President's Corner: Challenges

9/15/2025

I am very excited to serve as the President of the Society for Developmental Biology. My term began following the SDB Board of Directors meeting at the 20th International Congress of Developmental Biology in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As President, my primary job is to plan next year’s annual meeting that will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada but I intend to work on a variety of projects that I will describe later.

I was told I could write about anything for the “President’s Corner”. I thought I would talk about challenges. During my academic journey, I experienced various challenges that could have blocked me from becoming a research scientist. I was a good student up through high school, receiving A and B grades in my classes. If I got a C, it was probably in PE which is ironic since I am now an endurance athlete, completing multiple Ironman triathlons, open water swims, and week-long ultramarathons. In college, I got a D in one course, despite trying hard to understand the subject. It was in Genetics. I am now a Professor of Genetics! I did repeat the course the next semester and got an A. I love Genetics.

During the first year in my doctoral program, my research was going well, and I was getting A’s in my courses. At the end of the first year there was a general knowledge exam for program students. I did not pass the exam on the first attempt nor on the second attempt. I then received a letter (I still have it) from the graduate program director basically kicking me out of grad school and wishing me luck in my future endeavors. I read the rules and found out that you were required to pass the exam within the first year. There was no language about how many times you could take the exam. So, I took the exam a third time and passed and completed my Ph.D. 

As an assistant professor, I received the summary statement for an NIH grant application I had submitted. It was a good score, but the application needed revision before funding. However, during the first review, one of the referees said that my grant application would greatly benefit by having a collaborator who was a “card-carrying developmental biologist”. I wondered how I get one of these cards! I am now serving as the President of the Society for Developmental Biology. I did revise the application, and it was funded.  

I tell these stories about encountering bumps in the road during my academic journey to let trainees know that we all experience challenges, but we can get through them, or they create new opportunities. During these challenging times, remember to believe in yourself, pursue your passion for science, and make exciting discoveries. I invite all SDB members to meet in Las Vegas next July 23-26 to present those new discoveries.

Richard R. Behringer, Ph.D.
SDB President

Last Updated 09/15/2025