Editor-in-Chief, Microvascular Research Biology and Pathology	September 2005
	"I always had a penchant for looking for orphan cells. Cells that people would write about in textbooks year after year, but there was no additional insight as to what these cells would do. That’s why we started working on the mural cells of microvessels, because there are only two cells there, sometimes three."

I’ve read you are a member in the departments of Biology and Surgery at Boston University, where you received your Ph.D. Your laboratory was one of the first to culture successfully large numbers of endothelial cells, which help to open research on the biochemistry and pathology of blood vessels. I also know that you are founding editor and 38 years Editor-in-Chief of Academic Press’s Microvascular Research (MVR) journal.
Correct. My title is now emeritus and Consulting Editor, with continued office support from Elsevier. A former student of mine, Dr. Patricia D’Amore is now Editor, with a chap from Hopkins, Dr. Joe Garcia, who is Co-Editor.

You’ve said that publishing the journal was your most significant contribution to your field. Why was this?
Before MVR, microcirculatory data was published in a wide range of journals, which had a diluting effect on the discipline. MVR provides a central “database” devoted exclusively to microvascular investigations. A journal adds immeasurable prestige to a discipline, which in turn provides investigators national and international recognition and indirectly aids in grant funding. Moreover, MVR is an interdisciplinary publication, and articles from cognate disciplines like engineering and cancer research, broaden the understanding of the biology and pathology of small blood vessels. The field leaped from a “cottage industry” to a major scientific endeavor. We now know that angiogenesis are involved in tumorigenesis, wound healing, diabetic retinopathy, and even cardiovascular fitness. Many scientists speculate that the breakdown of the microvascular barrier in the brain is one of the earliest pathological stages in all forms of dementia. From a clinical viewpoint, this expanding knowledge has led to the concept that there are specific microvascular diseases, independent for the most part, of events that occur “upstream” [the heart and larger vessels]. A patient may have patent coronary arteries and yet suffer from angina because of a low blood flow state due to metabolic regulatory agonists secreted by microvessel cells.

Are you currently on the Technical Advisory Committee for the National Library of Medicine?
My tenure as a committee member and chairman of the NLM’s literature advisory committee is up. I still maintain an affiliation with the NLM, which generously supports an informatics training course. This program is a collaborative venture with the staff and facilities of the Library at Woods Hole. The Library at Woods Hole is jointly supported by the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Oceanographic Institute. This is our 13 th year and it may be the best course of this nature given anywhere in the universe. “Students” in this course are physicians, IT specialists, PHS administrators, medical librarians, etc.

In previous articles you’ve given special recognition to Woods Hole, Massachusetts. You said it jump-started your career. I did some research on this place to discover that it is a scientific oasis. It has been described as an international center for natural science, and includes the Marine Biology Laboratory, the National Fisheries Service, the Oceanographic Institute, US Geological Survey, National Academy of Sciences, Sea Education Association, and the Oceanographic Institute.
Yes, the Oceanographic Institute is the most famous of them all now, because they found the Titanic. They also employ approximately 900 scientists, and are the largest employer on Cape Code. The jewel of the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) crown is education, in the formal courses provided all summer, at lunch, at the beach, and even over a beer. There are also multi-lectures given each day by senior scientists from all over the globe. This summer, two of the Friday evening lecturers were Nobel laureates in 2004. Since the 1920’s, over 50 Nobel laureates have either taken a course, taught a course, or research at MBL. This is an astounding statistic given the size of the institute. During the non-summer months, almost without exception, each week’s agenda includes a scientific meeting, a retreat, a symposium, an instrument training course, etc.

I’ve heard several hundred scientists come to Woods Hole every summer.
About 600 scientists come in every summer. This summer there is something like 28 countries here. You can bridge your gap between fields and get ideas from other people. It’s a small community, and for a period of about six to eight weeks it’s just a marvelous place.

You mentioned earlier that the Library at Woods Hole is a combined library?
Yes, it’s a merged library between the Marine Biology Laboratory and the Oceanographic Institute. At one time, this was a national treasure, as far as the biology goes. With time, especially with internet and things like that, it’s become less important as a library. However, the archives are fantastic.

I’ve heard that they have resources that cover biological literature for about 300 years.
Our rare book collection is unique and we have a number of treasures that, to the best of our knowledge, do not exist elsewhere, especially related to early voyages. These travel monographs contain incredibly beautiful etchings and paintings by artists that were part of the ships’ complement. These are very special. Our oldest book dates to the early 16 th century. We also have the complete collection of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society – from 1666 to the current issue. Although these articles are now available electronically, to hold a volume in your hands that is over 300 years old is special.

