Baltimore is Robert A. Millikan Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, where he was the president from 1997 to 2006. He has had a profound influence on national science policy regarding such issues as recombinant DNA research and the AIDS epidemic.

Baltimore received his Ph.D. from Rockefeller University in 1964. He subsequently held yearlong postdoctoral positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by an appointment at the Salk Institute. In 1968, he returned to MIT as an associate professor and was named full professor in 1972. He was also a professor at Rockefeller University from 1990 to 1994, and Rockefeller's president in 1990-91. In 1975, at the age of 37, he received the Nobel Prize for his work in virology. His numerous awards include elected membership in the National Academy of Sciences, 1974 and the Institute of Medicine; and he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Microbiology. In 1999, he was awarded the National Medal of Science. He was selected as a co-recipient of the 2000 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, and is the recipient of the 2002 AMA Scientific Achievement Award. He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed articles and has several outstanding administrative and public policy achievements to his credit.