The MAD Scientist Hall of Fame

Name: Bill Reisdorf

Country of Residence: Germany

Areas of Science: Biochemistry, Biophysics, Physics

Joined: 1995

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Biography: My life story---My parents used to read to me right before bedtime, and like most kids, I was always very excited about dinosaurs and astronomy. This soon led to a stage where I was "collecting" everything I could get ahold of (rocks, seashells, stamps, coins, books, etc. - not to mention bringing home snakes and salamanders and frogs and other things my mother didn't care much for). My parents made a deal with me that whenever we went shopping, I could pick out a book and they'd buy it for me. If I wanted a toy or game, it was more of a struggle, but I loved to read anyway so it worked out well for me. By the time we studied science in school, I ususally already knew at least a little about whatever topic came up, so I got good grades, and I guess that reinforced my enthusiasm for math and science. I also had some great teachers who enjoyed themselves and made learning fun for all.

So, after being born in Chicago, and growing up in northern Illinois, our family moved to Michigan's Upper Peninsula when I started high school. From there it was on to college at the University of Michigan (where I earned a BS degree in physics). There I also cultivated some of my non-science interests (jazz & classical music, theater, film, and reading literature, and playing basketball in my spare time). I worked for awhile after graduation, before I decided to head back to school for a PhD (also from U Mich, this time in biophysics). Having a wide range of interests seems to have helped me a great deal. Then I moved to a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis, in the Biochemistry and Biophysics Dept., and also at the Institute for Biomedical Computing. Next was a job for a German biotech company in Munich, as their bioinformatics expert, and I have recently joined another biotech start-up there, named Xerion Pharmaceuticals GmbH (see our website for more information: www.xerion-pharma.com). A few of my non-science interests are: playing saxophone and bassoon, reading good poetry and writing bad poetry, eating hot & spicy food, playing basketball and volleyball, watching my favorite sports teams (which is now rather difficult sitting in Germany) and traveling to fun places!

William C. Reisdorf Jr.
Bioinformatics and System Administration
Xerion Pharmaceuticals GmbH
Fraunhoferstrasse 9
D-82152 Martinsried, Germany