James WATSON is president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. As
president, Dr. Watson has developed the laboratory into an important world center
for advanced education in molecular biology. With the establishment of the Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory Watson School of Biological Sciences, Dr. Watson has
resumed his role as a teacher. Dr. Watsons research focused particularly on DNA.
In 1953, with his colleague, Francis Crick, he discovered the double helix. Professor
Watson became a faculty member of Harvard University in 1956, where he remained
until 1976. From 1988 to 1992 he was the first director of the National Institutes of
Health component of the Human Genome Project. Dr. Watsons long-term interest
in education is demonstrated by his joint publication of three widely used textbooks:
Molecular Biology of the Gene, Molecular Biology of the Cell, and Recombinant
DNA. Dr. Watson received a Ph.D. from Indiana University.