Sek Kathiresan, Senior Vice President at Eli Lilly and Company, Chief Executive Officer, Founder at Verve Therapeutics, shared a post on X:
“Happy 250th Birthday America.
Opportunity
The single word that defines this country. Certainly has been my journey.
Warmly received in Pittsburgh, North Allegheny public schools (having arrived in July 1980, left, here with my brother)
Benefited from U.S. educational excellence – undergrad, medical school, residency, fellowship, postdoc
Defined new knowledge on the inherited basis of cholesterol levels and heart attack, building on public investment in the Human Genome Project
Leveraged those insights to chart a new path – turning genetic discovery into a new type of medicine
Built a company from a risky idea into a team of 280, backed by investors willing to bet on us (right, at IPO) — through many ups and downs, to successful Phase 1 data and eventual acquisition by the largest American pharmaceutical company
So grateful for all this country has afforded me and my family.
As I reflect on what made this possible, a few themes:
- The warmth and openness of the American people
- The ability of educational achievement to drive opportunity
- The depth of the U.S. scientific enterprise
- Incentives that drive innovation
I’ll work to nurture these so the current generation has, over the next 50 years, the same opportunity I’ve had since 1980.”
You can also read: The Courage to Question, the Freedom to Learn in the Pursuit of a Better Future – Happy July 4th
