View source for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
|OrganizationType=Non-profit (Research and Development Agencies)
|Mission=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory aims to explore molecular biology, genetics, and cancer research to understand and fight diseases. It focuses on advancing scientific discovery through research, education, and public policy.
|Employees=1000
|Budget=$150 million (2015)
|OrganizationExecutive=President and CEO
|Services=Research in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics; educational programs; scientific meetings and courses
|HeadquartersLocation=40.85817, -73.46691
|HeadquartersAddress=1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
|Website=https://www.cshl.edu/
}}
{{Short description|Private, non-profit research institution in US}}

{{Infobox institute
| name = Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
| image = Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory logo.png
| image_name = 
| image_size = 250px
| image_alt = 
| caption = The logo of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
| latin_name = 
| established = {{start date and age|1890}}
| president = [[Bruce Stillman]]
| chairman = 
| head_label = 
| head = 
| staff = 1,200
| budget = $150 million
| endowment = 
| debt = 
| members = 
| location = 1 Bungtown Road
| city = [[Laurel Hollow, New York|Laurel Hollow]]
| state = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| province = 
| country = [[United States]]
| coor = 
| address = 
| website = {{URL|http://www.cshl.edu/}}
| footnotes = {{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Historic District
| embed        = yes
| nrhp_type    = hd
| nocat        = yes
| image        =
| caption      =
| location     = Jct. of NY 25A and Bungtown Rd., [[Laurel Hollow, New York]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|40|51|30|N|73|28|00|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = New York#USA
| built        =
| architect    = Multiple
| architecture = Multiple
| added        = March 30, 1994
| area         = {{convert|110|acre}}
| refnum       = 94000198<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>
}}
}}
[[File:Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.jpg|thumbnail|Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]]
'''Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory''' ('''CSHL''') is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, [[neuroscience]], plant biology, [[genomics]], and [[quantitative biology]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cshl.edu/Annual-Reports/2012-annual-report |title=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory &#124; 2012 Annual Report |access-date=2014-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314235223/http://www.cshl.edu/Annual-Reports/2012-annual-report |archive-date=2014-03-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is located in [[Laurel Hollow, New York|Laurel Hollow]] on [[Long Island]], New York.

It is one of 68 institutions supported by the [[NCI-designated Cancer Center|Cancer Centers Program]] of the U.S. [[National Cancer Institute]] (NCI) and has been an NCI-designated Cancer Center since 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/index.html |title=Cancer Centers Program - Cancer Centers |access-date=2014-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223100054/http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/index.html |archive-date=2014-02-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  The Laboratory is one of a handful of institutions that played a central role in the development of molecular genetics and [[molecular biology]].<ref>Horace Freedland Judson, ''The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology'' (Simon & Schuster, 1979), esp. pp. 65-69; also: 44-46; 53; 57-58; 62; 70; 82; 185; 232; 239; 247; 273; 321; 368; 392; 454; 458-59; 572-73.</ref>

It has been home to eight scientists who have been awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]]. CSHL is ranked among the leading [[basic research]] institutions in molecular biology and genetics, with Thomson Reuters ranking it first in the world.<ref>See Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators, [http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/sci/08/may25-08_4/]. The ranking is based on average citation frequency of faculty research papers published between January 2002 and December 2012, including 96.94 citations for each CSHL paper on average.</ref>  CSHL was also ranked first in research output worldwide by ''Nature''.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2019-06-19|title=Top 10 academic institutions in 2018: normalized|url=http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01924-x|journal=Nature|language=EN|doi=10.1038/d41586-019-01924-x|s2cid=241263716}}</ref> The Laboratory is led by [[Bruce Stillman]], a biochemist and cancer researcher.

