Mixing humor and heartbreak, Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist delves into the lab of charismatic professor Dr. Lawrence Shapiro, and follows three irrepressible graduate students on their determined pursuit of a PhD and scientific success. As if the pressure of scientific discovery isn’t enough, the students are also competing in a worldwide race to be the first to publish their findings. Their challenge: to decipher the structure and mechanism of AMPK, a tiny protein that controls the burning and storage of fat. Their road to success: years of trial and error, unflinching dedication, rock-climbing, rumors of pickle juice, and the music of The Flaming Lips.



Major funding was provided by Merck.

Additional funding was provided by

The Winston Foundation, Richard J. Lounsbery Foundation, Jack Rudin, Robert Rifkind, Martin Leibowitz, Rifkind Family Foundation, J&AR Foundation, Hazen-Polsky Foundation, Lawrence Buttenweiser, William Golden, Peter Felcher, William Grant, James, Marcus, Jane Kosovsky, John O’Neil, Nancy Rifkind, Barbara Rifkind and & Adam Brandenburger and Anthony Viscusi.

Production Credits