Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai Professor in Cancer Immunology and Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Merad also co-directs the Cancer Immunology Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai and is Director of the Mount Sinai Human Immune Monitoring Center.
Dr. Merad’s lab made seminal discoveries to understand the mechanisms that control the development and functional identity of dendritic cells and macrophages during homeostasis and examined how these are changed in cancer and inflammatory diseases. The lab has also pursued research into the immune system’s response to COVID-19.
Miriam Merad sees diversity as rooted in the very foundation of her field.
“Given the nature of our work in cancer and immunology, we have an integrated group of professionals working together: clinical oncologists, pathologists, mathematicians, and big data experts,” she says. “I strive to bring in talent from all over the world, and my team now has representation from Spain, Germany, Israel, China, Taiwan, Korea, Africa, and Dubai, as well as Americans from diverse backgrounds. We have a balance of men and women and people of varying ages, including a former scientific entrepreneur, among our PhD candidates.”
Dr. Merad herself is from Algeria, where she attended medical school, and she completed postgraduate work in France as well as the United States. She believes that scientists from different parts of the world think about scientific topics differently, and that it’s beneficial for them to hear different points of view and to build off of each other’s ideas. “Diversity drives innovation that might otherwise not be possible if talented scientists did not travel outside their homelands to cross-fertilize concepts and drive innovation. Multicultural scientific discourse generates the innovation,” she says.
In an environment as high-level as Dr. Merad’s cancer immunology lab, academic excellence and innovative scientific thinking are the basic requirements for entry. But she also emphasizes and requires some basic rules of engagement that might not seem obvious or be present in every scientific setting. “We are a team,” says Dr. Merad. “What matters most is that we solve a scientific problem that leads to enhanced medical care. I actively shape the culture of the lab by setting an example of respect among all people here. We must respect our differences. I also work to make sure people are kind to each other and provide the level of support that leads to scientific success and personal success.”
“Diversity drives innovation that might otherwise not be possible if talented scientists did not travel outside their homelands to cross-fertilize concepts and drive innovation. Multicultural scientific discourse generates the innovation.”
Scientists from different parts of the world who are hired to work in Dr. Merad’s lab have the scientific background to succeed but they may not be accustomed to the language or cultural nuances of being in a New York laboratory. “I try to instill in my team that we will succeed only if we work together and that means supporting each other. It might mean helping with a language barrier, showing someone how to navigate travel in New York City, or understand a cultural nuance that is new to an individual. All of these aspects of life in our lab are important.”
When asked what she thinks are the most important aspects of being part of a highly productive, diverse team in her lab, Dr. Merad says: “I expect my students to be genuine and kind to each other, to be inspired about the science and to be dedicated to service. We have to come to work each day and support each other, be the best we can so we can help patients. It’s not about beating the other team or getting into the best journal at any expense, but how can we help each other do better science and serve humanity?”
Photo Credit: Claudia Paul, January-February 2020