Since its inception in 1890, the institution's campus on the [[North Shore (Long Island)|North Shore]] of [[Long Island]] has also been a center of biology education. Current CSHL educational programs serve professional scientists, doctoral students in biology, teachers of biology in the K–12 system, and students from the elementary grades through high school. In the past 10 years, CSHL conferences & courses have drawn over 81,000 scientists and students to the main campus.<ref name="cshl.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.cshl.edu/About-Us/Facts-Figures|title=CSHL Facts & Figures - About Us|author=WebServices|access-date=2014-03-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322050319/https://www.cshl.edu/About-Us/Facts-Figures|archive-date=2014-03-22|url-status=dead}}</ref>  For this reason, many scientists consider CSHL a "crossroads of biological science."<ref>Examples include: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., current director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health: [http://library.cshl.edu/oralhistory/interview/genome-research/competition-science/competition-human-genome-project-public-vs-private/]; Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner: [http://library.cshl.edu/oralhistory/interview/cshl/special-aspects/cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-center-science/]; Nobel laureate Eric Kandel, M.D., referring to the institutional setting of CSHL's graduate school: [http://www.cshl.edu/Archive/watson-school-of-biological-sciences-culminates-commencement-weekend-conferring-degrees-on-its-fifth-graduating-class]; See also:  R. Sanders Williams, "Sputnik, Slime Molds, and Botticelli in the Making of a Physician-Scientist," in David A. Schwartz, ed., Medicine, Science and Dreams: The Making of Physician-Scientists (Springer, 2010, p. 103.)</ref> Since 2009 CSHL has partnered with the [[Suzhou Industrial Park]] in [[Suzhou]], China to create '''Cold Spring Harbor Asia''' which annually draws some 3,000 scientists to its meetings and courses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csh-asia.org/overview.html|title=CSH Asia Overview|website=www.csh-asia.org}}</ref> The [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School of Biological Sciences]], formerly the Watson School of Biological Sciences, was founded in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |title=CSHL trustees vote on future of graduate school |url=https://www.cshl.edu/cshl-trustees-vote-on-future-of-graduate-school/ |website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |access-date=4 July 2020 |date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

In 2015, CSHL announced a strategic affiliation with the nearby [[Northwell Health]] to  advance cancer therapeutics research, develop a new clinical cancer research unit at Northwell Health in [[Lake Success, New York|Lake Success]], NY, to support early-phase clinical studies of new cancer therapies, and recruit and train more clinician-scientists in oncology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cshl.edu/news-and-features/cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-and-north-shore-lij-announce-strategic-affiliation-to-accelerate-benefits-of-cancer-research-to-patients.html|title=CSHL Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and North Shore-LIJ announce strategic affiliation to accelerate benefits of cancer research to patients - News & Features|author=Dagnia Zeidlickis|access-date=2015-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031104416/http://www.cshl.edu/news-and-features/cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-and-north-shore-lij-announce-strategic-affiliation-to-accelerate-benefits-of-cancer-research-to-patients.html|archive-date=2015-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>

CSHL hosts [[bioRxiv]], a preprint repository for publications in the life sciences.

