Jeff - we just had a long conversation about you in a qualifying exam, of all places, on Wednesday. Related of course to the daunting projections from cortex to thalamus, and how your papers had changed everything. Here's to you! Catherine
I have been thinking of you warmly Jeff, and of how deeply you are cherished. This is also my first time ever on a blog - I wanted to write to send you a verbal bear hug and embrace.
It is a joy and an honor to know you Jeff, even if, in my case, it has only been for a few hours of delicious conversations at meetings, and many more enjoyable hours poring over your papers. You have always been unfailingly affable, generous and gentle in all of my interactions with you – and replied swiftly and thoughtfully, to all of my e-mailed questions (even the idiotic ones!). Thank-you for sharing so fully! I cherish you for your kindness, sweet soul and wisdom.
If I may, I would like to share with Jeff and the blog, a written version of my introduction to his keynote address to APAN in 2007. I had invited Jeff because I love his work and because I have been so impressed by Jeff’s deep knowledge about the auditory system, and wizardry at weaving together a sweeping and creative synthesis. I am sharing an excerpt of my introduction to Jeff, because it was a heartfelt appreciation of a great scientist, who is humble and profound.
“The scope of Jeff’s contributions are wide ranging, in the sense that he has studied the auditory system from cochlear nucleus to colliculus to cortex and back again – and one of the recurrent themes of his work has been the powerful top-down and descending projections that are characteristic of the auditory system. His work is also wide ranging in that has studied the auditory system in the rat, the cat, the bat, the opossum, the squirrel monkey, and the human and maybe some other species I have left out, so he has a real comparative perspective. But he has found a way of combining breadth with depth in his work, partly because he works very hard, and partly because he has developed wonderful collaborations and mentored many students (one of the many honors he has received, is the Outstanding Mentor award as an inspiring shepherd for graduate students at Berkeley). But one thing that I find very special about Jeff, is the way that he thinks, and the way he poses deep questions, and searches for real answers. Now, for this, and many other reasons, although this may sound strange, coming from a physiologist, but Jeff is one of my heroes in auditory neuroscience. I don’t mean American idol worship, but I mean a combination of deep admiration, coupled with a lot of excitement that greets every new paper that comes out from Jeff’s lab. Because when a new paper from the Winer lab comes out, you know it’s going to be superb because he is a master, you figure, hey another great bottle of intoxicating neuroanatomy from this wonderful California winery, but you also can bet that Jeff’s papers offer something than goes far beyond dry description, and into another dimensional realm, where he weaves the strands of his exquisitely intricate research on neuroanatomical connectivity and structure into exciting new insights into functional meaning of these pathways. My own first encounter with Jeff’s work, was with a gorgeous paper with John Zook on Pternotus IC, and with the brace of brilliant papers he published in the mid 1980s in JCN on the laminar structure of cat primary auditory cortex and its connections. They blew my mind. And they were a challenge, in that each of the papers was so lovely and thorough and rich, that it was a really tough to try to summarize them in one seminar (though Lord knows I tried). Jeff’s recent explorations with Charles Lee of the distributed and dynamic auditory cortical network, elucidating the multiple auditory pathways in the brain, is very exciting for those of us neurophysiological ostriches who tend to stick to the common-garden path of the lemniscal pathway, and prefer to record only from A1, and truly thrilling in its implications and predictions. His current review with Chris Schreiner on “Auditory Cortex Mapmaking” is already one of my all-time favorites, because it is scholarly, insightful, original and provocative. So, as I have been trying to say, Jeff is a great synthesizer, as well as a careful analyzer. Anatomy is derived from the Greek “ana” – up and “tome” – a cutting, so as the etymology reveals, anatomy depends upon dissection of the whole into pieces. Jeff is a rare master with an eye for painterly detail, who also patiently fits the pieces of the puzzle back together into a re-united whole. He is one of the great ones who breathes functional life into the dry bones of anatomy.”
I just wanted to point out that more than half of your current comments are from colleagues who are not anatomists. What tribute could be more fitting for your skillful compositions on auditory structure than appreciation not only from the cognoscenti (anatomists like you) but also from the unwashed masses (physiologists like me). Clearly, you don't need formal training to appreciate the beauty of your meticulous artistry, just like you don't need to know the name of an ancient composer to feel your heart flutter at his accomplishments today.
Your work is timeless, but the music is ending much too soon.
