Tom Maniatis (born May 8, 1943), is an American professor of molecular and cellular biology.Maniatis is a graduate of the University of Colorado and one of the founders of modern molecular cloning. He received a PhD in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt University, and has received Honorary PhDs from the University of Athens and the Watson School of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Maniatis carried out postdoctoral studies with Professor Mark Ptashne at Harvard University and with Dr.