David L. Spector, Ph.D., Director of Research, and Head of the Gene Regulation and Cell Proliferation Program of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center, has been a member of the CSHL faculty since 1985. Dr. Spector’s research centers on understanding the organization and regulation of gene expression in living cells. His laboratory’s work is focused on implementing innovative approaches to elucidate the spatial and temporal aspects of gene expression and in identifying and characterizing the function of nuclear retained long non-coding RNAs. An expert in microscopy, Dr. Spector also directs the Microscopy Shared Resource at CSHL. Dr. Spector has edited numerous microscopy techniques manuals that are used in laboratories throughout the world and he serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Cell Science, Epigenetics & Chromatin, and Current Opinion in Cell Biology. In 2006 he received the Winship Herr Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Watson School of Biological Sciences. He was recently elected to the council of the American Society for Cell Biology.