An Interview with Professor Jonathan King. Part I: on Social Responsibility and Activism in Academia

Manraj Gill,Dylan Mccormick,Jennifer Cascino

doi:10.38105/spr.a883o6q035

Abstract

For nearly four decades, Prof. King has served as a faculty member in the Department of Biology at MIT. His work on protein folding and, importantly, misfolding as they relate to human disease and virus assembly has garnered numerous awards and honors: He was a Woodrow Wilson National Fellow, Jane Coffin Childs Fund Fellow, AAAS Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit Award. Additionally, Prof. King has taken critical roles at the intersection of science and public policy, including a tenure as President of the Biophysical Society in 1999. In 2003, he received the MIT Martin Luther King Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who “embody the spirit of Dr. King’s work” [1] in their contributions to the MIT community. Prof. King’s recent efforts have focused on championing federal support for biomedical research as well as criticizing unrestrained defense spending. In part I of this interview, we examine the connections between science, activism, and policy through the lens of Prof. King’s diverse experiences as an academic and activist.

Highlights

When I started as a faculty member, most of our graduate students came to MIT out of some general idealism that they could do something good in the world
I have had battles over the past about the question, “Should all our graduate students have to take a seminar on social responsibility as scientists?” Nowadays the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandates something on scientific integrity and ethics but it is usually very narrow
JK: I used to do a lot of traveling to universities, they’d invite me to give a talk about protein folding or virus structure, but I would know some of the socially and politically active people, and I’d meet with them and tell them the same thing: this is an academic environment, everybody believes in educational learning

Summary

Introduction

Science Policy Review: How did your upbringing, education, and training influence your view of academic scientists as having a responsibility to the public and thereby acting as “public servants?” When I started as a faculty member, most of our graduate students came to MIT out of some general idealism that they could do something good in the world.

Results

Conclusion