While he was talking, wisdom was revealed from David’s eyes through his glasses. With systematic and thorough research achievements in the field of quantitative biology, he already has several scientific findings published in world-class journals including both “Nature” and “Science”, though he maintains an attitude of modesty. In his own words, his career has benefited a lot from Shanghai, a place that has always been attractive for him. He thinks it’s good for China to have foreigners come here. “One of the most obvious [attractions for China] is to have people from overseas come to China. You want to work with people that think differently to you and have different knowledge to you. If these people, like professors, post docs and PhD students, come to China, then you’re going to learn something, but working with them you’re also going to contribute something different; looking at the world of science in different ways may lead to different and interesting outcomes,” said David.

(David Waxman was honored with the 2013 Friendship Award for his academic contribution and friendship with China.)