
Jan A. Witkowski
Special Advisor
Ph.D., University of London, 1972
witkowsk@cshl.edu | (516) 367-8398
My BSc is in zoology from the University of Southampton, UK. However, a new professor, Leslie Brent who worked with Peter Medawar, modernized the curriculum and I took topics in cell and developmental biology, and immunology. I did my Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of London and moved to the Royal Postgraduate Medical School where I carried out research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I subsequently worked on oncogenes at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, and ran a DNA diagnostics laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
In 1987, I moved to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to direct the Banbury Center, the small conference center at CSHL. I organized meetings covering the breadth of modern experimental biology as well as societal issues arising from such research. By the time I stepped down in 2017, I had organized over 600 meetings attended by over 12,000 participants. I now work on projects for Bruce Stillman, CSHL President.
I have written and edited 14 books. These include the textbook Recombinant DNA, coauthored with Jim Watson. I was co-editor with Alex Gann of The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix, a new edition of Watson’s classic book. My most recent book is The Road to Discovery: A Short History of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. I have a longstanding interest in the history of science, publishing many papers on the history of genetics, cell biology and developmental biology.
All Publications
C. Thomas Caskey (1938-2022).
11 Mar 2022 | Nature | 603(7901):386
Witkowski, Jan;  
Unravelling the Double Helix: The Lost Heroes of DNA
18 Apr 2019 | Nature | 568(7752):308-309
Witkowski, J;  
Direct Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease
11 Oct 2018 | Clinical Infectious Diseases | 68(6):1052-1057
Schutzer, S; Body, B; Boyle, J; Branson, B; Dattwyler, R; Fikrig, E; Gerald, N; Gomes-Solecki, M; Kintrup, M; Ledizet, M; Levin, A; Lewinski, M; Liotta, L; Marques, A; Mead, P; Mongodin, E; Pillai, S; Rao, P; Robinson, W; Roth, K; Schriefer, M; Slezak, T; Snyder, J; Steere, A; Witkowski, J; Wong, S; Branda, J;  
Advances in Serodiagnostic Testing for Lyme Disease Are at Hand
Mar 2018 | Clinical Infectious Diseases | 66(7):1133-1139
Branda, J; Body, B; Boyle, J; Branson, B; Dattwyler, R; Fikrig, E; Gerald, N; Gomes-Solecki, M; Kintrup, M; Ledizet, M; Levin, A; Lewinski, M; Liotta, L; Marques, A; Mead, P; Mongodin, E; Pillai, S; Rao, P; Robinson, W; Roth, K; Schriefer, M; Slezak, T; Snyder, J; Steere, A; Witkowski, J; Wong, S; Schutzer, S;  
Darwin’s Favorite Journal
11 Feb 2016 | Cell | 164(4):591-592
Witkowski, Jan;  
The race to decode life
5 Oct 2015 | Current Biology | 25(19):R815-R817
Witkowski, Jan;  
Redefining genomic privacy: trust and empowerment
Nov 2014 | PLoS Biology | 12(11):e1001983
Erlich, Y; Williams, J; Glazer, D; Yocum, K; Farahany, N; Olson, M; Narayanan, A; Stein, L; Witkowski, J; Kain, R;  
Molecular genetics: A revolutionary meeting of minds
26 Sep 2013 | Nature | 501(7468):487-488
Witkowski, J;  
DNA: Archives reveal Nobel nominations
25 Apr 2013 | Nature | 496(7446):434
Gann, A; Witkowski, J;  
Brave Genius: A Scientist, a Philosopher, and Their Daring Adventures from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize
2013 | Nature | 501(7468):487-488
Witkowski, Jan;