Dr. Peter Walter, a biochemist who studies the unfolded protein response, or the mechanism by which human cells detect misfolded proteins and repair them. Dr. Walter is a principal investigator at the Walter Lab and professor at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). His research focuses on our treatment of cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging and has earned him a Lasker Award -- "America's Nobel Prize" -- and a Breakthrough Prize -- "the Oscars of science."