In science, when I was ready to start my PhD, I was actually not quite sure what I should do again. And I was first considering electrophysiology and then I spent a summer as a volunteer in an institute, in the Max-Planck Institute, where they were studying chromosomes. And just by accident in the library I found Luria's book on general virology and I read it. And I said, “This is what I want to do, now I have to find a place that does virology.” The only place in Germany at that time where you could study virology, and work in virology, was the Max-Planck Institute in Tubigen. So I applied and I was accepted as a graduate student there, and that really set my way and my direction into viruses.

Peter K. Vogt works at Scripps Research, La Jolla, California. His fundamental studies on oncogenic avian retroviruses led to the identification of oncogenes in human cells. His work also includes the discovery of MYC, the most important driver in human cancer, and he made pioneering contributions to the understanding of PI3Ks, a family of critical cancer targets.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Vogt remains actively engaged in research on the biology and genetics of cancer.