The Member Spotlight Q&A is part of an ongoing CASSS series, in which we invite members to meet other members of the CASSS Community.
The Member Spotlight is an ongoing Q&A series focused on getting to know the CASSS community. Today’s spotlight shines on George Bou-Assaf, Senior Scientist at Biogen.
Q. What was your motivation to volunteer with CASSS?
I love the small, intimate, and dedicated settings of the CASSS organization and its various topic-specific meetings. My background is in higher-order structure characterization and to find a meeting that discusses this topic with great details and diverse points of views was a dream come true. I wanted to enable this format and that’s why I volunteer with CASSS.
Q. What do you do to relax? Do you have any hobbies?
I love listening to all kinds of music and I find that my best time to relax and disconnect is during my commute to/from work. It sounds dangerous, but I promise, I am not a bad driver. I strangely find it the best time to reflect on my day and analyze its events and it helps me get through the terrible Boston traffic without me getting aggravated about it. My favorite hobby is hiking, but I don’t get to do much of it because my kids are too young!
Q. What's your favorite type of food or special dish you cook? Why?
Being Lebanese, I am biased to the Lebanese cuisine. But I enjoy all things Mediterranean like the Greek and Turkish cuisine. I am a very good cook and taught my wife how to make some dishes which she had never heard off despite being Lebanese too. My favorite one is called “Moghrabieh” (translation of Moroccan dish) which consists of couscous, chickpeas, pearl onions, chicken breasts, and a bunch of mild spices.
Q. What is your favorite movie, tv show, music or book?
I don’t get to watch too much TV now, but in grad school and my early career, I binge watched “The Big Bang Theory”. I really enjoyed the geeky, nerdy, humorous nature of this show. My readings nowadays focus on organizational effectiveness and leadership. The latest book I have read (or rather listened to) was “The Fearless Organization” by Amy Edmondson.
Q. What famous person (dead or alive) would you choose to have dinner with? Why?
I’d love to have dinner with Pope Francis. I am fascinated by his leadership style and his humility. Every now and then, I read some quotes or listen to some of his homilies and they leave me thinking about them for days.
Q. What’s your favorite travel experience?
My wife and I spent a few days of our honeymoon in Athens, Greece and then took a ferry to Santorini, one of the Greek islands. It was one of our absolute favorites and we are already planning our 10th year anniversary in a couple of years to return there, this time with our two daughters.
Q. What would people be surprised to know about you?
I am fluent in Arabic, French, and English, and I know a little bit of Spanish too. I spent 15 years of life as a boy scout and I was very dedicated and highly decorated with several badges.
Q. How did you get inspired to go into science/biotech/pharma industry?
When people asked me when I was young what I wanted to become when I grow up, I’ve always answered: a medical doctor. Well, that dream never came true and I am thankful for that! I guess the inspiration was always to help others and here I am now developing medicines for highly unmet medical needs. I believe there are always alternative ways people can fulfill their dreams and I found mine in the biotech industry.
Q. If you did anything other than your current occupation, what would it be?
I have a strong passion for teaching. I strongly believe in passing the knowledge I have acquired to others, and I find this job to be serving a very noble cause. In fact, every now and then I teach Protein Chemistry to graduate and undergraduate students at Northeastern University and I find absolute joy in doing so despite the added burden on my workload.