The stakes of Dr. Annalise Rodriguez's work are very, very high.

As the assistant professor of neurosurgery and director of neurosurgical oncology at the University of Arkansas for medical sciences, Dr. Rodriguez specializes in the surgical treatment of brain tumors and runs an independent research lab.

And so I wondered when what you do is a matter of life and death, how do you build trust? How do you stay focused? How do you lead? And what do

you learn when your work brings you face to face every day with life's biggest questions?

You know, I think parents everywhere who worry about their kids watching too much TV are going to be happy to know that you were inspired to become a neurosurgeon by watching television.

Can you take me back to that moment in the fourth grade?

So I watched TV growing up, but it had to be balanced between cartoons and educational things. So I used to

watch a lot of TLC or their learning channel. There was a program about a little girl who had

epilepsy. They showed her journey. Eventually, she ended up requiring a massive brain surgery to stop her seizures and then they showed

after how she recovered and she was able to interact and be a normal child and i just remember

thinking that's amazing like what type of doctor does that i just remember that spark and and telling. Like, what type of doctor does that? I just remember that spark and

telling my mom, like, what type of doctor is that? That's what I'm going to do. And did your

parents speed that spark? Yes. So through various things, I always really liked math and science.

So I would, in elementary school, I actually went to science camp

during the summer, which sounds kind of strange, but there was a free course given at our

community college, and it was actually for sixth graders. But my mom wrote them a letter saying, I really love science and she would love to be in it.

And so it was the summer after fourth grade, I got to go to a community college campus and

learn how to use a microscope. We did like an acid-based reaction. And then I always got

science-oriented toys and books. As soon as I said,

this is what I'm going to do, I was definitely encouraged. You and I would have been fast friends

when we were a little going to science camp in the middle of summer. Your path, at least on paper,

seems very direct. You went to a new college of Florida,

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