About Me
I
grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin
and the Wisconsin State Capitol.
I attended the University of Wisconsin -- Madison, where I received a B.S. in
physics in 1990. In the fall of 1990 I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to
start graduate school in the Department of
Chemistry at Harvard University.
I worked for David Singel doing research in
pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). My main thesis project entailed
using electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy to study the
structure of the paramagnetic metal ion active site of the protein p21-Ras. In
particular, we were interested in understanding the conformational changes that
occur in p21 upon binding GAP (GTPase Activating Protein) that lead to hydrolysis
of p21 bound GTP to GDP and thereby control growth signaling in the ras signal
transduction pathway. I received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard in 1995 and
then moved down the road to the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology for a postdoctoral fellowship with Bob Griffin at the MIT/Harvard
Center for Magnetic Resonance. My postdoctoral research
involved protein structure/function studies of Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR),
Photosystem II, and electron spin labeled peptides using high field EPR. In
addition, I worked on improving the sensitivity of solid-state NMR using
Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) techniques where the large electron spin
polarization is transferred to nuclear spins. The increased sensitivity
achieved with DNP has enabled the application of rotational resonance
solid-state NMR techniques, which suffer from low sensitivity, to determining
protein structures of large molecular weight and membrane bound proteins that
are intractable for other structural characterization techniques. Most recently
I have been working in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Drs.
Bruce Rosen, Greg Sorensen, Jerry Ackerman, and David Systrom at the Martinos
Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General
Hospital in Charlestown, Massachusetts. In the Rosen lab I have been working on
developing new magnetic resonance imaging techniques and contrast agents. In
addition, I have been working with Dr. Sorensen on using MRI
techniques for characterizing tumor response to different anti-angiogenic drug
treatments in mouse brain tumor models. I have also been working with Dr. Systrom on 31P
NMR studies of the role of muscle metabolism in ventilatory control. Finally, I
have worked with Dr.
Ackerman on developing novel intravascular coils for
imaging atherosclerotic plaque. For details of my current work see my Research
Interests link.
Outside
of science, my main interests are rowing, biking, hiking, rock climbing, and
music. I started rowing as a freshman in high school for the Mendota
Rowing Club Junior team. I continued rowing in college for
the University
of Wisconsin, winning a national championship in 1986 in the
Open Four with Coxswain race. The coxswain for my boat was none other than my
older brother, Mike
Farrar (Mike also coxed the JV 8 which also won that
year)! Mike and I did a few bike tours together in Europe during college
(mainly Germany) which got me hooked on biking. I took a few years off from
rowing towards the end of college and took up bike racing. While in graduate
school at Harvard I raced for the Harvard
Cycling team for two years. After breaking three bones in my
right shoulder in a bike crash I decided to get back into rowing (a somewhat
safer activity) and rowed for the Harvard
Sculling Club. While at Harvard I also helped coach the
graduate student intramural rowing team (Dudley House Crew).
Back problems have unfortunately recently forced me to give up rowing and get
back into biking. I am now an enthusiastic biker and hiker and most of my
vacations seem to involve these activities. I also enjoy listening to classical music. In particular, I am
a big fan of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra,
in which my wife plays the cello -- if you live in the Boston area please check
them out, they are quite good. In my spare time I volunteer for People Making a
Difference and for Little
Brothers -- Friends of the Elderly.
For
images from some of my trips and activities click on the links below.
Rowing
Hiking