This interview is with Dr Joshua Cameron who is Editor in Chief of Ophthalmology and Eye Diseases and has positions at Harvard and Northeastern Universities and Schepens Eye Research Institute.

Tom: What would you say is the primary focus of your research effort (and how do you refer to your 'sub-area')?

Dr. Cameron: My current research looks to better understand the genes involved in eye and retina development and function. Retinoic acid and other vitamin A derivatives are essential for normal retinal development and function. Gene expression profiling is being used to discover the gene targets of retinoic acid. Understanding the role of retinoic acid during eye development will provide insight into the mechanisms involved in both retinal development and disease. Once novel genetic pathways for eye development are revealed, emphasis can be turned to the discovery of novel disease variants in those genes or perhaps currently known variants can be better explained.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant developments arising from research in your area?

Dr. Cameron: I think that the technological advances over the last several years have been instrumental in allowing research to progress at such a rapid rate. Advancements such as more powerful computing tools being available to everyone for minimal cost and high throughput gene sequencing technologies have definitely been a boon to both quality and quantity of research.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant open questions and research challenges in your area?

Dr. Cameron: Like many other areas of scientific research, translating basic research to clinical applications is a pressing concern. The last several years have seen great advances in scientific knowledge and understanding. Taking this new information and molding it to benefit others remains a challenge.

Tom: Tell us about your collaborative research. Who else do you directly work with and what are the aims of your collaboration?

Dr. Cameron: I work in a large zebrafish group at the Cambridge campus at Harvard. Although the projects and goals are varied in scope, we find a lot of common ground and find the broad base of knowledge extremely useful. I have also been able to work with many others in both the zebrafish and vision science community.

Tom: Is balancing all these activities challenging? How do you deal with it and what tools do you find useful in doing so?

Dr. Cameron: Balance is always tricky. Just when I think I have a grip on things, something slips. I am lucky to have a wife who runs the show for pretty much every aspect of my life except for my research – even then she is often my behind the scenes editor and listens to some of more fanciful ideas.

The most useful tool I have is the Internet. I rely on iGoogle to check my e-mail, calendar, and to-do lists. I can allow others to add to my calendar as well as see their calendars. I can even synch with the school calendars for things like the academic calendar and department seminar series. iGoogle allows me to access all of this information at work, at home, on any computer or phone with an internet connection all on one web page. I also must confess that I use sticky notes a lot to keep me on task – not the most technical, but very reliable.

Tom: When did you decide to be primarily involved in the field that you are now in?

Dr. Cameron: I made my decision to work in science as an undergraduate working in a Dr. Heidi Vollmer-Snarr’s bioorganic chemistry lab at Brigham Young University. I was synthesizing A2E, a bis-retinoid found in the eye. We would then use the compound for light induced toxicity treatments in leukemia cells. I then added the fields of genetics and ophthalmology to my repertoire as a graduate student in Dr. Kang Zhang’s lab at the University of Utah. I am still involved with retinoids, genetics, and ophthalmology as I work with Dr. John Dowling at Harvard University and plan to continue to do so in the future.

Tom: What resources do you find indispensible for your research work?

Dr. Cameron: Bright, dedicated people. They make all of the research happen. Second to the people is information and technology. Powerful search tools and data repositories make finding and sharing data easy – well easy enough if you know what you are doing. Computing technology and low-cost lab tools can turn just about any lab into a state-of-the-art center of discovery. Funding from government agencies and private foundations/donors is also critical.

Tom: What do you think about the development of open access publishing and open access development? How has it changed your perspective on research or development practices?

Dr. Cameron: Remembering all of the times I have searched for an article only to find that I could not read more than the abstract without paying a hefty fee has made me more appreciative of that “free full-text download” statement on pubmed searches. Even worse, was when I published in a journal, and could not even access my own paper without buying reprints. Science needs to be tried and tested. How can that happen unless we can see what others have done in a timely, cost-efficient manner? Open access is a large part of the answer.

Tom: What books do you think should be required reading for researchers working in your area?

Dr. Cameron: I am not sure that I would single out any one book – they change so frequently. Bruce Alberts’ "Molecular Biology of the Cell" (Amazon.com) and John Dowling’s "The Retina: An Approachable Part of the Brain" (Amazon.com) are probably high on the list. I would hope that most spend time reading the latest reviews, publications, and attend meetings – the frontlines of scientific research.

Tom: What books are current on your reading list?

Dr. Cameron: I am currently reading "How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker (Amazon.com). So far I am enjoying it. Next on my to-read list is "Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring" by Henry J. Eyring (Amazon.com).

Tom: Do you teach any courses? Is so, which ones?

Dr. Cameron: Yes. I just finished teaching a course on critical thinking for research at Northeastern University. I am teaching a Responsible Conduct for Research course to Harvard postdoctoral fellows this spring. I am also assisting with Neurobiology of Behavior, an introductory neurobiology course for Harvard undergraduates.

Tom: Which historical research figures do you think have most influenced you in how you think about research? Why are they significant?

Dr. Cameron: Two figures come to mind, both completely out of my field, but influential none-the-less. The first is Albert Einstein. Who is not fascinated by this man’s science? I have been inspired by his thoughtful approach and have read books about his life and research since being a teenager. The second is Henry Eyring. As a man of similar faith and science, I admire his insight into the relationship between the two.

Tom: Which meetings do you attend on a regular basis?

Dr. Cameron: I usually attend the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Tom: If you could change something about how research in your area is conducted, used, perceived, or resourced, what would it be?

Dr. Cameron: I would like to see all clinicians in a research laboratory for a semester maybe even two during their training and vice versa for research scientists. We rely on each other to benefit the granting agencies and their constituents. I think it would be to the betterment of all if we get a feel of what the other hand is doing as we conduct both basic and clinical research.

My thanks to Dr Cameron.