# David Botstein

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American biologist (1942–2026)

David Botstein Born David Botsztejn (1942-09-08)September 8, 1942 Zurich, Switzerland Died February 27, 2026(2026-02-27) (aged 83) Palo Alto, California, U.S. Alma mater Harvard University University of Michigan Known for Genetic linkage map using restriction fragment length polymorphisms Relatives Leon Botstein (brother) Awards Eli Lilly and Company Award in Microbiology (1978) Genetics Society of America Medal (1988)[1] Allan Award of the American Society of Human Genetics (1989) Rosenstiel Award (1991) Novartis-Drew Award (2003) Gruber Prize in Genetics (2003) Albany Medical Center Prize (2010) Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013) Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2013) Double Helix Medal (2015)[2] Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal (2020) Scientific career Fields Genetics Institutions MIT Stanford University Genentech Princeton University Thesis The Synthesis and Maturation of Phage-P22 DNA (1967) Doctoral students Olga Troyanskaya[3] Fred Winston Douglas Koshland Tim Stearns Other notable students Michael Eisen (postdoc) Website lsi.princeton.edu/people/david-botstein molbio.princeton.edu/people/david-botstein

**David Botstein** (September 8, 1942 – February 27, 2026) was an American biologist. He was the director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University)[4][5][6][7] from 2003 to 2013, and was the Anthony B. Evnin Professor of Genomics. From 2013 to 2023, he was the founding [Chief Science Officer](/source/Chief_Science_Officer) of [Calico](/source/Calico_(company)), a biotechnology company with a focus on the [biology of aging](/source/Biology_of_aging) to devise interventions to enable people to lead longer and healthier lives.[8]

## Early life and education

David Botsztejn was born in Zurich on Sept. 8, 1942. His parents, Chaim and Anna Botsztejn (later Charles and Anne Botstein), were Jewish research physicians from Poland, his father a radiation oncologist and his mother a pediatrician.[6] In 1949 the family emigrated to the United States, where their surname was changed to Botstein.[9]

Botstein graduated from the [Bronx High School of Science](/source/Bronx_High_School_of_Science) in 1959, and [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) in 1963. He started his Ph.D. work under [Maurice Sanford Fox](/source/Maurice_Sanford_Fox) at the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology), then moved and received a [Ph.D.](/source/Ph.D.) from the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) in 1967 for work on [P22 phage](/source/P22_phage).[10]

## Career

Botstein taught at the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology), where he became a professor of genetics. Botstein joined [Genentech](/source/Genentech), Inc. in 1987 as vice president – science. In 1990, he became chairman of the Department of Genetics at [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University). Botstein was elected to the [U.S. National Academy of Sciences](/source/U.S._National_Academy_of_Sciences) in 1981 and to the [Institute of Medicine](/source/Institute_of_Medicine) in 1993.

He was the director of the Integrated Science Program at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University).[11]

In 1980, Botstein and his colleagues Ray White, Mark Skolnick, and [Ronald W. Davis](/source/Ronald_W._Davis) proposed a method[12] for constructing a [genetic linkage](/source/Genetic_linkage) map using [restriction fragment length polymorphisms](/source/Restriction_fragment_length_polymorphism) that was used in subsequent years to identify several human disease genes including [Huntington's](/source/Huntington's_disease) and [BRCA1](/source/BRCA1). Variations of this method were used in the mapping efforts that predated and enabled the sequencing phase of the [Human Genome Project](/source/Human_Genome_Project).