==Research programs==
Research staff in CSHL's 52 laboratories numbers over 600, including [[postdoctoral researcher]]s; an additional 125 graduate students and 500 administrative and support personnel bring the total number of employees to over 1,200.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cshl.edu/images/stories/about_us/pdfs/2013-CSHL-factsheet.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211710/http://www.cshl.edu/images/stories/about_us/pdfs/2013-CSHL-factsheet.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''Cell biology and genomics'''<br/>
[[RNA interference]] (RNAi) and [[small RNA|small-RNA]] biology; [[DNA replication]]; [[RNA splicing]]; signal transduction; [[genome]] structure; [[non-coding RNAs]]; [[deep sequencing]]; [[single cell sequencing|single-cell sequencing]] and analytics; [[stem cell]] self-renewal and differentiation; [[chromatin]] dynamics; [[structural biology]]; advanced [[proteomics]];  [[mass spectrometry]]; advanced microscopy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Genomics|url=https://www.cshl.edu/research/genomics/|access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Cancer research'''<br/>
Principal cancer types under study: breast, prostate, blood (leukemia, lymphoma); [[myelodysplastic syndrome]]; [[melanoma]]; liver; ovarian and cervical; lung; brain; pancreas.  Research foci: drug resistance; cancer [[genomics]]; [[tumor microenvironment]]; cancer metabolism; growth control in mammalian cells; transcriptional and post-transcriptional [[gene regulation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cancer Center|url=
https://www.cshl.edu/research/cancer/|access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Neuroscience'''<br/>
Stanley Institute for Cognitive Genomics employs deep sequencing and other tools to study genetics underlying schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Swartz Center for the Neural Mechanisms of Cognition studies cognition in the normal brain as a baseline for understanding dysfunction in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Other research foci: autism genetics; mapping of the mammalian brain; neural correlates of decision making.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stanley Institute for Cognitive Genomics |url=https://www.cshl.edu/research/neuroscience/stanley-institute-for-cognitive-genomics/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Plant biology'''<ref name="Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory">{{Cite news|url=https://www.cshl.edu/research/plant-biology/#faculty|title=Plant Biology - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|work=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|access-date=2018-08-08|language=en-US}}</ref><br/>
Plant genome sequencing; [[epigenetics]] and stem cell fate; stem cell signalling; plant-environment interactions; using genetic insights to increase yield of staple crops, e.g., maize, rice, wheat; increase fruit yield in flowering plants, e.g., tomato.  Other initiatives: genetics of aquatic plants for [[biofuel]] development; lead role in building [[National Science Foundation]]'s [[iPlant Collaborative]]<ref>[[IPlant Collaborative]] and [http://www.iplantcollaborative.org/discover/powered-by-iplant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322030156/http://www.iplantcollaborative.org/discover/powered-by-iplant|date=2014-03-22}}</ref> cyberinfrastructure. Much of this work takes place on 12 acres of farmland at the nearby CSHL Uplands Farm,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cshl.edu/research/plant-biology/uplands-farm/|title=Uplands Farm - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|work=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|access-date=2018-08-08|language=en-US}}</ref> where expert staff raise crops and ''Arabidopsis'' plants for studies. Seven CSHL faculty members conduct research primarily in plant biology - Drs. David Jackson, [[Zachary Lippman]], [[Robert A. Martienssen|Robert Martienssen]], Richard McCombie, Ullas Pedmale, Doreen Ware, and [[Thomas Gingeras]].<ref name="Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory"/>

'''Simons Center for Quantitative Biology'''<br/>
Genome assembly and validation; mathematical modeling and algorithm development; [[population genetics]]; applied statistical and machine learning; biomedical text-mining; [[computational genomics]]; cloud computing and Big Data.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quantitate Biology |url=https://www.cshl.edu/research/quantitative-biology/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''COVID-19'''

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Utah Health University, PEEL Therapeutics, and [[Weill Cornell Medicine]] worked to examine the possible function of NETs in [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]], gather blood samples from 33 hospitalized individuals, as well as autopsy tissue. [[Neutrophil extracellular traps|Neutrophil Extracellular Traps]] (NETs) are a form of protection which is utilized by the immune system against certain pathogens.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 June 2020|title=New evidence for how blood clots may form in very ill COVID-19 patients|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-evidence-for-how-blood-clots-may-form-in-very-ill-covid-19-patients-301085133.html|access-date=21 July 2020|website=Cision PR Newswire}}</ref>

==Educational programs==
[[File:Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory sign.jpg|thumb|Sign at the entrance at 500 Sunnyside Blvd.]]
In addition to its research mission, CSHL has a broad educational mission. The School of Biological Sciences (SBS), established in 1998, awards the Ph.D. degree and fully funds the research program of every student. Students are challenged to obtain their doctoral degree in 4–5 years.  The Undergraduate Research Program (URP) for gifted college students (established in 1959), and the Partners for the Future Program for advanced high school students (established in 1990) are now hosted at the SBS.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

