REVISED

Harold Varmus and I were friends, and Harold was a year older than I. He influenced my decision to go to Amherst College, which played a big role in my future. Famous geneticists like Nobel Prize Winning geneticist Hermann Muller had taught genetics at Amherst; Muller won The Nobel Prize in 1946. So Amherst had a stellar reputation when I was there. Attending Amherst turned out to be a turning point in my scientific career, due especially to two outstanding mentors: Phil Ives and Bill Hexter. They took a special interest in me and must have seen something in me because they encouraged my interest in research. At Amherst I got a good background in science through excellent courses. And then, during my junior year, I started working on an honors thesis in genetics. At the end of my junior year, exciting things happened. After dating for three years, I married Rosalie, my high school sweetheart! And, I was awarded an NSF Fellowship. I conducted experiments on Drosophila melanogaster and quickly realized that I really enjoyed doing experimental work!

Gerald Fink, geneticist, changed the field of molecular yeast biology. He is a professor of genetics at MIT, a founding member of both the Whitehead Institute and the American Cancer Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1981). After receiving his Ph.D. from Yale University, he was a part of the Cornell faculty for fifteen years and also served as president of the Genetics Society of America.

In 1976, Fink’s lab succeeded in performing yeast transformation. Gerald Fink currently researches baker's yeast and explores critical pathways in cell growth and metabolism; applications include cancer research and the development of new anti-fungal drugs. He also directs a plant research group heralded for new insights into root growth and salt metabolism.

Although Fink grew up on Long Island, it was not until he attended the 1966 Symposium that he visited Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. In 1970, he began teaching the CSHL course on yeast molecular biology and continued doing so for 17 years. In 1999, he received the first honorary doctorate awarded by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.