¡The geneticist, who lived to be 102 and was expelled from New York University for advocating for civil rights!

Sometimes injustice forces us to take unexpected paths, which end up being a blessing

February 02 2025

Evelyn Witkin, born in 1921 in Manhattan (March 9, 1921 – July 8, 2023), was a pioneering geneticist who dedicated her career to the study of mutagenesis and DNA repair. Her scientific career was marked by both her academic excellence and her commitment to social justice. While a student at New York University, she was suspended for protesting racial segregation at sporting events, an event that led her to continue her education at Columbia University, also in New York, where she obtained her master’s degree in 1943.

Evelin genetist
During her doctorate at Columbia, Witkin delved into the study of bacterial genetics after reading an article by Salvador Luria and Max Delbrück on the existence of mutable genes in bacteria. Her interest in the subject led her to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where she conducted experiments with Escherichia coli and discovered that certain strains could develop resistance to ultraviolet radiation. In 1947, she earned her doctorate and continued her research, identifying how bacteria respond to damage to their DNA, a field that would prove fundamental to molecular biology.
Evelin and president Bush
One of his greatest discoveries was the «SOS response», a mechanism by which bacteria activate DNA repair when they suffer severe damage. He discovered and demonstrated that UV-resistant strains are capable of emitting a «distress signal» when the genome is damaged, activating their metabolism to repair it. This process, now called DNA repair, consists of a series of steps by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to its genetic material.

In the mid-1960s, Witkin demonstrated that this response was regulated by the lexA and recA genes, which control the activation and deactivation of the repair process. His work not only clarified the mechanisms of radiation-induced mutagenesis but also laid the foundation for the study of DNA repair in higher organisms.

Witkin’s career was marked by his perseverance and ability to challenge paradigms. From her expulsion for advocating for racial equality to her groundbreaking discoveries in bacterial genetics, her legacy transcended the laboratory. Evelyn Witkin passed away in July 2023, leaving an indelible mark on molecular biology.