Gerald Fink

School of LIFE SCIENCES GENERAL DIRECTOR – 1997-2002

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Professor Gerald Fink is an American biologist. He is a Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute and American Cancer Society Professor of Genetics at MIT, and was director of the Whitehead from 1990 to 2001. Fink received his PhD degree in genetics from Yale University and served for 15 years on the faculty of Cornell University. A past president of the Genetics Society of America, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Institute of Medicine. His research investigates how fungal pathogens invade the body, evade the immune system, and establish an infection. Professor Fink was General Director of the School in Life Sciences from 1997-2002.

Awards and Honors

  • 1981 National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology
  • 1982 Genetics Society of America Medal 
  • 1986 Emil Christian Hansen Award for Microbiology
  • 2001 George W. Beadle Award
  • 2010 Gruber Prize in Genetics.  

2020 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal by the Genetics Society of America.

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