
David A. Micklos
Executive Director of the Dolan DNA Learning Center
M.S., University of Maryland, 1982
micklos@cshl.edu | (516) 367-5172
Faculty Profile
As an undergraduate, I studied ornithology and vertebrate ecology. My senior project on the migration of the myrtle warbler introduced me to chi-square analysis. When it dawned on me that these pursuits were avocations rather than job descriptions, I tried my hand at teaching.
As a masters-degree student, I wrote a thesis on “The Social Constraints of Public Relations Science Writers.” Luckily, one of my thesis reviewers was a head-hunter, who added me to his list of candidates for a new position in public affairs and development at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. I had never heard of the Laboratory, but I had, of course, heard of its leader, who had also been interested in birds, and began the job in 1982. In 1985, I began to train high school teachers to clone genes, and started the DNA Learning Center in 1988. In 1990, my book DNA Science was published, and I won the Charles A. Dana Award, which impressed even me.
Now I have a unique job that draws together my hybrid experiences in the worlds of biology, journalism, education, and the social sciences. I don’t watch birds too often any more, but I still have my spotting scope. I’m hoping my sons will get interested in birds, because it’s important for people to learn how to see.
All Publications
Analysis of DNA Barcodes Using DNA Subway
30 Apr 2024 | Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) | 2744:551-560
Williams, Jason; Nash, Bruce; Ghiban, Cornel; Khalfan, Mohammed; Hilgert, Uwe; Lauter, Susan; Yang, Chun-Hua; Micklos, David;  
A Rapid, Equipment-Free DNA Isolation Method for DNA Barcoding
30 Apr 2024 | Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) | 2744:517-523
Pepenella, Sharon; Hackett, Jennifer; Fernandez-Marco, Cristina; Petracca, Jeffry; Marizzi, Christine; Nash, Bruce; Micklos, David;  
CyVerse: Cyberinfrastructure for open science
7 Feb 2024 | PLoS Computational Biology | 20(2):e1011270
Swetnam, Tyson; Antin, Parker; Bartelme, Ryan; Bucksch, Alexander; Camhy, David; Chism, Greg; Choi, Illyoung; Cooksey, Amanda; Cosi, Michele; Cowen, Cindy; Culshaw-Maurer, Michael; Davey, Robert; Davey, Sean; Devisetty, Upendra; Edgin, Tony; Edmonds, Andy; Fedorov, Dmitry; Frady, Jeremy; Fonner, John; Gillan, Jeffrey; Hossain, Iqbal; Joyce, Blake; Lang, Konrad; Lee, Tina; Littin, Shelley; McEwen, Ian; Merchant, Nirav; Micklos, David; Nelson, Andrew; Ramsey, Ashley; Roberts, Sarah; Sarando, Paul; Skidmore, Edwin; Song, Jawon; Sprinkle, Mary; Srinivasan, Sriram; Stanzione, Dan; Strootman, Jonathan; Stryeck, Sarah; Tuteja, Reetu; Vaughn, Matthew; Wali, Mojib; Wall, Mariah; Walls, Ramona; Wang, Liya; Wickizer, Todd; Williams, Jason; Wregglesworth, John; Lyons, Eric; Papin, Jason;  
Simple, Robust Invertebrate DNA Barcoding: Chelex-Based DNA Extraction and Optimized COI Amplification
Apr 2024 | Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) | 2744:119-127
Hackett, Jennifer; Pepenella, Sharon; Marco, Cristina; Bodt, Louise; Grajales, Lina; Petracca, Jeffry; Burke, Justin; Mayle, Allison; Nash, Bruce; Micklos, David;  
Correction: Double triage to identify poorly annotated genes in maize: The missing link in community curation.
2024 | PLoS ONE | 19(11):e0314495
Tello-Ruiz, Marcela; Marco, Cristina; Hsu, Fei-Man; Khangura, Rajdeep; Qiao, Pengfei; Sapkota, Sirjan; Stitzer, Michelle; Wasikowski, Rachael; Wu, Hao; Zhan, Junpeng; Chougule, Kapeel; Barone, Lindsay; Ghiban, Cornel; Muna, Demitri; Olson, Andrew; Wang, Liya; Ware, Doreen; Micklos, David;  
CyVerse: Cyberinfrastructure for Open Science
19 Jun 2023 | bioRxiv
Swetnam, Tyson; Antin, Parker; Bartelme, Ryan; Bucksch, Alexander; Camhy, David; Chism, Greg; Choi, Illyoung; Cooksey, Amanda; Cosi, Michele; Cowen, Cindy; Culshaw-Maurer, Michael; Davey, Robert; Davey, Sean; Devisetty, Upendra; Edgin, Tony; Edmonds, Andy; Fedorov, Dmitry; Frady, Jeremy; Fonner, John; Gillan, Jeffrey; Hossain, Iqbal; Joyce, Blake; Lang, Konrad; Lee, Tina; Littin, Shelley; Mcewen, Ian; Merchant, Nirav; Micklos, David; Nelson, Andrew; Ramsey, Ashley; Roberts, Sarah; Sarando, Paul; Skidmore, Edwin; Song, Jawon; Sprinkle, Mary; Srinivasan, Sriram; Strootman, Jonathan; Stryeck, Sarah; Tuteja, Reetu; Vaughn, Matthew; Wali, Mojib; Wall, Mariah; Walls, Ramona; Wang, Liya; Wickizer, Todd; Williams, Jason; Wregglesworth, John; Lyons, Eric;  
Introducing the NSF-ATE InnovATEBIO National Biotechnology Education Center.
Aug 2020 | Journal of Biomolecular Techniques | 31(Suppl):S30
Smith, Todd; Bock, Heather; Hewlett, James; Lazare, Jennifer; Madabushi, Amrita; Mann, Candiya; Micklos, David; Nash, Bruce; Porter, Sandra; Rao, Poornima; Read, Russ; Tubon, Thomas; Wolslegel, Kristen; Fletcher, Linnea;  
Introducing the NSF-ATE InnovATEBIO National Biotechnology Education Center
Aug 2020 | J Biomol Tech | 31(Suppl):S29-S30
Smith, T; Bock, H; Hewlett, J; Lazare, J; Madabushi, A; Mann, C; Micklos, D; Nash, B; Porter, S; Rao, P; Read, R; Tubon, T; Wolslegel, K; Fletcher, L;  
Management, Analyses, and Distribution of the MaizeCODE Data on the Cloud
31 Mar 2020 | Frontiers in Plant Science | 11(289)
Wang, L; Lu, Z; Delabastide, M; Van Buren, P; Wang, X; Ghiban, C; Regulski, M; Drenkow, J; Xu, X; Ortiz-Ramirez, C; Marco, C; Goodwin, S; Dobin, A; Birnbaum, K; Jackson, D; Martienssen, R; McCombie, W; Micklos, D; Schatz, M; Ware, D; Gingeras, T;  
Management, Analyses, and Distribution of the MaizeCODE Data on the Cloud
23 Nov 2019 | bioRxiv
Wang, Liya; Lu, Zhenyuan; delaBastide, Melissa; Van Buren, Peter; Wang, Xiaofei; Ghiban, Cornel; Regulski, Michael; Drenkow, Jorg; Xu, Xiaosa; Ortiz-Ramirez, Carlos; Fernandez-Marco, Cristina; Goodwin, Sara; Dobin, Alexander; Birnbaum, Kenneth; Jackson, David; Martienssen, Robert; McCombie, William; Micklos, David; Schatz, Michael; Ware, Doreen; Gingeras, Thomas;