LEADING IN SCIENCE By Sara Baxter
Sue Jinks-Robertson ’77 shines in the science field and receives its top honor
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uring her time at Agnes Scott College, Sue JinksRobertson ’77 spent most afternoons in the lab that went along with her science classes. As a result, she missed out on being involved in many extracurricular activities. But the lab was exactly where she wanted to be. “I was always good at science,” she says. “I enjoyed the problemsolving aspect of it, and I loved being in the lab.” This talent for science and love of being in a lab has been a constant in Jinks-Robertson’s career. She has spent more than 30 years in the academic world, teaching, publishing and conducting research in the area of human genetics. Today, she is a
professor and co-vice chair in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the Duke University School of Medicine, as well as director of Duke’s cell and molecular biology graduate training program. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was recently named Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professor by Duke University School of Medicine. And in April 2019, she received what those in the science field consider the highest honor: election into the National Academy of Sciences. As a biology major at Agnes Scott, Jinks-Robertson’s interest in genetics was sparked when she took
her first genetics class taught by Harry Wistrand, who is now professor emeritus of biology. “That was it,” she says. “I fell in love with genetics, and I knew that was the field for me.” Jinks-Robertson came to Agnes Scott from her hometown of Panama City, Florida. When she was considering colleges, her mother compiled a list of only women’s colleges. Among the factors that led her to choose Agnes Scott were the beauty of its campus and the fact that four other girls from her high school were also attending the college. Being educated at a women’s college helped build the foundation for success in her career.
