An Interview with Alan Hall

My time at Harvard, from 1974 to 1977, had a tremendous impact on my career. This was during the period when molecular biology was beginning to emerge, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, happened to be a hotbed for the discipline. I clearly remember the huge furor at a Cambridge City Council meeting, in which some members of the council were arguing with Harvard's representative, a very animated Mark Ptashne, and warning against bringing these genetic engineers into their city, where they might contaminate the sewage and drinking water with the strange fruits of their research!

By the time I had to decide on a postdoctoral fellowship, I knew I wanted to train in molecular biology. I ended up first at the University of Edinburgh, working for [molecular biologist] Ken Murray. Then, seeking a change of scenery, I took a second postdoctoral fellowship with [molecular biologist] Charles Weissmann at the University of Zurich. In my two years with Charles, I learned so much about how to think and work like a molecular biologist.

Hearing that a man named Robin Weiss, who had just become Director of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, was looking for molecular biologists, I applied and was accepted. While at the ICR, I had the chance to build their molecular biology section, with the intention of applying it to cancer research. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about cancer, but in those days you didn't have to know much to get a job!

"In my Sloan-Kettering Institute laboratory, we use techniques of molecular cell biology to identify the biochemical mechanisms that determine cell shape and control cell movement."

The other piece of great luck that I experienced was when Robin recruited cell biologist Chris Marshall. Together, we worked on the newly discovered subject of oncogenes. It was Chris who introduced me to the discipline of cell biology, which together with molecular biology offered the opportunity to understand the molecular mechanisms that control normal cell behavior. Since cancer is primarily a disease of cells, I believe it is through molecular cell biology that a better understanding of the complex changes occurring during malignancy will emerge.

In 2004, I was asked to give a President's Research Seminar lecture at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. This allowed me the opportunity to meet a number of the scientists here and to see what a tremendous program both [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center President] Harold Varmus and [Sloan-Kettering Institute Director] Tom Kelly were building. As a result, I was quite interested and flattered when, some four months later, Dr. Kelly contacted me, asking if I would be interested in a permanent position. It was not a difficult decision, especially considering how much I enjoy my two main responsibilities -- running my own laboratory and recruiting new faculty into the Cell Biology Program.

In my Sloan-Kettering Institute laboratory, we use techniques of molecular cell biology to identify the biochemical mechanisms that determine cell shape and control cell movement -- two of the most fundamental processes of cell biology. Defects in these processes contribute to a wide range of congenital and acquired human disorders, ranging from mental retardation to cancer. During metastasis, or the spread of tumor cells from one part of the body to another, the shape of cancer cells changes and a migratory program is activated. Our research will contribute to a better understanding of malignant progression.

This is also an exciting time for Sloan-Kettering Institute's Cell Biology Program, which is set to see a significant expansion in faculty over the next few years. This will allow us to establish a wider portfolio of interests that will generate new information and insight relevant to cancer.

With the advent of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's new Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School and the numerous investments in faculty and resources that have been made at the Center, this is a wonderful time to be at an institution where so much great science is taking place.