A native of St. Louis, Mo., Zack was raised in Illinois, New Jersey and Southern California. He received a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Dallas (now Southwestern) and came to UCLA in 1987 to pursue postdoctoral training.

What is your motto?
Enjoy what you do. If you love your work, life is a game.

If you hadn’t chosen your current occupation, what would you have chosen?
I would probably be a comedy writer. Based on what I’ve seen on TV, you don’t have to be very funny to be successful.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Virtue cannot be overrated.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Improve my organizational skills. If I could just organize my desk, great things would happen.