Actually, I mean to be a terrible person to ask because I tend not to go to meetings, except for Cold Spring Harbor meetings. Cold Spring Harbor meetings, I think, are the best. And part of it is because of the environment and part of it is because of the quality and part of it is because of the culture. I mean there’s a lot of aspects of that. In fact, I have to admit and I’ll tell you another story which I’m sure you probably won’t really use this, but it’s a good story, it’s the fact that last year—I mean, I’m a veteran of this place. I mean if they gave out frequent flyer miles for Cold Spring Harbor meetings and courses, I mean, I’d be first class. Well, I guess I am. I get to stay in Dolan. But the fact is [that] I think it was last year at the genome meeting when they started the first night reception with the seafood buffet and the ice sculpture. You know what I’m talking about? Was that last year they started this for meetings or the year before? I think two years, two years they started this.

So the first time I walked in to Blackford. And I looked up and I saw that the lights were dim. I thought you hadn’t paid your electric bill or something, okay. And then I realized that it was for atmosphere, okay. So then I look and I see a seafood buffet. And I mean I just couldn’t believe it. And then I saw an ice sculpture. And then literally the first thing that went into my mind was what’s next? Are they going to make the beds comfortable in Dolan? And I still think this. Every year when I walk, now even this year I walked in with some member of my laboratory who had never been here before. I go, don’t get lulled into thinking that the food is always is going to be like this— they’ll pull the carpet out from under you about half way through. But actually to their credit, no, the food is getting better and better. In fact, I’m afraid that meeting is going to ruin itself if they have too good food. I mean you’ll attract people here for comfort. That’s not what they’re here for.

Eric Green received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin (1981) and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine (1987). During his residency training in clinical pathology, he worked Maynard Olson’s lab, where he developed approaches for utilizing yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) to construct physical maps of DNA. His work also included initiation of a project to construct a complete physical map of human chromosome 7.

In 1992, he became an assistant professor of pathology, genetics, and medicine as well as a co-investigator in the Human Genome Center at Washington University. In 1994, he moved his research laboratory to the intramural program of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health. In November, 2009 he was appointed Director of NHGRI, after serving in the roles of NHGRI scientific director, director of NHGRI Division of Intramural Research, Chief of the Genome Technology Branch and that branches Physical Mapping Section, and Director of the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center (NISC). His lab’s current focus is on the application of large-scale DNA to study problems in human genomics, genetics, and biology.

Among the numerous awards Eric Green has received are induction into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2002 and into the America Association of Physicians in 2007. He is a founding editor of Genome Research, has edited the series, Genome Analysis: A Laboratory Manual, and, since 2005, is co-editor of the Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics.