The freedom to grow.

David Baltimore's numerous major discoveries, academic leadership roles, science advocacy work, and knack for training successful scientists have shaped the direction of biomedical science for more than 50 years. Cell editor Nicole Neuman caught up with David, the recipient of the 2021 Lasker∼Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, to discuss his scientific origin story, his philosophy on mentorship, how he rose to the challenge of founding one of the premier biomedical research institutes in the world, and some of his crucial moments shaping modern scientific policy. Excerpts from this conversation, edited for clarity, are presented below, and the full conversation is available with the article online.