Jeffrey N. Agar

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., University of Georgia
Postdoc, McGill University

Current research
My research group studies ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). This involves looking for the cause of the disease (unknown in more than 90 percent of cases) and developing treatments. Our research runs the gamut from patient studies and therapy development to biophysical studies using customized mass spectrometers.       

Favorite classroom experience
I enjoy it when students return from a conference and then regale me with stories of their experience. A common theme of these stories is the excitement of talking to the person that wrote their textbook or their assigned reading. These interactions can be transformative, and are often the first time students realize how much they really know.  

What makes Brandeis special
The intellectual prowess and social influence. Pound for pound, I’m not sure any other university influences the world the way Brandeis faculty, students and alumni do.

Last book read for pleasure
"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Favorite world city to visit
Montréal. Day care is $7 a day. Health care is free. McGill, Mount Royal, the Laurentians, the “Old Port,” Saint Lawrence River, Little Italy, Saint Catherine and St. Laurent Streets. The Montreal Grand Prix, the fireworks, jazz, and comedy festivals. French Canadian culture is a rich as it gets — nowhere will you find a greater concentration of comedians, singers and artists. People dress to the nines. Many of the world’s finest beers are brewed nearby. The cheap food is great and expensive food is par excellence. Everyone seems to speak three languages. Tolerance of race, religion, sexual orientation and vice. (Nobody is perfectly tolerant — there are strong constraints on English signage and English public schools).