Its been a very full on few days. I finished up at Genentech having learnt a massive amount in a short time. I always gain so much from my research trips away and this time was no exception. We have hopefully solved a few technical issues, have accelerated projects in the lab and I have been reminded again of how much work we must do if we want to remain competitive in an international scientific environment. Having arrived in Australia this message has just been re-inforced after giving the first of 5 talks (in 10 days) on my Australia Society of Immunology travelling lectureship. Its so interesting giving talks and meeting people in different labs. With things moving so fast both technically and scientifically around the world its a sobering reminder of how much work I will need to do just to try and keep up. My colleagues are truly amazing in SF and Australia and the feedback I am getting on our work is fantastically helpful.
Mike and I did have a few days holiday last week in CA, based mostly around SF. We caught up with friends, visited Mendocino (saw lots of whales), tasted wine in the Andersen Valley and walked around the city taking in the magnificent views: it really is quite a place and more than lives up to the tourist ads!
I left for Melbourne, Australia on Fri (I am not a fan of long flights so it was not a lot of fun), but on arrival I was met by my great friends Paul and Bernie. I stayed with them in their lovely home and was treated to a day of wine tasting (I am now totally confused of course as 5 days before I was in Anderson Valley and the vines were in winter mode, in the Yarra valley the grapes are nearly ready for harvest) and wild life watching (magpies (which make a wonderful noise), kookaburra, cockatoo and my first marsupial).
My first talk is done, I have 4 more to go and as I log into Facebook I find my friends Duncan and Sarah are here so we go out to dinner tonight: it is indeed a very small world!
Bryant Blog 