The CSHL Meetings & Courses Program brings over 8,500 scientists from around the world to Cold Spring Harbor annually to share research results – mostly unpublished—in 60 meetings, most held biannually; and to learn new technologies in 30 to 35 professional courses, most offered annually.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>  The Cold Spring Harbor Symposium series, held every year since 1933 with the exception of three years during the Second World War, has been a forum for researchers in genetics, genomics, neuroscience and plant biology. At the Banbury Center, about 25-30 discussion-style meetings are held yearly for a limited number of invited participants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Banbury Center, A Division of CSHL|website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (cshl.edu)|url=https://www.cshl.edu/banbury/}}</ref> As of 2016, a two-week course at CSHL costs between $3,700 and $4,700 per student and three-day conferences cost about $1,000 per attendee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meetings.cshl.edu/courseshome.aspx|title=CSHL Courses|website=meetings.cshl.edu}}</ref>

The DNA Learning Center (DNALC), founded in 1988, was among the early pioneers<ref>See early DNALC annual reports: 1985: [http://www.dnalc.org/files/pdf/annreppdf/annrep1985.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327031538/http://www.dnalc.org/files/pdf/annreppdf/annrep1985.pdf|date=March 27, 2016}}; and 1988: [http://www.dnalc.org/files/pdf/annreppdf/annrep1988.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305165041/http://www.dnalc.org/files/pdf/annreppdf/annrep1988.pdf|date=March 5, 2016}}. For the educational milieu at the time hands-on learning caught on nationally, see: Kyle, Jr. W.C., Bonnstetter, R.J., McClosky, J. & Fults, B.A. (1985). "What Research Says: Science through discovery: Students love it," ''Science and Children'', 23 (2), 39-41; Lumpe, A.T. & Oliver, J.S. (1991) "Dimensions of Hands-on Science," ''The American Biology Teacher'', 53 (6), 345-348; Rutherford, F. J. & Ahlgren, A. (1990), ''Science for All Americans'' (New York: Oxford University Press), p. 186ff.; Schmieder, A.A. & Michael-Dyer, G. (1991)., "State of the scene of science education in the nation," Paper presented at the Public Health Service National Conference, Washington, D.C.</ref> in developing hands-on genetics lab experiences for middle and high school students.  In 2013, 31,000 students on Long Island and New York City were taught genetics labs at the DNALC and satellite facilities in New York. Over 9,000 high school biology teachers have participated in DNALC teacher-training programs.<ref>DNA Learning Center, 2013 Annual Report, in press.</ref>

The [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press]] has established a program consisting of seven journals, 190 books, laboratory manuals and protocols, and online services for research preprints.<ref name="cshl.edu"/>

