The curious job of trying to look at things as they are

So many interesting things were happening when we baby boomers were students. I have not started studying biology with a strong motivation. But the idea of doing things not done before and, most of all, trying to understand the unknown, slowly started fascinating me. Above all, I was lucky enough to encounter mentors that trusted me. Living up to their expectations, and later to the expectations of the larger scientific community, has perhaps been the strongest driving force for my work as a scientist, since science is above all a social activity. I am well aware that I have not always succeeded.