Michael Levitt: A scientist young at heart

“What kind of smile do you want?” Michael Levitt poses in front of the camera and fires a whole range of grins at our photographer Jenny, as the interview is about to start. This energetic, chatty and witty Nobel laureate alternates between telling jokes, explaining the application of his findings and speaking lovingly about his family. Recieving the Nobel Prize is a life-changing event, he says, and at first he feared about the outcome of it.

“It’s fun. Initially I was really worried that it was going to mess up my whole life, which has been wonderful. It’s this instant transition from being a normal person to becoming a celebrity. As a scientist, nobody knows you at all and then suddenly it’s like the finger of God in Michelangelo’s painting is touching you and you’ve got to grow. But now I think I can handle the celebrity bit. The most important thing is to actually have plans for afterwards. And I’m still very passionate about my science. I joke when say that I want to have at least two more Nobel prizes. Firstly, I think I was very lucky to get one, because nobody really expects it,” Michael Levitt explains.

Michael Levitt’s work focuses on theoretical, computer-aided analysis of the protein, DNA and RNA molecules responsible for life at its most fundamental level. He shares this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel “for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.” When he was in his 20s, he wanted to study at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, England. The program was full but he got a place for the following year. In the interim, he went to study at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, where he was at once plunged into the relatively new fields of structural biology and computers. His fellow Nobel laureate Arieh Warshel was attending the institute at the same time and the two soon started working together. With the help of Golem, a custom built computer at the institute, Levitt and Warshel developed a ground-breaking computer program based on classical theories. The program enabled modeling of all kinds of molecules, even really large biological molecules. 

Levitt then went on to earn his PhD from Cambridge University in 1972, where he studied the structure of a molecule called transfer RNA. He had used his classical computer program to gain better understanding of what biological molecules looked like. He teamed up with Arieh Warshel again to develop a program to be used for the study of enzymes. To be able to simulate enzymatic reactions classical and quantum physics had to be made to collaborate more smoothly. In 1976 they reached their goal and the first computerized model of an enzymatic reaction was published. Since it could be used for any kind of molecule the program was revolutionary. When simulating chemical reactions size was no longer a limitation. 

Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube. Simulations are so realistic that they predict the outcome of traditional experiments. The methods that Michael Levitt, Arieh Warshel and Martin Karplus have developed are also universal and can be used to study any kind of chemistry. 

“What we have done is enable very intimate understandings of the workings of the molecules that are essentially responsible for all life; an intimate understanding, which in some ways is much more detailed than can be obtained by experiment. Our understanding is still imperfect, but better understanding of the inner workings will lead to better drugs, new materials. Some of these things have already happened, some of them have not. I think that there is still more promise and potential.” says Levitt about the use of his findings.

Levitt says that he’s always been very passionate about what he does and that the special part of realizing ideas is a driving factor in his work.

Michael Levitt’s basic research set the stage for most subsequent work in the rapidly growing field. It also led to practical methods for antibody humanization that are key to modern anticancer therapy, such as the drug Avastin. Michael Levitt pioneered computational biology, a field that he is still actively involved in and continues to explore. Levitt says that he’s always been very passionate about what he does and that the special part of realizing ideas is a driving factor in his work.

“When you get something just right, it’s an amazing feeling, even when you’re not sure. Science is also very complicated, and ideas need to be accepted. I’m actually very impressed by the Nobel Committee because they chose an area of computers that had been neglected, or at least not selected yet. They really went out of their way and did an excellent job in emphasizing the role of computers in biomedical chemistry” says Michael Levitt.

A matter that currently concerns him is the distribution of funding, which he believes is not going enough to young people. In the United States, he says, the average age of a person with a grant through NIH has increased from 40 years of age in 1974 to 52 years of age today. 

“That is a huge increase. That’s like saying middle age has been redefined as being 52. But I’m concerned about the 40 year-olds and the 30 year-olds. When I made my scientific discoveries I was in my early twenties. I did my PhD in Cambridge and in those days you were meant to be independent as young as possible. They realized that people were getting their great ideas when they were very young,” Michael Levitt states.

Levitt reveals that he now has a mission to do what he can to have more resources for the younger generation. He is intending to have a much smaller research group, to have less money and less space. He also hopes his newfound Nobel celebrity can be of use.

I think everyone should be a role model. I think it’s important.

“I had amazingly good mentors and when I was growing up Nobel Prize winners had a huge input on my life. I thought they were so special. Now I know I’m not special. But for young people I have to act like I’m special, to help them and encourage them. I think everyone should be a role model. I think it’s important,” Michael Levitt states.

His advice to young scientists in the initial phases of their careers is to be passionate about what they do and to care about how it’s done, in a way that they think is right. Also, be persistent and don’t take no for answer. Believe in yourself, try to be original and try to understand what helps you get ideas and follow them. Finally, be kind and be good.