Janine Zieg has served as Director of Research for the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School for eleven years, and overall has worked with department chair Mike Greenberg to support research activities in the Harvard neuro community for over twenty years—working in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital before coming to HMS.  

Zieg will be retiring later this month (although will continue to serve as a consultant on occasion after that). She has a PhD in Biology from the University of California San Diego and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford and MIT prior to her career in science administration.

How would you describe what you do at a cocktail party?
I tell people that I am a “facilitator” of basic research. I also see myself as a liaison between the school leaders and our department. There’s a lot of information from the leadership level that people working in the labs need to know about. And there are also things that happen in the department that school leaders should know about. So I transmit information and questions back and forth.

I think having a background in research myself has given me a better vantage point from which to understand the needs of investigators—to be able to prioritize and tackle problems in a way that is good for the science and will help the research proceed most effectively.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?
A lot of what I do is problem-solving. Usually when there is an issue, information from many different places helps inform the solution to that problem. What gives me the most satisfaction is when I manage to get all the pieces gathered together, to come up with a solution that serves not only the individual investigators involved, but also our community and progression of science more generally. Because I have such a broad picture of the entire department, I can see where needs overlap and where people can collaborate. I think that has been helpful on many levels to the scientists.

Your office is really welcoming—both the larger departmental office in Goldenson 420 and your individual one within. What do you do to create that welcoming space?

Janine enjoying a boat trip on the Charles River with friends and colleagues from the Neurobiology Department

A lot of that, honestly, comes from Mike [Greenberg]. Mike practices an open-door policy, and we share that philosophy in the office by trying to be as welcoming as we can be. We have coffee in there, chocolate in there—basically, we put things in the office that will bring people in. When people come in and sit down, they often start talking and we learn about how people are doing, and what their needs are. Every problem has a small solution, and then a bigger solution that helps more people. So we always try to think of things in that way, considering the department as a whole.

We have a motto in the office, “It’s all about the science,” and that helps us approach an issue and come up with an appropriate resolution. It’s not about personalities, it’s not about ego – it’s about the science. Oftentimes, looking for a solution this way, it takes a lot more work. A lot more energy. But that’s what we need to do. You need to put in that extra bit because that is what will best serve the progress of science.

What are some of your interests outside of work?
I have three lovely granddaughters – two in Pittsburgh and one in the Seattle area. Spending time with them is the biggest joy in my life. The pandemic has made it impossible to visit with the one in WA, but I can drive to Pittsburgh! I also quilt, as some may know from my participation in one of the HBI Hobby Hours. Having an idea in my head and then creating that with my own hands gives me a tremendous feeling of awe and accomplishment.

Also, since covid, I’ve rediscovered my passion for biking. We moved down to Mattapoisett during covid, and so I brought my bike down there and I’ve been biking a lot. It’s a form of meditation for me. Our house there is about half a block from Buzzards Bay and there’s a lovely bike trail that I can take to a place that I now think is the most beautiful spot in the world. It’s a salt marsh, and it’s just beautiful. I get off my bike there, and just sit for a while, watch the birds and everything and it’s just spectacular.

What are your hopes for the future?
One of the reasons I’m retiring is to spend more time with my grandkids. Being with family, seeing friends, biking, hiking trails with my husband, quilting, reading – these are things that make me happy and I hope to do more of all of these things.

I also hope to continue to contribute. I don’t want retirement to be that I just sit around. I’m very keen on climate change and so I hope to do something in that arena. I do not know yet how I will be involved, but I want to add my sweat and elbow grease to that effort.

I also want time to reflect and relax. I feel that in our busy work lives, we don’t take time to reflect enough, and the biking has helped me with that. I’ve also started meditating again. I don’t want my life to feel so reactive, attached to my computer, plugged in all the time. I sort of just want to ‘be’. I think the world would be a better place if everyone would stop and pause for a while each day and reflect.

Do you have any parting advice for the neuro community?
It’s all about the science. That’s my advice. If people can remember that, it will solve a lot of problems.

I want to add that it has been an honor and a pleasure to work with such outstanding people over the past eleven years. I will miss all of you. But you will likely see me roaming the halls occasionally once the pandemic is over.