In 1998, Botstein and his postdoctoral fellow [Michael Eisen](/source/Michael_Eisen), together with graduate student Paul Spellman and colleague [Patrick Brown](/source/Patrick_O._Brown), developed a statistical method and graphical interface that is widely used to interpret genomic data including [microarray](/source/Microarray) data.[13] This approach was refined and applied for diverse applications, including for a molecular classification of heterogenous tumors using gene expression. These efforts included work on discovery of tumor subtypes with [Lou Staudt](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lou_Staudt&action=edit&redlink=1), [Ash Alizadeh](/source/Ash_Alizadeh) and [Ronald Levy](/source/Ronald_Levy_(scientist)), yielding a refined classification of [diffuse large B cell lymphomas](/source/Diffuse_large_B-cell_lymphoma), and in painting the molecular portraits for refined classification of [breast cancers](/source/Breast_cancer_classification) with [Anne-Lise Børresen-Dale](/source/Anne-Lise_B%C3%B8rresen-Dale) and Charles Perou. He has subsequently worked on the creation of the influential [Gene Ontology](/source/Gene_Ontology)[14] with [Michael Ashburner](/source/Michael_Ashburner) and [Suzanna Lewis](/source/Suzanna_Lewis). He was one of the founding editors of the journal *[Molecular Biology of the Cell](/source/Molecular_Biology_of_the_Cell)*, along with [Erkki Ruoslahti](/source/Erkki_Ruoslahti) and [Keith Yamamoto](/source/Keith_Yamamoto).[15]

In 2013, Botstein was named chief scientific officer of [Google](/source/Google)'s [anti-aging](/source/Anti-aging) health startup [Calico](/source/Calico_(company)).

## Personal life and death

Botstein was an alumnus of [Camp Rising Sun](/source/Camp_Rising_Sun_(New_York)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] He was the brother of the conductor [Leon Botstein](/source/Leon_Botstein) and of the pediatric cardiologist Eva Botstein Griepp.[9][6]

Botstein died in Palo Alto, California, on February 27, 2026, at the age of 83.[9][16]

## Awards

Botstein has won the [Eli Lilly and Company Award in Microbiology](/source/Eli_Lilly_and_Company-Elanco_Research_Award) (1978), the Genetics Society of America Medal (1988, with [Ira Herskowitz](/source/Ira_Herskowitz)),[1] the [Allan Award](/source/William_Allan_Award) of the [American Society of Human Genetics](/source/American_Society_of_Human_Genetics) (1989, with [Ray White](/source/Raymond_L._White)), the [Gruber Prize in Genetics](/source/Gruber_Prize_in_Genetics) (2003), the [Albany Medical Center Prize](/source/Albany_Medical_Center_Prize) (2010, with [Eric Lander](/source/Eric_Lander) and [Francis Collins](/source/Francis_Collins)), and the [Dan David Prize](/source/Dan_David_Prize) in 2012. In 2013 he was awarded the $3 million [Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences](/source/Breakthrough_Prize_in_Life_Sciences) for his work and in 2020 the [Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal](/source/Thomas_Hunt_Morgan_Medal) of the [Genetics Society of America](/source/Genetics_Society_of_America).[17] In 2016, [Semantic Scholar](/source/Semantic_Scholar) AI program included Botstein on its list of most top ten most influential biomedical researchers.[18]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-genemedal_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-genemedal_1-1) Mahowald, A. (1988). ["Genetics society of america records, proceedings and reports"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1203430). *Genetics*. **119** (2): s1–s15. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/genetics/119.2.s1](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fgenetics%2F119.2.s1). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [1203430](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1203430). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [17246435](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17246435).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["2015 Double Helix Medal recipient Dr. David Botstein"](https://www.cshl.edu/videos/2015-double-helix-medal-recipient-dr-david-botstein/). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. November 12, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Mullins, J.; Morrison Mckay, B. (2011). ["International Society for Computational Biology Honors Michael Ashburner and Olga Troyanskaya with Top Bioinformatics/Computational Biology Awards for 2011"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3107244). *[PLOS Computational Biology](/source/PLOS_Computational_Biology)*. **7** (6) e1002081. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2011PLSCB...7E2081M](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011PLSCB...7E2081M). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002081](https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002081). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3107244](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3107244).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Princeton University - Department of Molecular Biology - David Botstein"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061127033459/http://www.molbio2.princeton.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=201). Archived from [the original](http://www.molbio2.princeton.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=201) on November 27, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2006. David Botstein at Princeton Department of Molecular Biology

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["History"](https://lsi.princeton.edu/about/history). *Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics*. Retrieved March 21, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-interview_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-interview_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-interview_6-2) Botstein, David (2006). "Willing to Do the Math: An Interview with David Botstein". *PLOS Genetics* (Interview). **2** (5). Interviewed by Gitschier, Jane. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1371/journal.pgen.0020079](https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.0020079). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [1464829](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1464829). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [16733551](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16733551).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Daily Princetonian - Mapping the path of genetics"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061020012122/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/10/18/news/13503.shtml). Archived from [the original](http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/10/18/news/13503.shtml) on October 20, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2006. The Daily Princetonian – Mapping the path of genetics

