"And of course, identifying all human genes and proteins will have great medical significance." — Daniel Nathans

The glimpses of human strength and frailty that a physician sees are with me still.

So I applied to medical school and received a scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis. Washington University turned out to be a lucky choice. The faculty was scholarly and dedicated and accessible to students.

My parents came to the United States in the early years of this century as part of a wave of Russian Jewish immigrants seeking freedom and opportunity in the New World.