Harold E. Varmus

“In the 1960s and '70s, there wasn't much evidence at all. We knew vaguely the causes of cancer, but methods like genomics were very new.”

“From some dilatory reading in the early 1960s, I knew enough about viruses and their association with tumors in animals to understand that they might provide a relatively simple entry into a problem as complex as cancer.”

“Some growths can be detected early, making for increased accuracy in diagnosis. Some can be cured and others controlled.”

“My ideal summer day was reading on the porch.”

“Science can improve lives in ways that are elegant in design and moving in practice.”

“Following graduation from Amherst, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship enabled me to test the depth of my interest in literary scholarship by beginning graduate studies at Harvard University.”

“I begin with the premise that behavior is an incredibly important element in medicine. People's habits, their willingness to quit smoking, their willingness to take steps to avoid transmission of HIV, are all behavioral questions.”

“When high school students ask to spend their afternoons and weekends in my laboratory, I am amazed: I didn't develop that kind of enthusiasm for science until I was 28 years old.”

“Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood and more effectively controlled on its own terms.”

“In general, all cancers have been traditionally characterized by the way they appear under the microscope and the organs in which they arise.”