Jeff - we just had a long conversation about you in a qualifying exam, of all places, on Wednesday. Related of course to the daunting projections from cortex to thalamus, and how your papers had changed everything.
ReplyDeleteHere's to you!
Catherine
I have been thinking of you warmly Jeff, and of how deeply you are cherished. This is also my first time ever on a blog - I wanted to write to send you a verbal bear hug and embrace.
ReplyDeleteIt is a joy and an honor to know you Jeff, even if, in my case, it has only been for a few hours of delicious conversations at meetings, and many more enjoyable hours poring over your papers. You have always been unfailingly affable, generous and gentle in all of my interactions with you – and replied swiftly and thoughtfully, to all of my e-mailed questions (even the idiotic ones!). Thank-you for sharing so fully! I cherish you for your kindness, sweet soul and wisdom.
If I may, I would like to share with Jeff and the blog, a written version of my introduction to his keynote address to APAN in 2007. I had invited Jeff because I love his work and because I have been so impressed by Jeff’s deep knowledge about the auditory system, and wizardry at weaving together a sweeping and creative synthesis. I am sharing an excerpt of my introduction to Jeff, because it was a heartfelt appreciation of a great scientist, who is humble and profound.
“The scope of Jeff’s contributions are wide ranging, in the sense that he has studied the auditory system from cochlear nucleus to colliculus to cortex and back again – and one of the recurrent themes of his work has been the powerful top-down and descending projections that are characteristic of the auditory system. His work is also wide ranging in that has studied the auditory system in the rat, the cat, the bat, the opossum, the squirrel monkey, and the human and maybe some other species I have left out, so he has a real comparative perspective. But he has found a way of combining breadth with depth in his work, partly because he works very hard, and partly because he has developed wonderful collaborations and mentored many students (one of the many honors he has received, is the Outstanding Mentor award as an inspiring shepherd for graduate students at Berkeley). But one thing that I find very special about Jeff, is the way that he thinks, and the way he poses deep questions, and searches for real answers. Now, for this, and many other reasons, although this may sound strange, coming from a physiologist, but Jeff is one of my heroes in auditory neuroscience. I don’t mean American idol worship, but I mean a combination of deep admiration, coupled with a lot of excitement that greets every new paper that comes out from Jeff’s lab. Because when a new paper from the Winer lab comes out, you know it’s going to be superb because he is a master, you figure, hey another great bottle of intoxicating neuroanatomy from this wonderful California winery, but you also can bet that Jeff’s papers offer something than goes far beyond dry description, and into another dimensional realm, where he weaves the strands of his exquisitely intricate research on neuroanatomical connectivity and structure into exciting new insights into functional meaning of these pathways. My own first encounter with Jeff’s work, was with a gorgeous paper with John Zook on Pternotus IC, and with the brace of brilliant papers he published in the mid 1980s in JCN on the laminar structure of cat primary auditory cortex and its connections. They blew my mind. And they were a challenge, in that each of the papers was so lovely and thorough and rich, that it was a really tough to try to summarize them in one seminar (though Lord knows I tried). Jeff’s recent explorations with Charles Lee of the distributed and dynamic auditory cortical network, elucidating the multiple auditory pathways in the brain, is very exciting for those of us neurophysiological ostriches who tend to stick to the common-garden path of the lemniscal pathway, and prefer to record only from A1, and truly thrilling in its implications and predictions. His current review with Chris Schreiner on “Auditory Cortex Mapmaking” is already one of my all-time favorites, because it is scholarly, insightful, original and provocative. So, as I have been trying to say, Jeff is a great synthesizer, as well as a careful analyzer. Anatomy is derived from the Greek “ana” – up and “tome” – a cutting, so as the etymology reveals, anatomy depends upon dissection of the whole into pieces. Jeff is a rare master with an eye for painterly detail, who also patiently fits the pieces of the puzzle back together into a re-united whole. He is one of the great ones who breathes functional life into the dry bones of anatomy.”
Thank-you Jeff!
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to point out that more than half of your current comments are from colleagues who are not anatomists. What tribute could be more fitting for your skillful compositions on auditory structure than appreciation not only from the cognoscenti (anatomists like you) but also from the unwashed masses (physiologists like me). Clearly, you don't need formal training to appreciate the beauty of your meticulous artistry, just like you don't need to know the name of an ancient composer to feel your heart flutter at his accomplishments today.
Your work is timeless, but the music is ending much too soon.
Brad May