So with that, I want to introduce Dr. Lee.

A few months ago, a bunch of bigwigs assembled in a glassy atrium at Penn Medical School.

There were deans, senior professors.

They were honoring scientist Virginia Mani Lee and her late husband and scientific

partner, John Trojanowski. He died a few years ago. The only thing I feel sad about today is that

John is not here with us. This is Virginia talking. And he would be so delighted with this whole thing.

This whole thing was a portrait unveiling.

It's a picture of John with a wave of white hair sitting, you know, kind of distinguished on a chair, looking very serious.

And Virginia's behind him, leaning on his shoulder, smiling.

They're both wearing lab coats.

They look happy.

Because I remember that this was years ago.

We're about 30 minutes into this ceremony, and so far it's exactly what you'd expect. Formal, polite, a little stuffy. But then

Virginia leans into the microphone. We really did have a unique partnership. We literally

sleep, eat, and shit science.

24-7, literally.

This is a portrait unveiling

with a bunch of university brass

and Virginia's talking about shitting science.

And that is the thing about Virginia.

She just seems to flush away

what other people expect of her.

...