Voices

Sep 8, 2025, 11:19

Sendurai Mani: Farewell to Dr. David Baltimore, a Pioneer and Inspiration

Sendurai Mani, Professor of Medicine at Brown University, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Farewell to Dr. David Baltimore, a Pioneer and Inspiration

Yesterday, we lost Dr. David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate, visionary leader, pioneering scientist, and one of the most influential biologists of our time.

In 1982, Dr. Baltimore founded the Whitehead Institute at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As its Founding Director, he recruited Harvey Lodish, Robert Weinberg, Gerald Fink, and Rudolf Jaenisch as the Institute’s first members. I was fortunate to do my postdoctoral work with Robert Weinberg at this extraordinary institution that Baltimore built. The Whitehead Institute has been a place of unparalleled discovery, shaping a generation of cancer biologists and profoundly influencing how we think about mechanisms of disease. That environment left a lasting mark on me, and it was created in no small part through Dr. Baltimore’s vision.

Dr. Baltimore’s scientific legacy is immense:
At just 37, he shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for the discovery of reverse transcriptase, transforming our understanding of how genetic information flows.

He went on to identify NF-κB, a master transcription factor in immune activation and inflammation.

As a leader, he directed the Whitehead Institute, MIT’s cancer center, and later served as President of Caltech, shaping science policy and mentoring generations of scientists.

Thank you, Dr. Baltimore, for your inspiring ideas and leadership. Your spirit will continue to motivate, and your legacy will live on through the numerous lives you have impacted and the discoveries you have contributed to. Rest in peace.”