David Baltimore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Baltimore
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Baltimore in 2021
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| 6th President of the California Institute of Technology | |
| In office 1997–2005 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Eugene Everhart |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Lou Chameau |
| 6th President of Rockefeller University | |
| In office 1990–1991 |
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| Preceded by | Joshua Lederberg |
| Succeeded by | Torsten Wiesel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 7, 1938 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Alice S. Huang
(m. 1968) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | |
| Known for |
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| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell biology, microbiology |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | The diversion of macromolecular synthesis in L-cells towards ends dictated by mengovirus (1964) |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Franklin |
| Doctoral students | Sara Cherry |
David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist and a winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1975. He is a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He was also the president of Caltech from 1997 to 2006.
At just 37 years old, David Baltimore won the Nobel Prize with Renato Dulbecco and Howard M. Temin. They were honored for their discoveries about how viruses that cause tumors interact with the genetic material inside cells. Specifically, they discovered an important enzyme called reverse transcriptase.
Baltimore has made many contributions to different areas of science. These include studying the immune system, viruses, cancer research, and biotechnology. He has also taught and guided many students who became successful scientists. Besides the Nobel Prize, he has received other major awards, like the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1999.
Contents
- Early Life and Education
- Career and Scientific Discoveries
- Working as an Independent Scientist
- Discovering Reverse Transcriptase
- Discussing New Biotechnology Safety
- Nobel Prize Recognition
- Leading the Whitehead Institute
- President of Rockefeller University
- Leading Caltech
- Caltech Research (1997–2019)
- Public Policy and New Discoveries
- Biotechnology and Awards
- Awards and Honors
- Personal Life
- Books
- See also
Early Life and Education
David Baltimore was born in New York City on March 7, 1938. He grew up in Queens and later moved to Great Neck, New York. His interest in biology started during a summer program in high school at the Jackson Laboratory. There, he met Howard Martin Temin, who would later share the Nobel Prize with him.
Baltimore earned his bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in 1960. He learned about molecular biology (the study of life at a molecular level) from George Streisinger. He then joined a graduate program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1960. He quickly finished his PhD studies, showing his talent for science.
His early work focused on phage genetics, which are viruses that infect bacteria. But he soon became very interested in animal viruses. He moved to Richard Franklin's lab at the Rockefeller Institute in New York City. There, he made important discoveries about how viruses copy themselves and affect cells.
Career and Scientific Discoveries
After earning his PhD, Baltimore continued his research at MIT in 1963. He studied how poliovirus copies itself. He also learned about enzymology, which is the study of enzymes, with Jerard Hurwitz.
Working as an Independent Scientist
In 1965, David Baltimore joined the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla. He continued to study how poliovirus RNA copies itself. He also started mentoring other young scientists. He and his colleagues discovered how viruses make their proteins.
At Salk, he met Alice Huang, who later became his wife. Together, they did important experiments on viruses. He also made a key discovery about poliovirus. He found that it makes all its viral proteins as one large piece. This piece is then cut into smaller, working parts.
Discovering Reverse Transcriptase
In 1968, Baltimore moved back to MIT as a professor. His wife, Alice S. Huang, also moved to MIT to continue her research. They discovered that a virus called VSV uses a special enzyme to copy its RNA. This enzyme was inside the virus itself.
Baltimore then studied two other RNA viruses that cause tumors. He made a groundbreaking discovery: the enzyme called reverse transcriptase (RT). This enzyme can build DNA using an RNA template. This discovery showed that genetic information doesn't just flow from DNA to RNA to proteins. It can also go from RNA back to DNA.
Reverse transcriptase is vital for retroviruses, like HIV, to reproduce. It allows them to turn their viral RNA into viral DNA. This discovery, made at the same time by Howard Martin Temin, changed how scientists understood genetics. It also made it easier to study and reproduce individual genes. This helped lead to more research funding for cancer. In 1972, Baltimore became a full professor at MIT.
Discussing New Biotechnology Safety
Baltimore also helped organize the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA in 1975. This meeting brought scientists together to discuss the possible risks of new biotechnology tools. They created voluntary safety rules for experiments. This helped ensure that new genetic research was done safely. Baltimore understood the importance of these changes. He said that modern biology had gained "new powers."
Nobel Prize Recognition
In 1975, at 37, David Baltimore shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Martin Temin and Renato Dulbecco. They were recognized for their discoveries about how tumor viruses interact with a cell's genetic material. Baltimore's biggest contribution was his discovery of reverse transcriptase.
After winning the Nobel Prize, Baltimore changed his research focus. He started studying the immune system and how it works. His group also found an important gene in a virus that causes leukemia. This discovery helped scientists understand how some proteins can become overactive in cancer cells. This research helped create new cancer drugs, like Imatinib (Gleevec).
Leading the Whitehead Institute
In 1982, David Baltimore helped create the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (WIBR). This new institute was dedicated to basic biomedical research. Baltimore convinced MIT to host the institute, believing it would attract the best researchers. After much discussion, a unique partnership was formed between the institute and MIT's biology department.
The Whitehead Institute quickly became a top research center. Under Baltimore's leadership, it expanded into many important research areas. These included immunology, genetics, and cancer research. The institute also played a key role in the Human Genome Project.
