17 February, 2025 0 Comments

The Joy of Discovery

February 17, 2025 By Leave a Comment

Dr. Ilika Ghosh of Max Planck Florida Institute.

The Jupiter campus of the Max Planck Florida Research Institute is impressive.

When you walk into the modern headquarters of Max Planck, you get the feeling that important work is happening in the brightly lit space, and you’d be right.

Max Planck is a place where scientists are hard at work on what they call high risk, high reward science. Max Planck is a place that holds big ambitions, to understand the human brain, to unlock its potential and to find cures for diseases that impact millions all over the world.

We visited Max Planck recently to tour the labs of a scientist that we fund through a fellowship made possible by the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation.

Dr. Ilika Ghosh is a talented young neuroscientist doing important and potentially groundbreaking research into how the brain works, particularly how the brain uses energy to form memories and function properly.

Her work hopes to impact diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Dr. Ghosh is an ambitious young scientist. We believe she’s a rising star in the field and we are honored to back her work.

She’s in the right place to make a difference.

Max Planck is a world class institution with a rich history of discovery and Nobel Prizes.

There are 86 Max Planck institutes in the world. The Jupiter facility is the only Max Planck location in North America.

Max Planck chose the site because of a need to be close to the cutting-edge research that’s happening in the United States.

The institute was also attracted by FAU, the presence of other research institutions and the friendly policies of state and local government.

We are fortunate to have Max Planck in our community. The institute recruits the best scientists in the world and their innovative model allows them the freedom to pursue big and important goals.  High risk, high reward.

Dr. Ghosh is a case in point.  Born in Calcutta, Dr. Ghosh has had a lifelong passion for science and started her career as a plant biologist.

Her drive and enthusiasm for her work is remarkable and inspiring.

She spends long hours in the lab, but for Dr. Ghosh it’s a labor of love. This is where she’s happy and fulfilled.

It’s wonderful to see.

We were also impressed by her ability to explain complex brain science to us in terms we could understand.

We were similarly impressed with Dr. Ghosh’s lab leader Dr. Vidhya Rangaraju who explained the promise of this work. It’s necessary to understand the `why’ of the brain (and why sometimes things go wrong) in order to devise ways to fix what breaks down.

The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation has a special interest in Alzheimer’s, and we are funding promising research at places such as the Mayo Clinic and programs at FAU designed to help families navigate the challenges of that crushing disease.

It’s not lost on anyone that downstream from the cool labs and interesting experiments are real people suffering from maladies that impact their lives and those of their loved ones.

What makes Max Planck special and interesting to us is their approach to science. High risk, high reward.

As a foundation rooted in entrepreneurship and funded by the success of our founder, a serial entrepreneur, we get the upside potential of taking big swings and dreaming big.

Director of Advancement Amanda Jorgensen says the philosophy at Max Planck is to recruit world class scientists and get out of their way.

Listening to Dr. Ghosh discuss her work and seeing her face light up when she talks about its potential makes it easy to see that the philosophy is working. Dr. Ghosh told us she’s thrilled to be working at the institute.

That passion makes us proud to support her work.

It’s also important to note that Max Planck does a lot to engage the community.

It’s outreach to K-12 schools in Palm Beach County brings science to thousands of students. You just know that a spark is being lit for the next generation of innovators.

That’s work that we can all take pride in supporting.

 

Notes….

Real Men Bake

I had a chance to participate in a fundraiser called “Real Men Bake” last week.

It was first “Real Men Bake” event in five years—Covid got in the way—and it was my first time. I debuted “artichoke puffs” and at the risk of being disqualified post event, let’s just my wife was a large contributor to the 125 puffs we schlepped to the Boca Delray Country Club.

My buddies Dupree Jackson and Perry Stokes took first place (the bundt cakes they made were amazing), City Manager Terrance Moore and his peach cobbler took second and Jim Chard captured third place with something similarly sugary.

My puffs were good—even though they were served cold–but when you are up against sugar and more sugar it’s hard to stand out. Still it was a great fundraiser for a good cause—the Delray Beach Woman’s Club which is 123 years old and the Delray Beach Sunrise Kiwanis Club which has also been around for a long time doing good in our city.

Although I only garnered one vote, I had fun seeing old friends and trying to market artichokes in a cake battered world.

