruiting. I'd love to see a hundred Flemish PhDs go out into the world and spread their exciting ideas, and (simultaneously) a hundred foreign PhDs come in and bring their exciting ideas with them. It can happen for people who post-doc abroad instead, and truly creative people can be generated in any system, but the numbers are an indication of openness.

Another staggering statistic from this report: 40-50% of professors (appointed 2001-2013) obtained their professorship within 1-3 years of finishing their PhD! This is mind-blowing. A PhD is the entry point to the academic pathway, and in most countries there is a good 5-10 years of further training before you get a professorship. Also keep in mind that in most countries there is a tenure-track process, so you then have 5-7 years to prove your ability as a Professor before you get tenure. In Flanders for all intents and purposes there is immediate tenure. So we are taking new graduates, who would still be considered junior post-docs in the American system, and instantly granting them tenure before we know if they are good at the job, and before they know if they even enjoy it!

So that's the system Flemish universities are operating under. Lots of professorships, given out at a very early career stage. And who does it favour? The internal hire (especially those who did an FWO PhD at the same universities) over the external hire, and men (19%) over women (16%). Top candidates are plucked out at the undergraduate stage and ushered through the system. Almost the definition of a boy's club, wouldn't you say?

This is not to say that the whole university sector in Flanders operates under these conditions. There are segments that are as merit-based and international as the very best American university. There are also segments where external hire is impractical (most notably, clinical appointments). But this is a clear sign that Flemish universities have a long way to go.

Regulatory T cell mini-symposium

Leuven, October 14 2016

Hosted by the laboratory of Adrian Liston (VIB/KUL)

Regulatory T cells set the threshold between immunity and tolerance. At this mini-symposium, international experts will present the latest research on regulatory T cell biology, and how these cells can manipulate autoimmunity and cancer. 

We will also have Karin Dumstrei, Senior Editor at EMBO for immunology and neuroscience, to give advice to students and post-docs on successful navigation of the publication process.

Abstract submissions are encouraged from students and post-docs. Two will be selected for a short presentation, and the rest will be candidates for the €100 poster prize. Abstract submission is needed by Sept 1!

For information and to register, please visit: http://liston.vib.be/treg-symposium/ 

Eppendorf factory tour

As part of winning the Eppendorf Prize, I was invited to tour the Eppendorf factories in Hamburg. Eppendorf were thoughtful hosts throughout, giving my family personalised guided tours of every aspect of the company. I was intruiged to learn about Eppendorf's early history as a post-WWII manufacturer of medical devices, such as turning military sonar principles into a prototype ultrasound. In those days everything had to be done on minimal resources and maximal ingenuity. Now the company is all German precision and efficiency. 

I was really surprised to see that the PCR machines were so lovingly put together by hand, more an engineering enterprise than a factory floor. The scale is still small enough that it doesn't make sense to automate, and the desire for quality drives the personal attention each gets. At the other end of the scale, the plastics factory was almost complete automation, constantly injection-molding millions of tips and tubes. But even there the almost obsessive attention to quality was obvious - with most of the set-up dedicated to quality control. Everywhere we went there was a real pride in the company and in the quality of their work. At the end of my tour Eppendorf presented me with a personalised pipette, a P100 with my name laser printed on it. I haven't done any pipetting for seven years now, but the pipette has a place of honour on my desk. 

JACI Editors' Choice

Online here