The Journal of Immunology, Vol 159, Issue 10 4645-4652, Copyright © 1997 by American Association of Immunologists

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

American Association of Immunologists Presidential Address: doing it together: a perspective on the process of experimental science

KL Knight
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA.

We are witnessing profound changes in how experimental science is done and the rate at which scientists are discovering nature's secrets. While we are experiencing this phenomenal change, we are also at risk, because along with these changes comes the potential for altering the values by which we do science. I share with everyone in our field an abiding concern that scientists of the next generation embrace the values that have guided my generation and the generations of scientists that have preceded me. Because relationships in science are key to passing on these values, I have focused the first part of this address on the importance that relationships have played in guiding my scientific process. In the second part; Looking Toward Our Future, I discuss how the mentoring relationship can serve as an antidote to pressures that threaten our scientific values.