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Genentech Center for the History of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

image of the Genentech Center logoIn honor of Genentech’s 30th anniversary in 2006, Genentech, the founder of the biotechnology industry, gifted $2.5 million dollars to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives to seed the establishment of the Genentech Center for the History of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in CSHL’s historic Carnegie Building, where genetics research began in the United States in 1904.

The Genentech Center for the History of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology focuses on documenting the basic scientific research that underpinned the development of molecular biology and biotechnology. This research, carried out initially in academic laboratories, led to the development of recombinant DNA techniques, which in turn stimulated entrepreneurial scientists to create biotechnology companies.

photo of Richard Scheller, James Watson, and Arthur Levinson
Richard Scheller, Executive VP, research at Genentech and James Watson, Arthur Levinson, chairman and CEO Genentech, 2006

The mission of the Genentech Center is to identify, acquire, preserve, promote, and provide centralized access to the original papers, correspondence, and research material materials of the individuals and institutions that were crucial to the development of molecular biology and biotechnology. The Center is also conducting oral history interviews. These materials are complemented with the images and voices of scientists who played a key role in the foundation of biotechnology.

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