Genetics - Biotechnology Center

425 Henry Mall

Built in 1993

The Genetics - Biotechnology Center houses the Department of Genetics, which was established in 1910 as the Department of Experimental Breeding and was the first such department in the United States. Its history includes R. A. Brink, who brought hybrid corn to Wisconsin, tripling yield per acre in eight years. Brink also developed winter-resistant alfalfa, which became the nation's leading variety. Ray Owen's discovery of immune tolerance explained how an organism can tell its own cells from foreign ones, knowledge central to studies of organ transplantation and auto-immune illnesses. Fred Blattner, a pioneer of genomics, determined the DNA sequence of E. coli, one of the workhorse microbes in molecular biology. Oliver Smithies developed methods for knocking out or replacing genes of the mouse, work that earned a Nobel Prize.

The JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution is also located in this building. Previously, this was the site of the Wisconsin High School, constructed in 1914. The school closed in 1964 and that building then housed journalism, social work and some women's studies. The old school building was demolished in 1993 to make way for the current building.