Parking Guru Passes

The urban planning world is mourning the lost of legendary parking guru Donald Shoup who passed away last week at the age of 86.

Professor Shoup, who taught at UCLA, visited Delray some years back to give some advice on parking downtown. His wrote a best-selling book on parking called the “High Cost of Free Parking” which argued that there is no such thing as free parking. The cars may park for free but taxpayers are footing the bill for maintenance etc.

“‘Parking is free for us only in our role as motorist — not in our roles as taxpayer, employer, commuter, shopper, renter, as a homeowner,’ he pointed out. ‘The cost of parking does not cease to exist just because the motorist doesn’t pay for it.’”

If you can write a bestseller on parking, you’re pretty gifted. Professor Shoup will be missed.

 

 

 

22 March, 2021 8 8 Comments

Thankful For The Vaccine

March 22, 2021 By 8 Comments

The Health Care District did a great job.

On the day I got my first vaccine, Florida reported 5,093 new Covid cases and 94 more deaths bringing the death toll to 33,219 and the total case count to almost 2 million.

By the time you read this, those numbers will have increased. But we know that the numbers only tell part of the Covid story.

Every “stat” is a person with a family, friends—a life. This virus is a beast—it is not the flu.

Covid can be lethal and for those who survive but suffer  from “long hauler” symptoms, it’s not something that you can just power past.

So when I got an appointment to get my first shot last week at the South County Civic Center in West Delray I was thrilled.

Sometimes you don’t realize how stressed you are until you experience relief. And truth be told, I’ve been worried about re-infection and anxious about the variants I’ve been reading about.

I was able to book an appointment with two of my co-workers so went together. Like most Americans—indeed most humans—they’ve been touched by Covid with family members suffering from the virus and with a few relatives dying as a result.

We talked about how lucky we were to be getting the vaccine and how sad it is for those who died before a vaccine was available.

I’m especially grateful because I thought this virus was it for me. So when I sat down, rolled up my sleeve and thanked the Palm Beach Fire Rescue “vaccinator” for giving me the shot, I got a little choked up.

He asked me if everything was OK and I said “oh yeah, I am so happy to be sitting here right now.”

He talked to me briefly about soreness and side effects and truth be told, I barely listened. Because a little soreness or a fever doesn’t compare with 39 days in the hospital wondering if I’d ever see my loved ones again. Bring it on, if it spares millions from the horrors of this disease I’m all in.

Yes, I’ve seen the anti-vaxxer screeds on the Internet and social media—isn’t the First Amendment grand? But I’m throwing my lot in with the scientists. I have faith in them. I am so grateful for their efforts.

These vaccines are modern day miracles, I believe they will save millions of lives.

That’s my  firm belief.

Everyone is entitled to their own views, but I’m rooting for people to take the vaccine and I’m rooting for herd immunity because I’ve felt the ferocity of this virus from inside the belly of the beast. It didn’t want to let me go and it has claimed a ridiculous amount of lives.

And every day…every single day… when I ache, experience headaches and feel some “brain fog” I am reminded that I had this thing.

I don’t say this to elicit sympathy, I know that I am a very lucky man.

I chose at the beginning of this experience to share with you the good, the bad and the ugly in the hope, that maybe my sharing would raise some awareness.

So we chronicled it all. I say we because I’ve had a lot of help all along the way.

We talked about long haul issues and the emotional aspects of Covid, because the pandemic has unleashed a lot of trauma on society.

To continue in that vein,  I wanted to come full circle and share about vaccines.

My belief: they are safe and effective.

My hope: you will get vaccinated.

After taking the shot, they ask you to stay 15 minutes to see if you have a reaction. I sat with a bunch of people who were just jubilant. You could sense the relief and the emotion in the room. A woman nearby cried softly and said she wished her mother had lived long enough to get the vaccine–Covid took her a few months before the shots were approved. Yet, amidst the sadness there was a lot of joy and a lot of relief too.

I sat there with a sense of hope and pride; hope for a better future and pride that we have the scientific chops to protect humanity. It was a very powerful moment.

Let’s do all we can to get our lives back.

Let’s do all we can to help our health care workers who have been through so much and let’s support our local businesses who have suffered mightily by doing what we can to venture out again.

That’s my hope, that’s my prayer. I hope you and your loved ones are spared now and forever.

