Dr. Bob Lefkowitz on Scientific Discovery

Dr. Bob Lefkowitz is currently the Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the Duke University Medical Center. He’s been an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1976, and he began his research career in the late 1960s and early 1970s when there was not a clear consensus that specific receptors for drugs and hormones even existed. He’s a trailblazer. He’s a ground breaker. He’s a Nobel Prize winner. He’s an author; his memoir, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, recounts his early career as a cardiologist and his transition to biochemistry. He is a researcher, he’s a teacher, and he’s just very very wise. And sometimes you meet knowledgeable people, smart people, who lack wisdom and emotional intelligence; that’s not what you’re going to find in this conversation. We talk as much about philosophy as we do about his groundbreaking research. This conversation was inspiring, it made me think, and it made me question how I think, which is the sign of a great conversation. He has won numerous awards as well; he’s been acknowledged by his field in a multitude of ways and at Duke University. The work that he’s done finding these receptors and working on proteins has led to a discovery that impacts 30-50% of all medications that we take. He is someone who cares deeply about making an impact and influencing our society for the better.

Bob had several amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“Tell me your strongest asset and it will also be your biggest deficiency” (6:30).

“The most important characteristic necessary for success at anything is focus” (7:05).

“A totally fulfilling life needs to be one that embraces not just whatever your passion and obsession is, but a host of other things” (7:30).

“I’ll continue to be a work in progress” (9:00).

“I have found as I’m aging that friendships have become more and more important to me” (13:10).

“Life is so filled with surprises and twists and turns” (16:20).

“Nobody’s smart enough to make truly amazing discoveries because they’re so far outside the frame of how we currently understand things that nobody’s that smart” (19:50).

“What I loved the most when I was younger and was at the peak of my power was making discoveries” (25:50).

“The more you know, the less able you are to make discoveries” (29:30).

“Each of us has a unique personality which is shaped in varying extents by the nature and the nurture” (30:50).

“Education is a double-edged sword. On one hand we need education to get certain facts and ways of thinking, but also it constrains us” (31:25).

“This inherent skepticism I’ve always had led to burning curiosity” (34:10).

“What drives me the most and gives me the most satisfaction is mentoring young people” (34:50).

“It is an interesting and a life-changing experience to win the Nobel Prize” (40:55).

“Winning awards was not a factor. I was just driven because I was driven [to discover]” (41:15).

“The whole nature of science is that whatever it is, you have to do it first. You don’t get any credit for doing something second” (46:45).

“Questions are a reflection of curiosity” (56:35).

“Every experiment is a question. The better framed the experiment, the more likely you are to get an informative answer” (56:45).

“The best outcomes in medicine are when the patient and doctor form an alliance” (57:40).

“I thought [when I was younger] the most heroic thing you could do was become a physician because you could alleviate human suffering” (1:04:40).

“I’m so focused in what I’m doing or who I’m interacting with that the time just disappears” (1:16:45).

Additionally, you can learn more about Bob and his work here.

Thank you so much to Bob for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.