When Swedish neuroscientist Jens Hjerling-Leffler moved to New York University (NYU) in New York City for a postdoc in 2007, he found life so exciting in the city that never sleeps that he never wanted to shut his eyes. “I actually didn’t sleep very much my first year,” he says. “There’s this idea that you’re going to work a lot, and then when you’re done you’ve got the whole city at your doorstep.”

After a few months of hyperactivity, Hjerling-Leffler came down with the flu and throttled back a bit on the nightlife. He has also learned a few lessons in Gordon Fishell’s lab at NYU, where he studies cortex and brain development. His American experience has been “much more productivity-based,” Hjerling-Leffler says: “It’s less about sitting in your room coming up with a smart solution or nice idea and more about getting out and doing it.”

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