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Mast2023_8-0)** Mast, Jason (January 24, 2023). ["Calico looking for new chief scientist after celebrated biologist David Botstein quietly retires"](https://www.statnews.com/2023/01/24/calico-chief-scientist-david-botstein-retires/). *[STAT News](/source/Stat_(website))*. Retrieved August 2, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kolata_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kolata_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-kolata_9-2) Kolata, Gina (March 20, 2026). ["David Botstein, Gene-Mapping Pioneer, Dies at 83"](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/science/david-botstein-dead.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved March 21, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-botstein_10-0)** Botstein, David (1967). *The Synthesis and Maturation of Phage-P22 DNA* (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest) [302261666](https://www.proquest.com/docview/302261666).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Thean, Tara. ["Integrated Science Pays Off for Graduates"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110830154320/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/10/12/24100/). *The Daily Princetonian*. Princeton University Press. Archived from [the original](http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/10/12/24100/) on August 30, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Botstein, D.; White, R.; Skolnick, M.; Davis, R. (1980). ["Construction of a genetic linkage map in man using restriction fragment length polymorphisms"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1686077). *American Journal of Human Genetics*. **32** (3): 314–331. [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [1686077](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1686077). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [6247908](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6247908).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Eisen, M.](/source/Michael_Eisen); Spellman, P.; [Brown, P.](/source/Patrick_O._Brown); Botstein, D. (1998). ["Cluster analysis and display of genome-wide expression patterns"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC24541). *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America*. **95** (25): 14863–14868. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1998PNAS...9514863E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998PNAS...9514863E). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1073/pnas.95.25.14863](https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.95.25.14863). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [24541](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC24541). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [9843981](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9843981).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Botstein, D.; Cherry, J. M.; [Ashburner, M.](/source/Michael_Ashburner); Ball, C. A.; Blake, J. A.; Butler, H.; Davis, A. P.; Dolinski, K.; Dwight, S. S.; Eppig, J. T.; Harris, M. A.; Hill, D. P.; Issel-Tarver, L.; Kasarskis, A.; [Lewis, S.](/source/Suzanna_Lewis); Matese, J. C.; Richardson, J. E.; Ringwald, M.; [Rubin, G. M.](/source/Gerald_M._Rubin); Sherlock, G. (2000). ["Gene ontology: Tool for the unification of biology. The Gene Ontology Consortium"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037419). *[Nature Genetics](/source/Nature_Genetics)*. **25** (1): 25–29. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/75556](https://doi.org/10.1038%2F75556). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3037419](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037419). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [10802651](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10802651).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["MBC Editorial Board"](http://www.molbiolcell.org/site/misc/edboard.xhtml).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["David Botstein"](https://www.online-tribute.com/DavidBotstein). *Online Tribute*. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 GSA Awards!"](http://genestogenomes.org/congratulations-to-the-recipients-of-the-2020-gsa-awards/). *Genes to Genomes*. Genetics Society of America. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Singh, Dalmeet (October 17, 2017). ["Who's the most influential biomedical scientist? Computer program guided by artificial intelligence says it knows"](https://www.science.org/content/article/who-s-most-influential-biomedical-scientist-computer-program-guided-artificial). *Science | AAAS*. Retrieved September 22, 2020.

## External links

- [David Botstein's Talk: "An Integrated Science Curriculum"](https://www.ibiology.org/science-and-society/integrated-science-curriculum-princeton/)

- [David Botstein iBiology Seminar: "Fruits of the Genome Sequence"](https://www.ibiology.org/genetics-and-gene-regulation/fruits-genome-sequences/)