 

 

 

 

8 April, 2020 2 2 Comments

Finding Inspiration In Crisis

April 8, 2020 By 2 Comments

Jonas Salk

 

PBS has been running a great documentary called “The Polio Crusade.”

If you are looking for hope and inspiration in these dark days of Covid-19, I highly recommend you watch this remarkable program which is part of the American Experience series.
It traces the amazing story of Jonas Salk and his successful quest to develop a polio vaccine.
Salk was an interesting man.
Described as “super ambitious” by his fellow scientists, he was a man who thought big and who had great faith in his ideas.
Of course, like many of the great ones, he had his share of detractors one of whom described him as a garage chemist. But the critics did not dissuade Salk. He was determined to stamp out polio quickly and sure enough he did.
The coronavirus has some eerie parallels with the polio epidemic. Images of people in iron lungs is reminiscent of the images we are seeing of people on respirators and ventilators.
The fear we are experiencing is also reminiscent of the polio era.
Surveys at the time said Americans feared polio almost as much as they feared nuclear war.
They craved  a vaccine and officials at the time were willing to take risks to conquer the disease. They were willing to have their children take a vaccine that nobody was sure would work. Well maybe nobody but Salk.
This was 1954, a different moment in American history, a time when people trusted their government and trusted science.
They were willing to try.
In 1955, when the results of the field trials were released the entire world waited with baited breath.
Factory whistles blew, children cheered and parents wept when  it was learned that the Salk vaccine worked.
Twenty years of efforts. Twenty years of giving dimes to fund research paid off.
It’s an uplifting story.
Today, we need history to repeat itself.
And I’m confident that somewhere, a brilliant scientist or team of scientists, will come up with an effective cure and treatment for the scourge we are experiencing today.
  More than 140 experimental drug treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus are in development worldwide, most in early stages, including 11 already in clinical trials. Counting drugs approved for other diseases, there are 250 clinical trials testing treatments for vaccines for the virus. Hundreds more are planned.
Until then, we wait. We pray. We hope and we support those on the front lines of the coronavirus.
While the coming weeks are predicted to be grim, watching the “Polio Crusade” gives one hope and faith in human ingenuity. There’s an answer out there and it will be found.
9 September, 2016 2 2 Comments

We Can Do Better

September 9, 2016 By 2 Comments

My goodness, politics is depressing.

We’re a hyperlocal blog, so we won’t weigh in one the presidential race.

But we will opine on the local stuff which sometimes includes state politics.

I was recently engrossed in a particularly interesting issue of Florida Trend magazine which detailed the amazing scientific breakthroughs and research being done throughout the Sunshine State.

Story after story of remarkable advances in cancer research, biochemistry, cyber security, energy–you name it.

FAU was front and center with great pieces on the new director of The Brain Institute and stories about great work being done in areas ranging from oceanography to aging. (Just in time for us my friends).

And then we hit the politics section of the magazine. Ugh.

A piece about Florida’s ridiculous primary rules (I read it twice and can’t quite grasp it, but understand it’s ripe for manipulation and therefore is being manipulated surprise, surprise). And a piece about some imbecile state legislator seeking to circumvent term limit rules and extend his time in office another 8 years. Double ugh.

I’m not one of those anti-government people and not someone who thinks politics is always distasteful.

I believe in public service and I think politics can be a noble calling.

I also believe in good government and I have seen it in action.

Delray Beach had it for a long while and made progress as a result. I’ve always admired Boca’s efficiency and how their local government has been able to keep a big and growing city clean and beautiful.

I’ve also admired a great many local elected officials over the years (And have thought more than a few were real, serious and almost mind blowing clunkers).

Good government delivers needed or desired services effectively and efficiently. It’s ethical, transparent, accessible, customer focused, innovative and humane. If it’s clicking and working well, it can set a community apart.  But if it’s broken, it can screw it up horribly.

I believe good government facilitates and is aspirational. It should help where needed and get out of the way when that’s needed. But it’s clear that across America, something is wrong with our politics and you can’t have good government if your politics are dysfunctional, mean, visionless, disparaging and petty.

We can do better. We have to do better.

All across America that is our challenge. And like every other great challenge, the answer can always be found with people. We need to attract our best and brightest to politics–I think it’s clear we are not. At least not in the numbers necessary to solve our greatest challenges or even recognize our greatest opportunities.

We need more engagement. More leadership training. More civics and more knowledgeable citizens. If we fail–we’re toast.