==Funding==
In 2015, CSHL had an operating budget of $150 million, over $100 million of which was spent on research.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>  Half of the research budget was devoted to cancer; 25% to neuroscience; 15% to genomics and quantitative biology; and 10% to plant sciences.  The sources of research funding in 2015 were: 34% Federal (primarily [[National Institutes of Health]] and [[National Science Foundation]]); 26% auxiliary activities; 22% private philanthropy; 10% endowment; 3% corporate.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==History==
The institution took root as The Biological Laboratory in 1890, a summer program for the education of college and high school teachers studying zoology, botany, comparative anatomy and nature. The program began as an initiative of Eugene G. Blackford and [[Franklin Hooper]], director of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, the founding institution of [[The Brooklyn Museum]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Watson |first=Edith L. |title=Houses for Science: a Pictorial History of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |year=1991 |publisher=CSHL Press, 1991 |pages=20–23 |isbn=9780879694036 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQHhyobFZfwC&pg=PA20}}</ref> In 1904, the [[Carnegie Institution of Washington]] established the '''Station for Experimental Evolution''' at Cold Spring Harbor on an adjacent parcel. In 1921, the station was reorganized as the Carnegie Institution Department of Genetics.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Between 1910 and 1939, the laboratory was the base of the [[Eugenics Record Office]] of biologist [[Charles B. Davenport]] and his assistant [[Harry H. Laughlin]], two prominent [[American eugenicists]] of the period.  Davenport was director of the Carnegie Station from its inception until his retirement in 1934. In 1935 the Carnegie Institution sent a team to review the ERO's work, and as a result the ERO was ordered to stop all work. In 1939 the Institution withdrew funding for the ERO entirely, leading to its closure. The ERO's reports, articles, charts, and pedigrees were considered scientific facts in their day, but have since been discredited. Its closure came 15 years after its findings were incorporated into the National Origins Act ([[Immigration Act of 1924]]), which severely reduced the number of immigrants to America from southern and eastern Europe who, Harry Laughlin testified, were racially inferior to the Nordic immigrants from England and Germany. Charles Davenport was also the founder and the first director of the [[International Federation of Eugenics Organizations]] in 1925. Today, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory maintains the full historical records, communications and artifacts of the ERO for historical,<ref>See [[Daniel J. Kevles]], ''In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 1985); [[Elof A. Carlson]]: ''The Unfit: The History of a Bad Idea'' (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2001); Jan A. Witkowski and John R. Inglis, eds., ''Davenport's Dream: 21st Century Reflections on Heredity and Eugenics'' (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2008)</ref>  teaching and research purposes. The documents are housed in a campus archive and can be accessed online<ref>CSHL Archives general search: "eugenics" [http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00790] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224034339/http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00790|date=February 24, 2021}}
Carnegie Institution of Washington Eugenics Record Office Collection: [http://archives.cshl.edu/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1393970326988~232&locale=en_US&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=7&search_terms=eugenics&adjacency=N&application=DIGITOOL-3&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224090845/http://archives.cshl.edu/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1393970326988~232&locale=en_US&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=7&search_terms=eugenics&adjacency=N&application=DIGITOOL-3&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true|date=February 24, 2021}}
Charles B. Davenport Collection:
[http://archives.cshl.edu/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1393970419039~791&locale=en_US&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=7&search_terms=eugenics&adjacency=N&application=DIGITOOL-3&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224041655/http://archives.cshl.edu/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1393970419039~791&locale=en_US&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=7&search_terms=eugenics&adjacency=N&application=DIGITOOL-3&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true|date=February 24, 2021}}
The study of human heredity; Methods of collecting, charting, and analyzing data:
[http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00890?func=results-jump-full&set_entry=000008&set_number=000343&base=GEN01] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224054504/http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00890?func=results-jump-full&set_entry=000008&set_number=000343&base=GEN01|date=February 24, 2021}}
The Eugenics Record Office at the end of twenty-seven months work:
[http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00902?func=results-jump-full&set_entry=000011&set_number=000343&base=GEN01] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228203858/http://archives.cshl.edu/R/46IPBANTL4L46S1C2NMSCVU5J7U8A9ME8UX7G8IJGDYEGERMRV-00902?func=results-jump-full&set_entry=000011&set_number=000343&base=GEN01|date=February 28, 2021}}</ref> and in a series of multimedia websites.<ref>DNALC web pages on Eugenics: [http://www.dnalc.org/search?q=eugenics];
DNALC Image Archives on the Eugenics Movement: [http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/]; [http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/list3.pl]; 
DNALC Chronicle of eugenics: [http://www.dnai.org/e/index.html]; 
</ref>

