Teach a boy to fish

Dr. Meyer grew up in Massachusetts, with two brothers. His grandparents emigrated from Lithuania through Ellis Island. His father, Irving, became a maxillofacial surgeon. His mother, Charlotte, was a geriatric social worker. The ethos in the Meyer household? The boys would work, and work hard.

"My father's expectation, and he had grown up as a very poor kid, was work and education were the way to succeed in the United States," Dr. Meyer says. "A summer job was important. It was the expectation."

While his family enjoyed those summer months on Cape Cod, it's also how a young Fred came to work at Poole's Fish Market in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard at age 7.

"Everett Poole taught me the meaning of hard work," says Dr. Meyer, who spent several hours each day during his summers icing fish, cutting fish and later hauling lobster traps.

It not only instilled an ethic that carries Dr. Meyer to this day but also a love of learning — to sail, to fish and to teach others.

Fredric B. Meyer was the only son of Dr. Irving Meyer to practice medicine, but the younger Dr. Meyer is quick to note his brothers are "smarter" than he is, despite his credentials as a world-class neurosurgeon and top-rated teacher

"My father was clearly an inspiration and introduced me to the concept of medicine, and I grafted to it," Dr. Meyer says. "There are many different professions and jobs you can do to help people in times of need."