REVISED

A big challenge as Director was to keep everybody happy as I supported important new research at The Whitehead Institute. I was lucky to hire Eve Nichols, who was terrific and worked closely with me on public policy for new and exciting research initiatives. Whitehead did the bulk of the human genome sequencing, which meant I had to figure out how we could accommodate such a large endeavor. Eric Lander came to me and needed more space, but at the time we didn't have more space even with the new addition. It took a lot of work both administratively and scientifically to steward this project. Space in Kendall Square was becoming scarce. So we rented a building in Kendall Square at structure that used to store popcorn and beer for Fenway Park and turned it into a modern laboratory. And that was where the Whitehead Institute did the bulk of the sequencing. So, with my involvement in the Human Genome Project I felt I was a big part of something much larger than even the Whitehead Institute, because I had an important role in the Human Genome Project, even though I myself wasn't involved in the DNA sequencing.

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.