Aaron Shatkin majored in chemistry at Bowdoin College and trained at Rockefeller University in microbiology with E.L. Tatum. In 1986, he was appointed the director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, jointly administered by Rutgers University, where he is Professor of Molecular Biology and by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he is Professor of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology. His lab's findings have provided many important insights into how gene expression is regulated in eukaryotic cells and viruses. He was the founding editor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and is the author of more than 200 scientific publications. He has received several honors including a DSc (Hon) from Bowdoin College and the 2003 Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences.