Today I had the pleasure of meeting with Shirley Tilghman the President of Princeton University.  She is a famous molecular biologist who was on the Princeton faculty for 15 years before she was named President in 2001.  After spending some time with her it was pretty obvious why she got the job.  She is brilliant, charming, and funny.  I was particularly impressed with the fact that she was from Winnipeg and that she is the second most famous person in her high school graduating class.  She went to school with Neil Young!! 

With Shirley Tilghman, President of Princeton University

After our meeting I attended a lunch for the Friends of Canadian Institutes of Health Research who have awarded her the Friesen International Prize in Health Research.  She gave a thought-provoking talk on the importance of not overpromising the potential benefits of ground breaking technology.  People have a hard time accepting change.  If the results don’t match the promise or if the risks are not thoroughly considered and explained, the first time something goes wrong people lose faith in the technology.  This applies to so many things in our lives.

DJ