But I couldn’t let myself feel that way until it was all right to. And that’s part of the surgical mind too, addressing what you need to, and you know you can do, and postponing how you feel about it, thinking only of the patient and what you need to do.

I love training. It's not just about the competing. I had an amount of natural talent – you need that to go so far – but, actually, what I had, I think, is an ability to make myself work hard, to do the things I didn't like doing, to do the things that I wasn't so good at.

I need to know what my editing voice is

My ability to connect with people. I think I can see people and they feel it.

But I had decided that science is really the thing…It is what I wanted. Exactly.

One of them—I forgot the others— that I thought was really interesting is, Don’t take yourself too seriously. And I believe in that—I think I believe in that.

According to Egyptian regulations, the chairman of the department, the dean of the faculty of sciences, the president of Alexandria University, and the minister of higher education, they all have to sign off.

He really was a major force in my life…So he was always supportive of my decisions vis-à-vis education. And very generous…He was in many ways.

It was also evident to me that if you really want to achieve and do well in American society, you have to work, and work hard…You have to work, you have to work.

But look at what we can do at a place like Caltech, with scientists from the Middle East to Europe to Asia to America.