title: The wayward Hawaiian boy returns home.
abstract: This chapter represents a travelog of my life and career and the philosophical points I acquired along the way. I was born on a sugar plantation on the island of Hawaii and early on had a stuttering problem. I attended the Kamehameha Schools and received my BS and MS degrees from the University of Hawaii and my Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis. I link my life and career to various principles and events, some of which are: the importance of positioning oneself; going for the big enchilada; music, the international language; the red zone of biotechnology; the human side of biotechnology; the transgenic papaya story; and my leadership time at USDA in Hawaii. The guiding light throughout my career were the words from Drs. Eduardo Trujillo and Robert Shepherd, respectively, "Dennis, don't just be a test tube scientist, do something to help people" and "Now tell me, what have you really accomplished?"
authors.affiliation: School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Geneva, New York 14456; email: dennisgonsal@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gonsalves
mesh_terms: D029441:Carica / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D006254:Hawaii; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000266:history; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D061066:Plant Pathology / Q000266:history*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D014481:United States
keywords: Autobiography; Cornell University; Kamehameha Schools; USDA; University of California at Davis; University of Florida; University of Hawaii; transgenic papaya; virus diseases