Fast Five: Meet Dr. Derek van der Kooy

Fast 5 features quick, personal profiles of our research team members. This week: Dr. Derek van der Kooy, Professor, Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto

1. What are you reading for pleasure right now?
Countdown 1945 by Chris Wallace – it’s about the decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan at the end of the second world war, told from the perspectives of physicists versus politicians versus soldiers.

2. What is the most worthwhile non-monetary investment you’ve made?
Reading.

3. What advice would you give your younger self?
Spend more time reading the wider scientific literature.

4. What prompted you to get into regenerative medicine?
An accidental interest in developmental biology, plus drinking at a neuroscience meeting with Sam Weiss

5. If you could buy one new toy for the lab right now –if money was not an issue –what would you get and why?
A COVID-19 vaccine so more people could spend more time in the lab.