Carnegie Institution scientists at Cold Spring Harbor made many contributions to genetics and medicine. In 1908 [[George H. Shull]] discovered hybrid corn and the genetic principle behind it called [[heterosis]],  or "hybrid vigor."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shull | first1 = GH | year = 1907 | title = The significance of latent characters | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1447984| journal = [[Science (journal)|Science]] | volume = 25 | issue = 646| pages = 792–794 | doi = 10.1126/science.25.646.792 | pmid = 17810906 | bibcode = 1907Sci....25..792H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shull | first1 = GH | year = 1907 | title = Some latent characters of a white bean | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1447986| journal = [[Science (journal)|Science]] | volume = 25 | issue = 647| pages = 828–832 | doi = 10.1126/science.25.647.828-b | pmid = 17828973 }}</ref> This would become the foundation of modern agricultural genetics. In 1916, [[Clarence C. Little]]<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Little | year = 1920| title = The Heredity of Susceptibility to a Transplantable Sarcoma (J.W.B.) of the Japanese Waltzing Mouse | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1448245| journal = Science | volume = 51 | issue = 1323| pages = 467–68 | doi=10.1126/science.51.1323.467| pmid =  17837437| bibcode = 1920Sci....51..467L}}</ref> was among the first scientists to demonstrate a genetic component of cancer.  E. Carleton MacDowell in 1928 discovered a strain of mouse called C58 that developed spontaneous leukemia – an early mouse model of cancer.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Richter | first1 = MN | last2 = MacDowell | year = 1930| title = Studies on Leukemia in Mice: I: The Experimental Transmission of Leukemia | journal = [[J. Exp. Med.]] | volume = 51 | issue = 4| pages = 659–73 | doi=10.1084/jem.51.4.659| pmid = 19869718 | pmc = 2131846}}</ref> In 1933, [[Oscar Riddle]] isolated [[prolactin]], the milk secretion hormone<ref>Oscar Riddle, Robert W. Bates and Simon W. Dykshorn "A New Hormone of the Anterior Pituitary," ''[[Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.]]'' 1932; xxix: 1211-1212.</ref> and Wilbur Swingle participated in the discovery of [[adrenocortical hormone]], used to treat [[Addison's disease]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

[[Milislav Demerec]] was named director of the Laboratory in 1941. Demerec shifted the Laboratory's research focus to the genetics of microbes, thus setting investigators on a course to study the biochemical function of the gene. During World War Two, Demerec directed efforts at Cold Spring Harbor that resulted in major increases in penicillin production.<ref>See U.S. Patent 2,445,748 (July 27, 1948). Demerec used x-ray mutagenesis to produce a high-yielding strain of ''Penicillium'' mold.  This facilitated a fivefold increase in penicillin production.</ref>

Beginning in 1941, and annually from 1945, three of the seminal figures of molecular genetics convened summer meetings at Cold Spring Harbor of what they called the [[Phage Group]]. [[Salvador Luria]],  of Indiana University; [[Max Delbrück]], then of [[Vanderbilt University]]; and [[Alfred Hershey]], then of [[Washington University in St. Louis]], sought to discover the nature of genes through study of viruses called bacteriophages that infect bacteria.<ref name="Witkin">{{cite journal |last1=Witkin |first1=Evelyn M. |title=Chances and Choices: Cold Spring Harbor 1944–1955 |journal=Annual Review of Microbiology |date=October 2002 |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1146/annurev.micro.56.012302.161130 |pmid=12142497 |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.micro.56.012302.161130 |access-date=6 March 2023 |language=en |issn=0066-4227}}</ref>

* In 1945, Delbrück's famous Phage Course was taught for the first time, inspiring, among others, a young [[James D. Watson]]; it was repeated for many years after. CSH Symposia important in the cross-fertilization of ideas among molecular biology's pioneers were held in 1951, 1953, 1956, 1961, 1963, and 1966.<ref>"Coming of Phage: Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Phage Course," Pamphlet, 14 pp., 1995.  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.</ref>   
* At the CSH Symposium in summer 1953, Watson made the first public presentation of DNA's double-helix structure.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Leadership==
In 1962, the Department of Genetics, no longer supported by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, formally merged with the Biological Laboratory to form the '''Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology'''. In 1970, the name was simplified to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

[[John Cairns (biochemist)|John F. Cairns]] was appointed as the Director of the merged Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1963 and found that in the absence of continued financial support from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the newly created institution was in desperate need of funds to support its programs and update facilities. Cairns stabilized the Laboratory and made essential improvements to the facilities.<ref name="roadtodisc">{{cite book |last1=Witkowski |first1=Jan A. |title=The Road to Discovery |date=2016 |publisher=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press |location=Cols Spring Harbor, NY |isbn=978-1-621821-08-3}}</ref>{{rp|215}} He decided in 1968 that he would step down as Director and he remained at CSHL until 1973, moving then to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now [[Cancer Research UK]]) in Mill Hill near London, UK.<ref name="roadtodisc" />{{rp|227}} While at CSHL, Cairns performed important experiments on DNA replication in the bacteria ''E. coli''.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

