In this guest column by UTMB’s Dr. Ahmed E. Ahmed: [W]inding down almost three decades and looking at the current status of basic and clinical scientific research in the department of pathology at UTMB, we find that it speaks for itself. I am not going to mention hard statistics about the scientific research funding or impact of the department or the forefront leadership position it enjoys in the scientific fields. It is, however, towering and very impressive. Dr. Walker led the department practically from nowhere to the peak among its counterparts. … Edward Reynolds, the man who recruited me from Minneapolis to Galveston almost four decades ago, would have been extremely proud of David Walker. The latter has realized the former’s dream for him and transformed and placed the department into the vanguard among its peers.