Robert gave an exemplary and elegantly crafted talk that spanned his philosophy pertaining to the practice of hypothesis based science, his learning and mentor “network” and his exciting discovery of glycosylated homing molecules which guide the trafficking of stem cells to specific niches. Robert documented his scientific lineage and mentors who taught him to “listen to nature” and “trust but verify” your findings. He applied this deep perspective on science to delineating mechanistic insights surrounding the way in which regenerative mesenchymal stem cells home to specific sites in the medullary cavity in bone and how this might be engineered to address the clinical problem of osteogenesis imperfecta. All this completed in a cycle between hypothesis, deduction and induction. In these studies Robert identified HCELL or Hematopoietic Cell E-L- selectin ligand, as the most highly expressed cell surface protein mediating bone marrow homing. He performed fascinating studies that demonstrated that the glycosylation of this protein played a critical role in its function. The finding that the targeted modulation of glycosylation of HCELL itself altered its ability to direct homing of stem cells to niches is remarkable. The ultimate target of this study is to delineate a new therapeutic target in human diseases which require optimal homing of stem cells to tissues such as osteogenesis imperfecta. Or in contrast to mitigate against the trafficking of stem cells to sites that induce deleterious effects such as those seen in Graft Versus Host Disease and cancer. All in all it was a deeply satisfying presentation that both described the scientific findings and the personal intensity of the effort to reach them.