How does a kid from the Bronx get so passionate about science?
My parents were practical people. They’d say “Davy, you like bugs, you like ants? Go to medical school.” [Laughing] Although they encouraged me to become a researcher, they worried that it was a career that was fraught with risk. But I always knew I’d be a scientist. I never questioned it. I was briefly in medical school for a short time and I really couldn’t stand it. Some of it was fascinating, like human anatomy, biochemistry. But the memorization required for pathology, at least when I took it, which was a long time ago—before the molecular era—I just couldn’t retain it. In one ear and out the other. I was also already deeply into my research, in the PhD program, so I dropped out of the MD portion because I was too interested in being a scientist. I guess I never really let anything derail me. The other nice thing is that I’ve been fortunate in being able to study a lot of different things. I’ve attracted talented people with very good ideas and I’ve let them run with them. I’ve ne
