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The Langer Lab's secret sauce

Nature Biotechnology volume 31, page 490 (2013)Cite this article

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As a researcher interested in how organizations thrive, I have been studying the Langer Lab as an exemplar for nearly six years. I have learned that the keys to success depend on recognizing that entrepreneurial science requires extensive collaborations on both the scientific side and the business side. Scientists that succeed are good collaborators; if you are a junior researcher, this primarily entails working hard, following up, being willing to take initiative and looking for opportunities to be a project champion. If you are a lab director, this means allowing others to share the credit and take direct ownership of the project, which is the necessary flip side to identifying a project champion. A project champion cannot do the job if someone above her or him is micromanaging the process or taking all the credit.

The Langer Lab is very flexible, especially with resources. This can mean working with what you have on hand rather than getting stymied by lack of resources. This is especially true with human talent. Back when the lab was just beginning, Langer conducted research primarily with the assistance of Massachusetts Institute of Technology undergraduates. The work needed to be done, and he used whatever talent he had (today, dozens of undergraduates still work alongside graduate students and postdocs in the lab).

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  1. Aimee L Hamilton is assistant professor at Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA.,

    Aimee L Hamilton

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  1. Aimee L Hamilton
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Correspondence to Aimee L Hamilton.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Hamilton, A. The Langer Lab's secret sauce. Nat Biotechnol 31, 490 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2608

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