Month-long sabbaticals at a premier research institute provide Vallee Visiting Professors with an opportunity for informal but meaningful interactions that promote intellectual exchange and foster new partnerships.  From May 26 to June 27, Dr Ronald Vale spent his sabbatical at the Francis Crick Institute in London where he was hosted by Dr Jody Rosenblatt. There, Vale, who recently stepped down as Executive Director of HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, immersed himself in the Crick’s dynamic scientific environment and engaged with several neighboring institutions.

An early seminar on May 29 sparked wide interest, prompting one-on-one meetings with ~25 researchers, including junior faculty, postdocs, and graduate students. These interactions provided him with a general sense of the research at the Crick, insights into British science and issues on the mind of younger scientists.  Discussions ranged from science outreach and education to the current state of research in the USA and included a podcast appearance on “Science Under Siege.” Dr Vale also connected with Nucleate UK, a student-led bioteHHMI Investigator at the Whitehead Institute in December 2025.
 
Beyond the Crick, Ron held two productive visits with Google DeepMind.  The Vale Lab has used AlphaFold extensively, so a visit to the originators of this game-changing technology was particularly fascinating.  Discussions around how AI can further education and whether it could be used to gain insight into how organisms adapt to extreme environments may lead to future collaborations.  Additional outside engagements included seminars and brainstorming sessions at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and Warwick University as well as meetings with scientists at University College London, and Birkbeck College.
 
“The Vallee Visiting Professorship came at a pivotal moment in my career,” said Dr Vale. “It opened doors to new collaborations and inspired ideas I’ll carry forward into my next chapter at MIT.”