[[James D. Watson]] served as the Laboratory's director and president for 35 years. Upon taking charge in 1968, he focused the Laboratory on cancer research, creating a tumor virus group and successfully obtaining federal funds for an expansion of cancer research capabilities. Watson placed CSHL on a firm financial footing. Inspired by his Nobel collaborator, Francis Crick, Watson initiated a major push to scale-up CSHL research on the brain and psychiatric disorders, beginning in the late 1980s.  In 1990, work was completed on the [[Arnold and Mabel Beckman]] Laboratory, and the Marks Neuroscience Building was opened in 1999.  In 1994, Watson ceased being director of the Laboratory and assumed the title of president. In 2004 he was named chancellor, a position he held until October 2007,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cshl.edu/Non-Research-Faculty/james-d-watson.html |title=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory &#124; James D. Watson |access-date=2014-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071213/http://www.cshl.edu/Non-Research-Faculty/james-d-watson.html |archive-date=2014-04-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  when he  retired at the age of 79 after views attributed to him on [[race and intelligence]] appeared in the British press.<ref>[[James watson#cite note-Africans-45]]</ref><ref>[[James watson#cite note-Suspension-46]]</ref> In January 2019, CSHL severed all ties with Watson—and revoked his honorary titles—after he unequivocally restated these views in an [[American Masters]] television profile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cshl.edu/statement-by-cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-addressing-remarks-by-dr-james-d-watson-in-american-masters-decoding-watson/|title=Statement by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory addressing remarks by Dr. James D. Watson in "American Masters: Decoding Watson"|date=2019-01-11|website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref>

Since 1994 biochemist and cancer biologist [[Bruce Stillman]] has led the Laboratory as director, and since 2003 as president. Stillman, a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] and a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]], also continues to run a basic research lab, devoted to the study of DNA replication and chromosome maintenance. Stillman is credited with the 1991 discovery and elucidation of the mechanism of the [[Origin Recognition Complex]] (ORC), a highly conserved protein complex that recognizes and binds to specific DNA sequences, marking starting points for replication of the entire genome.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 8939847 | volume=274 | issue=5293 | title=Cell cycle control of DNA replication | date=December 1996 | journal=Science | pages=1659–64 | last1 = Stillman | first1 = B | doi=10.1126/science.274.5293.1659| bibcode=1996Sci...274.1659S | s2cid=23519414 }}</ref>

Stillman has presided over a major expansion of the Laboratory, its size growing threefold since he became director. With construction completed on six linked laboratory buildings on the Hillside Campus in 2009, CSHL added much-needed new laboratory space for cancer and neuroscience research, as well as space for a new program on quantitative biology to bring experts in mathematics, computer science, statistics, and physics to problems in biology.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

== Notable faculty==

* [[Douglas Fearon]], immunologist, Fellow of the [[Royal Society]], member of the&nbsp;[[National Academy of Sciences]].
* [[Leemor Joshua-Tor]], structural biologist, [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]]&nbsp;investigator, and [[National Academy of Sciences]] member.
* [[Adrian R. Krainer]], developed [[nusinersen]] to treat [[spinal muscular atrophy]] (SMA), winner of the [[Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences]] and member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]].
* [[Robert A. Martienssen|Robert Martienssen]], studies [[epigenetics]], [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]]&nbsp;investigator and Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] (FRS).
* [[Bruce William Stillman|Bruce Stillman]], molecular biologist, Fellow of the [[Royal Society]], Member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]], [[European Molecular Biology Organization|EMBO]] and [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences|AAAS]].
* [[Bruce Wallace (geneticist)|Bruce Wallace]], geneticist, Member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]], professor at [[Virginia Tech]]
* [[Michael Wigler]], genetic engineering of animal cells and molecular biologist, co-discovered the [[HRAS|Ras]] oncogene, Member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] and [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences|AAAS]].
*[[Zachary Lippman]], plant geneticist, [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]]&nbsp;investigator and winner of a [[MacArthur Fellowship]], commonly referred to as a "Genius grant", Member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]].
*[[Christopher Vakoc]], leukemia biologist, winner of the [[Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research]].

