ScienceMakers Toolkit Manual - The History Makers

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ScienceMakers
Spotlight: John Watson
Full Name: John A. Watson
Born: May 21, 1940
Place: Chicago, IL
Parents: Catherine P. Watson
Hosea Watson
Spouse: Valerie M. Watson
Education: Parker High School (now Paul Roberson) - Chicago, IL (1957)
Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago, IL
(B.S. Biology/Biochemisry, 1964)
University of Illinois at Chicago - Chicago, IL
(Ph.D. Biochemistry, 1967)
Type of Science: Biochemistry
Achievements: Founding member of the Coalition for the Advancement of Blacks in
Biomedical Sciences
AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award
Biography
Dr. John A. Watson was born on May 21, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois and attended the Illinois
Institute of Technology, where in 1964 he attained his B.S. degree in biology with a focus in
biochemistry. He remained local for his doctoral studies and pursued his Ph.D. in biochemistry at
the University of Illinois at Chicago, which he received in 1967. After completing his doctorate,
Watson was a United States Public Health Service postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University in
Waltham, Massachusetts, between 1967 and 1969, after which he received an assistant
professorship in the Biochemistry and Biophysics Departments at the University of California, San
Francisco, the institution where he would serve in various capacities for the next four decades. In
1969, Watson was the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the University’s School of Medicine,
and in 1973, he was named the Associate Dean for Admissions. He resumed teaching in the
Biochemistry and Biophysics Departments from 1976 to 1984 and became a full tenured professor
in 1984. Watson received the honor of Professor of Biochemistry Emeritus from the University of
California in 2001.
Dr. Watson is a widely awarded educator and scientist, having received numerous fellowships
including a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship in 1963