- [David Botstein personal archives](https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/790), MC-0227. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Distinctive Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Academic offices Preceded by Shirley Tilghman Director Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics Princeton University 2003–2015 Succeeded by Michael Levine

v t e Breakthrough Prize laureates Mathematics Simon Donaldson, Maxim Kontsevich, Jacob Lurie, Terence Tao and Richard Taylor (2015) Ian Agol (2016) Jean Bourgain (2017) Christopher Hacon, James McKernan (2018) Vincent Lafforgue (2019) Alex Eskin (2020) Martin Hairer (2021) Takuro Mochizuki (2022) Daniel A. Spielman (2023) Simon Brendle (2024) Dennis Gaitsgory (2025) Fundamental physics Nima Arkani-Hamed, Alan Guth, Alexei Kitaev, Maxim Kontsevich, Andrei Linde, Juan Maldacena, Nathan Seiberg, Ashoke Sen, Edward Witten (2012) Special: Stephen Hawking, Peter Jenni, Fabiola Gianotti (ATLAS), Michel Della Negra, Tejinder Virdee, Guido Tonelli, Joseph Incandela (CMS) and Lyn Evans (LHC) (2013) Alexander Polyakov (2013) Michael Green and John Henry Schwarz (2014) Saul Perlmutter and members of the Supernova Cosmology Project; Brian Schmidt, Adam Riess and members of the High-Z Supernova Team (2015) Special: Ronald Drever, Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and contributors to LIGO project (2016) Yifang Wang, Kam-Biu Luk and the Daya Bay team, Atsuto Suzuki and the KamLAND team, Kōichirō Nishikawa and the K2K / T2K team, Arthur B. McDonald and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory team, Takaaki Kajita and Yōichirō Suzuki and the Super-Kamiokande team (2016) Joseph Polchinski, Andrew Strominger, Cumrun Vafa (2017) Charles L. Bennett, Gary Hinshaw, Norman Jarosik, Lyman Page Jr., David Spergel (2018) Special: Jocelyn Bell Burnell (2018) Charles Kane and Eugene Mele (2019) Special: Sergio Ferrara, Daniel Z. Freedman, Peter van Nieuwenhuizen (2019) The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration (2020) Eric Adelberger, Jens H. Gundlach and Blayne Heckel (2021) Special: Steven Weinberg (2021) Hidetoshi Katori and Jun Ye (2022) Charles H. Bennett, Gilles Brassard, David Deutsch, Peter W. Shor (2023) John Cardy and Alexander Zamolodchikov (2024) Large Hadron Collider experiments: ATLAS team, CMS team, ALICE team, LHCb team (2025) Special: Gerard 't Hooft (2025) Life sciences Cornelia Bargmann, David Botstein, Lewis C. Cantley, Hans Clevers, Titia de Lange, Napoleone Ferrara, Eric Lander, Charles Sawyers, Robert Weinberg, Shinya Yamanaka and Bert Vogelstein (2013) James P. Allison, Mahlon DeLong, Michael N. Hall, Robert S. Langer, Richard P. Lifton and Alexander Varshavsky (2014) Alim Louis Benabid, Charles David Allis, Victor Ambros, Gary Ruvkun, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier (2015) Edward Boyden, Karl Deisseroth, John Hardy, Helen Hobbs and Svante Pääbo (2016) Stephen J. Elledge, Harry F. Noller, Roeland Nusse, Yoshinori Ohsumi, Huda Zoghbi (2017) Joanne Chory, Peter Walter, Kazutoshi Mori, Kim Nasmyth, Don W. Cleveland (2018) C. Frank Bennett and Adrian R. Krainer, Angelika Amon, Xiaowei Zhuang, Zhijian Chen (2019) Jeffrey M. Friedman, Franz-Ulrich Hartl, Arthur L. Horwich, David Julius, Virginia Man-Yee Lee (2020) David Baker, Catherine Dulac, Dennis Lo, Richard J. Youle [de] (2021) Jeffery W. Kelly, Katalin Karikó, Drew Weissman, Shankar Balasubramanian, David Klenerman and Pascal Mayer (2022) Clifford P. Brangwynne, Anthony A. Hyman, Demis Hassabis, John Jumper, Emmanuel Mignot, Masashi Yanagisawa (2023) Carl June, Michel Sadelain, Sabine Hadida, Paul Negulescu, Fredrick Van Goor, Thomas Gasser, Ellen Sidransky and Andrew Singleton (2024)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Botstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Botstein) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Botstein?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.