Dr. Talmadge King, Jr. is Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs at UCSF. Dr. King is an internationally known expert on interstitial lung diseases. In the interview with current chair of UCSF's Department of Medicine, Dr. Bob Wachter, Dr. King describes his remarkable journey from a small town upbringing –including segregated schools –to the pinnacle of academic medicine. Dr. King is the recipient of several major honors, including the Trudeau Medal, the highest honor of the American Thoracic Society. Prior to assuming his role as dean, he was chair of UCSF's Department of Medicine and Chief of the Medical Service at San Francisco General Hospital. (#32874)