Norton Zinder is a molecular geneticist and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor of molecular genetics at Rockefeller University in New York City. He also serves as the university's dean of graduate and postgraduate studies. Zinder is known primarily for his research during the late 1940s and early 1950s, when he discovered a new mechanism of genetic transfer called bacterial transduction. This process refers to the transfer of genetic material between bacteria through bacterial viruses. The discovery has shed new light on the location and behavior of bacterial genes. Zinder is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the 1962 Eli Lilly Award in Microbiology and Immunology from the American Society of Microbiology.

Norton David Zinder, the older of two boys, was born on November 7, 1928, in New York City to Harry Zinder, a manufacturer, and Jean (Gottesman) Zinder, a homemaker. He attended New York City public schools, graduating from...