Sackler Institute Symposium Celebrates Interdisciplinary Scientific Endeavors

The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Institute for Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences held its inaugural symposium on Oct. 16 at West Campus.

The day-long event was a dual-pronged celebration: first, honoring the gift by the Sacklers that helped establish the institute, which is dedicated to promoting research that bridges the gaps between traditional scientific fields; and second, marking the arrival of the first class of graduate students in the Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology, which seeks to train truly interdisciplinary scientists.

In keeping with the institute’s mission, the symposium featured talks by internationally renowned scientists from diverse fields. These included Nobel Prize-winning biological scientist Martin Chalfie of Columbia University, who told the audience in his keynote address that he was envious of what the institute’s director, Lynne Regan, and her colleagues have put together, particularly the inventive and insightful ways that they have united faculty from across Yale and from other institutions for the program.