IMS Magazine - Summer 2012 edition in PDF format - Institute of ...

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT
cystic fibrosis gene). Together, they founded
TCAG, which houses all of the latest
genomic technologies to enable research
studies. Scherer estimates that TCAG facilitates
well over 1000 laboratories in a
given year.
During his PhD, he made a pioneering discovery:
the identification of genomewide
copy number variations (CNVs) as an important
source of genetic variation in humans.
His lab continues to investigate the
role of CNVs in autism, as well as other
disorders, through collaborations.
“You have to be persistent,
and you have to want
to do it yourself, because
no one is going to do it for
you.”
Scherer’s job requires him to assume many
different roles and responsibilities – from
running his lab to running two very different
centres – so, is there an aspect of his
many roles that he most enjoys?
“I’m the ‘idea’ guy. I have to kind of set
the vision of where I think things should
be five or ten years down the road and …
figure out how to get there – [the challenging
part]. I have a job that allows me to
capitalize on my strengths. It took a long
time to get here, but I get to use my brain –
people pay me to think about new things.”
Photo by Yekta Dowlati
Dr. Stephen W. Scherer
The “Idea” Guy
Scherer is a highly influential
and very successful scientist. In addition
to serving as the Director of
the McLaughlin Centre and The Centre for
Applied Genomics (TCAG), he is also a Senior
Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children,
a Professor at the University of Toronto,
as well as a scientist who never stays
far away from the public eye–often making
appearances on TV, news, and radio.
The IMS Magazine wanted to find out
more about Scherer’s career trajectory and
the key to his success. Scherer completed
his PhD in the Molecular Genetics Department
at the University of Toronto, with
Professor Lap-Chee Tsui (discoverer of the
Finally, I asked if he had any advice for
incoming graduate students. What advice
would have benefited him at the start of
his graduate career? He laughed, and said
that’s a very easy question: learn statistics.
“What we are seeing over and over and
over again is that we need to have more biologists
who have a strong statistical background.
You should be taking statistical
classes, it is the one thing that will benefit
you the most … [it is] absolutely critical.”
(See Allison Rosen’s article on page 33.)
But, he warns, it takes more than just a
good grasp of statistics to succeed in graduate
school. “You have to be persistent,
and you have to want to do it yourself, because
no one is going to do it for you.”
IMS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2012 GENOMIC MEDICINE | 24