The world was gifted with one of the most distinguished leaders of science in 1938, the year David Baltimore was born in New York City. Since he was a lad, he had a passion for biology. It was no surprise that he pursued this field relentlessly in Swarthmore College and later in Rockefeller University in 1964 for his doctorate degree. Then, he had three years of post-doctoral research in the Salk Institute, in La Jolla, California.
He entered MIT in 1968 and became a full professor there in 1972. Baltimore plunged head-on into the molecular study of animal viruses, and for quite some time focused on the poliovirus.
This field gave him the opportunity to discover the enzyme called reverse transcriptase that permits retroviruses to replicate. This led to more ideas regarding cancer and later, AIDS. Because of all these efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1975, at the ripe age of 37. Together with him were Howard Temin and Renato Dulbecco.
Baltimore didn't just focus on viruses. He was also a great teacher. He wasn't like other intellectuals who believed that women couldn't do well in the sciences. In fact, he was their great mentor. He encouraged women to excel and become great scientists. As a result, many of his trainees have become the best in different fields under the sciences.
When science and public affairs become the subject of a conversation, no one could count Baltimore out. He helped develop a national policy for dealing with the genetic manipulation of organisms. He also contributed to public debates on issues in genetic engineering and federal regulation of research. He soon became a key link between basic molecular biology and the fast progressing biotechnology industry.
Aside from being a great mentor, he also was a great diplomat in his own right. In 1984, when he was appointed founding director of the new Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, he forged amicable relations between the Whitehead and MIT.
As director of Whitehead, he pushed for the development of a high-powered young faculty. He molded Whitehead into a greater institution. He was a major influence in shaping the Human Genome Project. He was an outspoken advocate of greater national investment in AIDS research.
Baltimore became the president of the Rockefeller University in July 1990. He made innovations to bring the university's finances under control and to provide greater encouragement for junior faculty. He resigned from the presidency at the end of 1991. At that time, he was caught up in a controversy that stemmed from his support of a collaborator who had been charged with scientific misconduct, but whose honesty he had resolutely defended.
"The truth will always emerge." This saying proved to be true as the collaborator was found to be innocent several years later. Baltimore stayed in the Rockefeller faculty until 1994. After that, he went back to MIT and became the Ivan R. Cottrell Professor of Molecular Biology and Immunology. Later, he also became the Institute Professor.
The latter part of 1996, saw Baltimore getting more and more involved in AIDS research. That time, he was appointed head of the newly created AIDS Vaccine Research Committee of the National Institutes of Health. Aside from his official function as head of the research team, he also served in numerous other governmental advisory committees.