Only thirteen years old when the first Sputnik satellite was launched, Charles caught the fever of space exploration popular at the time. Like so many other young people during that era, he was encouraged to excel in science and math, a pursuit that eventually led to a job with the moon-landing project. He decided he didn’t want it, preferring instead to study something that intrigued him more: human behavior. The work he is most proud of is the very first program he initiated as a new faculty member at the UCSF Cancer Institute — the Shanti project. He applies to his own life valuable lessons he has learned from the people he has cared for, who always talk about the same two things: people they’ve loved and work they’re proud of. He expresses no regrets on either front.