Evelyn Witkin, Ph.D.

Barbara McClintock Professor of Genetics

Mutagenesis and DNA Repair Mechanisms

Professor Witkin is a pioneering and distinguished investigator in the fields of bacterial genetics, the mechanisms of mutagenesis and DNA repair. In 1973, while on the faculty of Douglass College, she defined the E. coli "SOS Response", a system that is triggered by DNA damage and activates at least 40 genes which promote DNA repair, increase genetic variability and enhance individual and population survival. We now know that many organisms show similar responses to DNA damage and most, including humans, use the same kinds of DNA repair mechanisms. Following her retirement in 1991, Dr. Witkin continues to lead a broad and active life of scholarship with frequent connections to young scientists, a strong commitment to science education in public schools and studies into the works of Charles Darwin and his contemporary, the poet Robert Browning.

National Medal of Science, 2002

Ph.D. Columbia University, 1947

Staff Scientist, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, 1949 - 1955

Professor, Dept. of Medicine, Downstate Medical Center,

State University of New York,  1955-1971

Professor, Douglass College, Department of Biology 1971 - 1983

Member, National Academy of Sciences, 1977

Prix Charles Leopold Mayer, Academie des Sciences de l'Institut de France, 1977

American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1978

Doctor of Science, honoris causa, New York Medical College, 1978

Barbara McClintock Professor of Biology, 1979

Professor, Waksman Institute of Microbiology, 1983 - 1991

Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Rutgers University, 1995

Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal, Genetics Society of America, 2000

Vice President, New York Browning Society