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30th Anniversary of the Human Genome Project

Interviews with genomics leaders

October 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Human Genome Project (HGP). To commemorate this historic milestone, NHGRI’s History of Genomics Program is featuring 30 oral history interviews with prominent genomics experts relevant to the HGP and the broader field of genomics. This collection includes interviews with HGP architects, government officials who managed the HGP and researchers who actively contributed to the HGP’s success. We will feature one oral history per week for 30 consecutive weeks, culminating on Oct. 1, 2020.

David Schlessinger

Dr. David Schlessinger is the Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Geneitcs and Genomics at the National Institute on Aging. He studies embryonic and developmental events for the aging for the specialized mammalian cells and concomitant aging-related phenomena. He now has an auxiliary title of NIH distinguished investigator. This oral history follows his love of science that started in childhood to getting his Ph.D. at Harvard University and becoming a professor Molecular Microbiology, Genetics, and Microbiology  at the Washington University of St. Louis. He discusses how his interest in looking at the units of ribosomal DNA from mammalian cells to human cells led him to working with Maynard Olson for the Human Genome Project.

Last updated: Ocotober 20, 2020