I think he [John Cairns] always had a level of cynicism and that continued unabated and he actually doubled the wealth. He was in the middle [of] doing some really interesting experiments at the time, which certainly helped, and the DNA polymerase stuff happened at a very good time, too. So he had a scientific and intellectual life going on that was very exciting, so that impact wasn’t so great.

Raymond Gesteland, biologist, has made progress in describing essential mechanisms for controlled gene expression. His research on recoding provides insight into replication of RNA viruses such as HIV and the genetic code. Gesteland also concentrates on ribosome function and response to mRNA signals.

He received a master’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. After working at Alfred Tissières Laboratory in Geneva, in 1967, Gesteland arrived at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to work under Jim Watson as Assistant Director for Research.

Gesteland is currently Vice President for Research, Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics, and Chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah.