Reflections of a Reluctant Regulator: Still Crazy After All These Years (Reflections) (Column‪)‬

Reflection Anniversaries are always a time for reflecting on the past and the future, how we got here and where we are going. We do not always take time to give this tradition the undivided attention it deserves, and too often, the opportunity to reflect passes almost unnoticed. That could easily have happened to me in this case, distractible and distracted as I am. I am glad it did not and gratefully acknowledge that the persistence of strident editors can be remarkably effective! It is perhaps more than a bit presumptuous to believe that anyone else would have much interest in one's personal reflections, unless one is a president, a rock star or the like. Being none of these, I was flattered by the Journal's solicitation of my reflections on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Society of Research Administrators International (SRA), and am honored to have these thoughts included herein. Nevertheless, I ask for your patience and understanding as you venture into this highly personal exercise in self-indulgence--I will try at least to make it worth your time. Forty years is an interesting time frame for reflection, being short of a major milestone like a half-century, which seems very long, but long enough to encompass significant changes in one's life and times, long enough to afford some perspective. Forty years ago, I was just graduating from high school, a young man with dreams of being a doctor and a scientist, pursuing a career that would bring the benefits of science to humanity through research and its translation to new therapies and diagnostics. These were noble, practical and even achievable goals, and it seemed that Harvard would be as good a place as any to pursue them. Looking back after 40 years, having spent my entire academic career at this bastion of tradition, my adolescent assessment has been validated. The road to today has pretty much followed the path I envisioned back then, but there have been a few unexpected detours along the way. Robert Frost once noted that taking a road less traveled can make a big difference; and to this I can attest.