REVISED

Like my father, I was very outgoing and was always interested in science, possibly because my father always talked about science and medical issues were discussed at the dinner table . As far back as I can remember, I was interested in medicine, astronomy, and anything related to science. However, science and academics weren’t especially valued at Freeport High School. The heroes in my high school were guys on the sports teams and I played basketball. Until Sputnik, I would say that the heroes for girls in my high school were sports guys, the athletes. However, after Sputnik, the smart guys actually did better with the girls. Also, after Sputnik, what happened on Long Island was that scientists from Grumman and Republic Aviation came to our high school and did pro bono work teaching us calculus and other things that the school was unable to do. So, Sputnik played a big role in my education because the US government was worried that the Russians were going to beat us to the moon.

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.