For nearly four decades, Prof. King has served as a faculty
member in the Department of Biology at MIT. His work
on protein folding and, importantly, misfolding as they
relate to human disease and virus assembly has garnered
numerous awards and honors: He was a Woodrow Wilson
National Fellow, Jane Coffin Childs Fund Fellow, AAAS
Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit Award. Additionally, Prof.
King has taken critical roles at the intersection of science
and public policy, including a tenure as President of the
Biophysical Society in 1999. In 2003, he received the MIT
Martin Luther King Leadership Award, which recognizes
individuals who “embody the spirit of Dr. King’s work” [1]
in their contributions to the MIT community. Prof. King’s
recent efforts have focused on championing federal support
for biomedical research as well as criticizing unrestrained
defense spending. In part I of this interview, we examine the
connections between science, activism, and policy through
the lens of Prof. King’s diverse experiences as an academic
and activist.
An Interview with Professor Jonathan King. Part I:
on Social Responsibility and Activism in Academia