===Nobel Prize winners===
* [[Carol Greider]], discovered relationship between cellular aging and damage to the ends of chromosomes, called [[telomeres]], in 1992; won Nobel Prize in 2009 with [[Elizabeth Blackburn]] and [[Jack W. Szostak]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2009/summary/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref>
* [[Barbara McClintock]], discovered [[transposons]] ("jumping genes") in 1944; received [[Nobel Prize]] in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1983/summary/|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Barbara McClintock - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Library & Archives|url=http://library.cshl.edu/personal-collections/barbara-mcclintock|website=library.cshl.edu}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1983/] See the classic paper McClintock B 1951 "Chromosome Organization and Genic Expression" (''Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol'' 16: 13-47).</ref>
* [[Martha Chase]] and [[Alfred Hershey]], conducted "Waring blender [[Hershey–Chase experiment|experiments]]", confirmed DNA as the genetic material in 1952;<ref>A.D. Hershey and Martha Chase, "Independent Functions of Viral Protein and Nucleic Acid in Growth of Bacteriophage," ''[[J. General Physiology]]'' (September 20, 1952) 36:1, 39-56.</ref> Hershey was awarded the Nobel Prize with [[Salvador Luria]] and [[Max Delbrück]] in 1969<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1969/summary/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1969|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref>  
* [[Richard J. Roberts]] and [[Phillip A. Sharp]] shared a Nobel in 1993 for the discovery of discontinuous, or "split" genes, which revealed the [[RNA splicing]] mechanism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/uncategorized/the-nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-1993-1993|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1993|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref>
* [[James D. Watson]], shared a Nobel Prize with [[Francis Crick]] and [[Maurice Wilkins]] in 1962 for their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1962/summary/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref> From 1968 to 1993 Watson served as the CSHL Director.  In 2007 the CSHL suspended him for his support for [[scientific racism]] but after he issued a public apology he was allowed to retain honorary titles, though he was relieved his leadership and managerial roles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/18/nobel.apology/index.html|title=Nobel-winning biologist apologizes for remarks about blacks - CNN.com|website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> In 2019 CSHL rescinded his honorary titles after he made public remarks again suggesting IQ and race were related, comments which CSHL viewed as a reversal of the apology he gave in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cshl.edu/statement-by-cold-spring-harbor-laboratory-addressing-remarks-by-dr-james-d-watson-in-american-masters-decoding-watson/|title=Statement by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory addressing remarks by Dr. James D. Watson in "American Masters: Decoding Watson"|date=January 11, 2019|website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}}</ref> In 2020 the Watson School of Biological Sciences (WSBS) was renamed to delete any reference to him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cshl.edu/cshl-trustees-vote-on-future-of-graduate-school/|title=CSHL trustees vote on future of graduate school|date=July 3, 2020|website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}}</ref>

== Double Helix Medal ==
Each year, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory awards a [[Double Helix Medal]] to individuals who have positively impacted human health, either by raising awareness and funds for biomedical research, or contributing in a major way to biological and biomedical research.

==See also==
* [[Salk Institute for Biological Studies]]
* [[Whitehead Institute]]
* [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
* [[Harvard University]]
* [[Rockefeller University]]
* [[California Institute of Technology]]
* [[The Scripps Research Institute]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.cshl.edu}}
*[http://www.dnalc.org Dolan DNA Learning Center]
*[http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/ Eugenics Archive]
*[http://www.cshlpress.com Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press]

{{Commons category|Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{Portal bar|New York (state)|Biology}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Laboratories in the United States]]
[[Category:Genetics or genomics research institutions]]
[[Category:Independent research institutes]]
[[Category:Biological research institutes in the United States]]
[[Category:Research institutes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Oyster Bay (town), New York]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges on Long Island]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Biotechnology organizations]]
[[Category:Research institutes established in 1890]]
[[Category:1890 in biology]]
[[Category:1890 establishments in New York (state)]]