Daniel Kelly is a self-described late bloomer. Trained as a clinical physician, he realized several years into his schooling that he was most interested in the fundamental basis of disease. But he felt he was too far along to pursue the now common MD/PhD. So Kelly immersed himself in a research postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, to learn the molecular biology of mitochondrial enzyme pathways and the genetic basis of diseases that cause heart failure and metabolic disorders in children. See CV

“It was an exhilarating but disorienting time,” he says, lamenting that the intensity and costs of training made it hard to deviate from a career path late in the game.

Following his fellowship, Kelly slowly began doing more basic science and less clinical medicine after setting up a lab at Washington University. In the mid-1990s, he founded the Center for Cardiovascular Research and established a cross-department network of scientists interested in various aspects of cardiovascular disease and metabolism, a rarity at the time. The centre has made great strides in linking cell metabolic disorders to disease, in part thanks to Kelly's pioneering work in mice.

In 2006, Kelly became chief of the cardiovascular division at Washington University's School of Medicine. He enjoyed the challenge, but found that his true passion lay in research discovery and building innovative research environments. When the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in San Diego contacted him about the position of scientific director at its new Florida locale — due to open in 2009 — Kelly seized the opportunity to take a cross-disciplinary approach involving research on cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

“Kelly's willingness to step out of his productive, mid-career position is the type of risky career move needed for the biomedical sciences to evolve,” says Jeff Gordon, director of the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University.

Over the next year, Kelly will begin recruiting the roughly 30 principal investigators to be taken on within five years. As well, he plans to build relationships with the new medical school at the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida and Scripps Florida. “I never thought my career would lead to Orlando, but that just shows how following your vision can take you to unexpected places,” says Kelly.