Barbara McClintock

Welcome to My Research Portfolio

Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), Department of Genetics, Carnegie Institution at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, shown in her laboratory. Photo: From the Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 90-105, Science Service Records, Image No. SIA2008-5609

Hello, I’m Barbara McClintock, an American cytogeneticist fascinated by the dynamic nature of the genome.
My work with maize chromosomes led to the discovery of genetic recombination, chromosome breakage, and eventually, transposable elements — genes that can move within the genome.

I completed my PhD in Botany at Cornell University in 1927, and spent much of my career exploring how chromosomes behave and control genetic expression in maize.
In 1983, I was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of genetic transposition.

This site serves as a portfolio of my research, publications, and ongoing scientific interests.

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“If you know you are on the right track, if you have this inner knowledge, then nobody can turn you off.”