David Baltimore

David Baltimore
Baltimore in 2021
6th President of the California Institute of Technology
In office
1997–2005
Preceded byThomas Eugene Everhart
Succeeded byJean-Lou Chameau
6th President of Rockefeller University
In office
1990–1991
Preceded byJoshua Lederberg
Succeeded byTorsten Wiesel
Personal details
Born (1938-03-07) March 7, 1938 (age 86)
New York, New York, U.S.
Spouse
(m. 1968)
Children1
Education
Websitewww.bbe.caltech.edu/content/david-baltimore
Known for
Awards Lasker Award (2021)
Scientific career
FieldsCell biology, microbiology
Institutions
ThesisThe diversion of macromolecular synthesis in L-cells towards ends dictated by mengovirus (1964)
Doctoral advisorRichard Franklin
Doctoral studentsSara Cherry
External videos
video icon Nobel Prize Interview with Dr. David Baltimore, 26 April 2001, Nobel Prize.org
video icon David Baltimore: Danger from the Wild: HIV, Can We Conquer It?, iBiology

David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he served as president from 1997 to 2006.[1] He founded the Whitehead Institute and directed it from 1982 to 1990. In 2008, he served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

At age 37, Baltimore won the Nobel Prize with Renato Dulbecco and Howard M. Temin "for their discoveries concerning the interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell", specifically the discovery of the enzyme reverse transcriptase.[2] He has contributed to immunology, virology, cancer research, biotechnology, and recombinant DNA research. He has also trained many doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, several of whom have gone on to notable and distinguished research careers. In addition to the Nobel Prize, he has received a number of awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1999 and the Lasker Award in 2021.[3]

  1. ^ "David Baltimore | Division of Biology and Biological Engineering". www.bbe.caltech.edu. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "David Baltimore, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1975". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Fundamental discoveries, academic leadership, and public advocacy". Lasker Award.