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LOVE AND SCIENCE

Jan Vilcek

A Memoir

One of the world's greatest living scientist's memoir of persecution, exile, and biomedical discovery.
Jan Vilcek began life in Slovakia as the child of Jewish parents at a time when Jews were being exterminated all across Europe. As a young man growing up in Czechoslovakia after the Second World War, Vilcek went to medical school and chose a career in microbiology at a time when the field was still in its infancy.

While still in his twenties, he hosted the first international conference on interferon and published a paper in the prestigious journal Nature. Fleeing Communist Czechoslovakia with his wife Marica, Vilcek continued his research at NYU Medical School, going on to secure 38 patents in microbiology, and creating some of the most popular and trailblazing medicines of our age.

Jan Vilcek tells his story with great verve--how the enormous obstacles he faced went hand in hand with a charmed life of scientific discovery, and how love and friendship were the keys, not only to his happiness, but also to his success. After his arrival in the US in 1965 without money or a job, he soon went on to spearhead some of the key advances in the production of human fibroblast interferon and related proteins, and through his research into tumor necrosis factor (TNF) made advances that led to the discovery of new genes and proteins, thus opening up whole new areas of medical innovation.

LOVE AND SCIENCE shows how advances in science sometimes result from the greatest disappointments, and how achievement in medical research is usually a team effort, where ideas are shared, where friendship matters, and luck is as important as knowledge. Over time, the least expected thing sometimes becomes the most important. In Vilcek's case the vaunted cure for cancer that many saw in interferon, even gracing magazine covers, never materialized. However, out of the ashes of that hope came many related treatments that have changed countless lives and alleviated much suffering.

Jan T. Vilcek is professor of Microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is among the earliest researchers of interferon, an important immune system protein. Dr. Vilcek's contributions to the understanding of proteins that control the body's defenses were instrumental in the development of the anti-inflammatory drug Remicade®, the first member of a new class therapeutics called TNF blockers that are now widely used for the treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other chronic inflammatory disorders. For his discoveries and his philanthropy, Vilcek received a 2013 National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama. Jan Vilcek spricht Deutsch.
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Published 2016-02-01 by Seven Stories Press

Comments

An inspiring page-turner. Read more...

This is a memoir to be cherished. Dr. Jan Vilcek's remarkable life bears witness to the totalitarian evils of Nazism and Communism that shaped his native Czechoslovakia, and to the life-saving miracles he produced in the laboratories of his adopted homeland, the United States. It's a story of courage and freedom, of discovery and philanthropy—told with the elegant modesty of a man who devoted his life to easing the world's pain. Put simply, it demands to be read. — David Oshinsky, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History for Polio: An American Story

Readers curious about the intimate and mysterious mechanism within our bodies and expansive world without will be awarded by Dr. Jan Vilcek's memoir. It's an exploration of the public history of the 20th century on a personal level, a personal journey to overcome many obstacles to ease the pains of millions, and a conversation in depth with the readers about arts and sciences. An unusual memoirist, Dr. Vilcek does not make himself the center of a heroic narrative but gives space to colleagues, friends and family, yet emerging from this narrative is the unmistakably wise, warm, optimistic and modest soul of a great man. — Yiyun Li

Jan Vilcek's extraordinary book sets a new standard in science writing and will inspire generations to come. It tells us what America is all about and shows that success can lead to generosity and visionary philanthropy. — Eric R. Kandel, MD, Nobel Laureate, author of In Search of Memory and The Age of Insight

Slovakia

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It's a marvelous book, as interesting about science as it is about the adventures of this extraordinary man. I couldn't put it down. — Charles Simic, Pulitzer Prize winner and Poet Laureate of the United States

Jan Vilcek's book tells an astonishing story of two intertwined journeys—one scientific, the other personal. The arc of the personal journey is remarkable: a childhood in Bratislava torn apart by Nazism and then overshadowed by Communism and an escape to a new continent. The scientific journey is just as vast—from explorations in immunology and microbiology to the discovery of some of the most remarkable medicines of our times. In both journeys, we encounter the essential ingredients of adventure: the urgency of exploration, flashes of inspiration, false leads, sudden successes, the importance of serendipity, the tortuous ups-and-downs of failures and struggles—but above all, that powerful animus to explore and discover new worlds. I could not put it down. — Siddhartha Mukherjee