Development of molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison

Abstract

Dramatic changes in the foundation of academic departments in our Universities are uncommon. With the demonstration that DNA was the cellular source of genetic information, and that this information could be regulated, the field of Molecular Biology was born. Later when scientists found that they could tinker with this information, the field matured. In an unusually rapid manner, Molecular Biology was integrated into the University of Wisconsin in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. This article is a chronology of how it happened. What are the factors that made this transition possible in Madison? What lessons have we learned from this experience?