Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/686754
t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 6 10 10 TMC SPOTLIGHT Q | What part of Italy are you from? A | I was born in Naples and lived there until I was 27. I am the eldest of three brothers, and I am the only one who entered a career in the sciences. My middle brother was a hospital admin- istrator and my youngest brother is a violinist. We are very different—we all went in very different directions. GIULIO F. DRAETTA, M.D., PH.D., DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED CANCER SCIENCE AND CO-LEADER OF THE MOON SHOTS PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER, SAT DOWN WITH WILLIAM F. McKEON, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATING OFFICER OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER, TO DISCUSS HIS DYNAMIC CAREER AND HOW THE MOON SHOTS PROGRAM HOPES TO ACCELERATE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF NEW RESEARCH AND TREATMENT PROTOCOLS FOR SOME OF THE MOST DEVASTATING CANCERS. She was an amazing role model who got students excited about chemistry and biochemistry, and she made me consider becoming a chemist instead of a physician. Ultimately, I found a renewed passion for medical school and was considering psychiatry. I explored a number of options and opportunities while I was in medical school. In Italy, at the time, you could really build your own curriculum, so I was adding classes in neurophysiology and related sciences and psychiatry and so on. Somewhere in my studies, I enrolled in courses in biochemistry and cell biology. These classes in particular had amazing, dynamic professors, and I really loved the coursework, and it Q | When did you discover your passion for the sciences? A | It wasn't early on. In middle school, I excelled in English and Italian liter- ature and Latin. I think it was during my third year of high school that I had this fantastic chemistry professor who really made me think twice about my original plan to attend medical school.