In this episode Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Institute discusses his pioneering work in the cell adhesion and signaling fields. He details the discovery of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin, and the eventual purification and cloning of the first integrins, which are cell surface receptors for fibronectin and other matrix proteins. Erkki also discusses his group's discovery of the RGD tripeptide sequence in fibronectin as the major integrin binding motif, which led to efforts to develop synthetic RGD peptides to block integrin adhesion/signaling. RGD-containing small molecule inhibitors are now used in the clinic to treat various diseases. Enjoy.