Baltimore's own research at Whitehead continued to thrive. His lab discovered a key protein called NF-κB in 1986. This protein is very important for how the immune system responds to infections and other signals. It's involved in many cellular processes.
His lab also created transgenic mice to study diseases. In 1987, they created mice that developed leukemia, helping to understand the disease. In 1988 and 1989, his students identified two proteins, RAG-1 and RAG-2. These proteins are crucial for how the immune system creates specific defenses against many different molecules. Baltimore considered this "our most significant discovery in immunology."
President of Rockefeller University
In 1990, Baltimore became the sixth president of Rockefeller University in New York City. He moved his research group there and continued his work on viruses and cell regulation. He also made important changes to how the university was run. He resigned in 1991 but continued his research at Rockefeller until 1994. He then returned to MIT.
Leading Caltech
On May 13, 1997, David Baltimore was appointed president of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He started his role in October 1997.
During his time at Caltech, President Bill Clinton awarded Baltimore the National Medal of Science in 1999. In 2003, a researcher in Baltimore's lab at Caltech, Matthew Porteus, was the first to show precise gene editing in human cells. This was a big step forward in genetic engineering.
In October 2005, Baltimore stepped down as president of Caltech. He felt it was the right time for a new leader. He remains an active member of the Caltech community as a professor.
Caltech Research (1997–2019)
Baltimore's lab at Caltech focused on two main areas. One was understanding how the mammalian immune system develops and works. The other was creating ways to use viruses to make the immune system better at fighting cancer.
Helping the Immune System Fight Cancer
A key focus of Baltimore's lab was using gene therapy to treat HIV and cancer. His student, Lili Yang, developed a way to insert genes into cells using a virus. This could help improve immunity. Baltimore started a research program called "Engineering Immunity." This program received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It led to the creation of two start-up companies, Calimmune and Immune Design Corp.
MicroRNA Research
From his arrival at Caltech until his lab closed in 2018, Baltimore's team studied microRNA. These are tiny RNA molecules that help control how much protein is made by genes. They provide fine control over gene expression.
His team discovered a microRNA called microRNA-146a (miR-146a). They bred mice that lacked this microRNA. They used these mice to study how long-term inflammation affects blood stem cells. Their results suggest that miR-146a protects these stem cells during inflammation. A lack of it might lead to blood cancers.
In 2019, Baltimore announced that he would be closing his lab. He said, "I have been involved in research for 60 years, and I think it is time to leave the field to younger people."
Public Policy and New Discoveries
Throughout his career, Baltimore has influenced important science discussions. These include the AIDS epidemic and recombinant DNA research. His efforts to organize the Asilomar Conference were key to creating agreement among scientists and policymakers.
More recently, Baltimore has joined other scientists in calling for a worldwide pause on using a new genome editing technique to change human DNA that can be passed down. This technique, developed by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, allows researchers to precisely cut and edit any DNA sequence. Like the Asilomar conference in 1975, scientists want people to be aware of the ethical issues and risks of these new methods.
Baltimore was also an early supporter of government funding for AIDS research. In 1986, he helped write a report calling for a large research program for HIV/AIDS. He also led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) AIDS Vaccine Research Committee.
Biotechnology and Awards
David Baltimore holds many biotechnology patents. He has been a leader in American biotechnology since the 1970s. He helped found several companies, including Calimmune and Immune Design. He also advises many companies and non-profit organizations.
Baltimore has received many honors for his work. These include the 1970 Gustave Stern Award in Virology and the 1999 National Medal of Science. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences USA in 1974. He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2008, Baltimore was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
He has published over 700 scientific articles. In 2019, Caltech named a graduate fellowship program in biochemistry and molecular biophysics in his honor.
Awards and Honors
- 1971 First recipient of the Gustav Stern Award in Virology
- 1971 Warren Triennial Prize
- 1971 Eli Lilly Award in Immunology and Microbiology
- 1974 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1974 NAS Award in Molecular Biology
- 1974 Canada Gairdner International Award
- 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1983 EMBO Member
- 1986 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
- 1999 National Medal of Science
- 2000 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize
- 2021 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science
Honorary Degrees
David Baltimore has received many honorary degrees from universities around the world, including:
- 1976 Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
- 1987 Mount Holyoke College, So. Hadley, MA
- 1990 Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
- 1990 Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
- 1990 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- 1998 Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
- 1999 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
- 1999 University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
- 2001 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
- 2004 Columbia University, New York, NY
- 2004 Yale University, New Haven, CT
- 2004 The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
- 2005 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- 2012 University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Personal Life
David Baltimore married Dr. Alice S. Huang in 1968. They have one daughter. He enjoys fly-fishing in his free time.
Books
- Luria, S. E., J.E. Darnell, D. Baltimore and A. Campbell (1978) General Virology 3rd edition John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York.
- Darnell, J., H. Lodish and D. Baltimore (1986) Molecular Cell Biology, Scientific American, New York, New York.
See also
In Spanish: David Baltimore para niños
- History of RNA biology
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
- List of RNA biologists
- Baltimore classification
- 73079 Davidbaltimore
