Gerald Fink
Encyclopedia
Gerald Fink is an American biologist, who was Director of the Whitehead Institute
at MIT from 1990-2001. He graduated from Amherst College in 1962 and received a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1965. He then taught at Cornell University where he became a Professor of Genetics. In 1982 he became a member of the Whitehead Institute and Professor of Genetics at MIT. Dr. Fink was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 1981, to the Institute of Medicine
in 1996, and to the American Philosophical Society
in 2003.
Fink taught a course in the Molecular Biology of Yeast at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for 17 years. Many of these students as well as his university students went on to have successful careers in molecular biology.
In 1977, Fink and his students Albert Hinnen and Jim Hicks, discovered a method to transform
yeast cells, a procedure that that allows scientists to introduce genetic material (DNA) from another organism into living yeast cells so that the expression and hereditability of the introduced DNA can be studied. This transformation procedure is not only essential for basic research, but is used to produce vaccines and other medically important products in yeast.
In 1992 Fink and his students discovered that bakers’ yeast could switch from a cellular form to a filamentous form. This switch is important for many disease-causing fungi of both plants and animals.
In 2003 Fink chaired a National Research Council Committee that resulted in a highly influential report, Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism: Confronting the Dual Use Dilemma (http://download.nap.edu/cart/deliver.cgi?record_id=10827). This report recommended practices that could improve the capacity to prevent the destructive application of biotechnology research while still enabling legitimate research to be conducted.
Fink has won the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (1981), the Genetics Society of America Medal, (1982), the Emil Christian Hansen Award for Microbiology (1986), the George W. Beadle Award (2001), and the Gruber Prize in Genetics (2010).
Fink is the husband of Rosalie Fink, an educator and author of books on learning disabilities. They have two daughters.
Whitehead Institute
Founded in 1982, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research and teaching institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA....
at MIT from 1990-2001. He graduated from Amherst College in 1962 and received a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1965. He then taught at Cornell University where he became a Professor of Genetics. In 1982 he became a member of the Whitehead Institute and Professor of Genetics at MIT. Dr. Fink was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1981, to the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
in 1996, and to the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
in 2003.
Fink taught a course in the Molecular Biology of Yeast at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for 17 years. Many of these students as well as his university students went on to have successful careers in molecular biology.
In 1977, Fink and his students Albert Hinnen and Jim Hicks, discovered a method to transform
Transformation (genetics)
In molecular biology transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake, incorporation and expression of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings and taken up through the cell membrane. Transformation occurs naturally in some species of bacteria, but it can...
yeast cells, a procedure that that allows scientists to introduce genetic material (DNA) from another organism into living yeast cells so that the expression and hereditability of the introduced DNA can be studied. This transformation procedure is not only essential for basic research, but is used to produce vaccines and other medically important products in yeast.
In 1992 Fink and his students discovered that bakers’ yeast could switch from a cellular form to a filamentous form. This switch is important for many disease-causing fungi of both plants and animals.
In 2003 Fink chaired a National Research Council Committee that resulted in a highly influential report, Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism: Confronting the Dual Use Dilemma (http://download.nap.edu/cart/deliver.cgi?record_id=10827). This report recommended practices that could improve the capacity to prevent the destructive application of biotechnology research while still enabling legitimate research to be conducted.
Fink has won the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (1981), the Genetics Society of America Medal, (1982), the Emil Christian Hansen Award for Microbiology (1986), the George W. Beadle Award (2001), and the Gruber Prize in Genetics (2010).
Fink is the husband of Rosalie Fink, an educator and author of books on learning disabilities. They have two daughters.