What role has the JBC played in your career?
I have published a lot of papers in JBC, and it was always my first choice for publishing biochemistry papers. Publishing in JBC helps get your message across to a broad audience. I was so pleased to be invited to be an associate editor. I hold the journal in such high regard. But I did take some persuading. Marty [Fedor, JBC’s editor-in-chief] told me: “It’s your chance to give something back to the community.”

What are your hobbies?
I like sports a lot. I like to play tennis. I run and ski. I love hiking in the hills. The best hikes I’ve done were in Italy and New Zealand.

What is your motto in life?
Work hard; play hard. No really, I believe that. As I’ve gotten older, the playing has gotten a bit more difficult! But for sure, when I was working with Eric Barnard in London, we just had a fantastic time. We were a group of young people who all worked hard and enjoyed science, but we played hard as well. I’m not sure if that happens as much now. When I look at the Ph.D. students now, I don’t think there is as much fun around. There’s much more pressure.

Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay (rmukhopadhyay@asbmb.org) is the senior science writer for ASBMB Today and the technical editor for JBC.