President Loker, American Society of Parasitologists members and guests, it is certainly a great honor to receive the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal, and I thank the society and its members for this recognition. I give special thanks to my nominator and colleague, Ramon Carreno, and to those who wrote supporting letters. After learning that I was this year's recipient, I spent time reflecting on the path of my career. I've asked myself the question, how is it that I've been fortunate enough to achieve some measure of success? I'll try to provide some answers to this question, in keeping with the tradition established by the first Ward medalist, Clark Reed.
Many of you recognize that the title of my address derives from a famous quote by Sir Isaac Newton, who wrote: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Having invoked Isaac Newton in...