Information technology must also be very important for the Oceanographic part of the library.
Yes, they have ocean going ships out on seven or eight month cruises equipped with high tech instruments, and information that they gather goes right up on a satellite and right into the library. If they happen to be off the coast of France, for example, we could get 8,000 requests for information in one month. Everyone thinks with new technology you don’t need help, but you need more help.

So you consider the MBL / WHOI Library a high tech library?
Absolutely. We are on the forefront of information technology. Regrettably, the stacks are empty and will soon disappear.

How has your usage of libraries changed over the years?
I’m of a vintage where I still like to browse by walking into the library, but I can tell you as far as my current experience with my colleagues, very few people still use the library today. People go online now.

How could libraries change?
They are changing. Libraries won’t disappear. They will become library museums where archival information will always be of value, and intellectual centers where they may hold meetings, and even more important, there will be classrooms. I think universities are beginning to appreciate if they build a new library that they are going to have to put in classrooms. New additions to libraries will be most likely be all technical. With all due respect for scientists, they know how to run a computer and dig up information, but they have no idea of the potential of information technology. The technology is expanding so fast in the medical profession, that you have real problems with regards to code.

What do you mean?
For example, two hospitals in Boston merged, but they may have a separate code for Tylenol. At one hospital they may have one code for Tylenol and another code for Tylenol with Codeine. If you are transferred from one hospital to the other the codes may not match. That’s what libraries are going to be doing, because there is too much information out there. How do you cross through 400 databases to get the 6 that you want? New search engines need to be developed to cross through these databases. That’s one of the things we do in the library.

It’s amazing how technology has advanced so much, and confused us in the process.
It’s a nightmare.

How did you come to get involved in the Microvascular Research, Biology and Pathology?
From the journal (MVR), and because of the journal, I convinced Elsevier to publish the new book, Microvascular Research, Biology and Pathology. It is two volumes, and the first book devoted exclusively to the pathology and biology of microvessels. I always had a penchant for looking for orphan cells. Cells that people would write about in textbooks year after year, but there was no additional insight as to what these cells would do. That’s why we started working on the mural cells of microvessels, because there are only two cells there, sometimes three. There are only the endothelial cells of the lining, and they may have a pericyte or smooth muscle cell around them. They treated that whole vessel like a sewer tube. It was only for profusion. The lining of these cells was like saran wrap. It had no function other than as a passive barrier. We wanted to show that the barrier was active, that it kept changing. Probably one of the more important things I said in the early seventies is that the microvessels of the brain are different than the microvessels of the heart, or different than the microvessels of the gut. They just thought of it as a passive tube and we show that they were, next to neurons, probably the most metabolically active cells in the body. This is where the exchange takes place, between you and your environment.

I’ve heard this work provides mini reviews?
The reason for the mini reviews is because information is coming in so fast. If you do the classical review of 60 or 70 pages, most of it would be redundant. You can find it in dozens of sources, so there are other databases you could go to for that information. It’s archival. By the time the book comes out, I already have new potential authors and papers because some of the material has been superseded with new information. We now need bullets, rather than a large compendium of information.

How did you find the contributors to this work?
There are about 155 contributors internationally. I selected the editorial board. We made assignments because there are so many organs. Certain people were going to handle things like the skin, some people are going to handle a cancer, some people are going to handle wound healing, etc. We divided the labor, and because of their own interests, they had friends, or people they knew. It would be impossible for one person to know the whole body. Because I was Editor-in-Chief of the journal for 38 years, I pretty much know who the top people were in the field. So I supervised their selection, and tried to fill in all areas and points and help the editorial board.

Who was this work intended for?
It’s intended for professionals

What would you like librarians to know about this work?
Again, it is the first book focused exclusively on the biology and pathology of microvessels. It’s important that it gets out to university libraries, and to absolutely every medical school library, because this is where the action is. Every drug has to go through a microvessel. This book is the wellspring of everything that we do. It’s stuffed with information that deals with the microcirculation, and we intend to update it, rather than wait for three of four years for a revision.

What’s next for you?
I’m writing a book on how to avoid sports injuries and be your own personal trainer. I previously wrote a book on complete conditioning. It was published too early. It was published long before it was fashionable. I couldn’t get it published for years because the cardiologists said it would kill people, now everyone does it. It’s all high stress exercise. It’s as true today as it was when it was published years and years ago. With all the new information, the basic information is still the same. It was published in 1978, and is still as valuable today. I’m very proud of that.

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