The inaugural Lasker Lecture, “Reading the Human Genome: Genes and Brains,” was delivered by Sydney Brenner to an overflow audience at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on November 16, 2009. Sydney Brenner discussed reading the human genome as a means to unveil detailed, intricate paths of evolution. Following Sydney Brenner, Mark Van Gilst gave a presentation on his research, which uses C. elegans as a model organism.