Alexander R. Nectow

Presented by Jeffrey M. Friedman

B.S.E.S., M.S., Tufts University

Functional Dissection of Brainstem Circuitry

Some of you may be familiar with the phrase “all heat and no light.” This describes a person who generates lots of energy but who illuminates very little. This phrase does not describe Alex Nectow, for whom the phrase “all heat and lots of light” is more apt, so long as there are some lightning bolts, electrical fires, and solar flares added in. Alex is a dynamo. To give you an example, I asked Alex to send me some information about his background and received an email with 18 bullet points.

Alex graduated from Tufts University in four years with both a B.S. and a master’s degree while also exploring many side interests, including playing the drums and performing stand-up comedy at clubs where he will forever be associated with his legendary cheese sandwich joke.

His application to The David Rockefeller Graduate Program was also somewhat legendary, in that he crafted and submitted an independent research proposal on circadian or biologic rhythms despite having no prior background in this area. The proposal was viewed by the Dean’s Office and by our provost who works in this area as interesting, novel, and of considerable merit. Dean Strickland told me that he had never seen another application like it.

In my laboratory, Alex has probed the neural basis of several basic behaviors, including feeding and movement. He has found that activating a small population of neurons in the midbrain leads animals to spontaneously run four times more than a normal animal. This was in addition to developing two new methods for better characterizing specific neural populations, starting a journal club, critiquing the quality of the beer all around the city, commuting regularly to Boston to see the Patriots, Bruins, and Red Sox play, networking with the great and the good and everyone in between, and applying for independent positions while taking the MCATs and applying to medical school. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up doing both at the same time.

My favorite moment with Alex, however, was in the aftermath of Super Bowl XLVI, when he had to wear a New York Giants T-shirt and hat while listening to me recite a poem I wrote.

Alex is the complete package. He is bright, ambitious, hard working, and passionate. In recognition of his many talents, Alex received a David Rockefeller Fellowship from the Rockefeller Graduate Program. You will be hearing more about him, most probably in many different areas.