Bruce Lahn
Encyclopedia
Bruce Lahn is a geneticist
at the University of Chicago
. He is also the founder of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. His previous research specialized in human genetics and evolutionary genetics
, especially human sex chromosome evolution and the genetic basis that underlies the evolutionary expansion of the human brain
. Lahn's current research interests include stem cell
biology and epigenetics
. His research on the brain size gene, MCPH1, led to the hypothesis that an archaic homo sapiens
lineage such as the Neanderthals might have contributed to the recent development of the human brain. His research also suggested that newly arisen variants of two brain size genes, ASPM and MCPH1, might have been favored by positive natural selection in the recent human history. This research provoked controversy due to the finding that the positively selected variants of these genes had spread to higher frequencies in some parts of the world than in others (for ASPM, it is higher in Europe and surrounding regions than other parts of the world; for MCPH1, it is higher outside sub-Saharan Africa than inside). He has advocated the moral position that human genetic diversity should be embraced and celebrated as among humanity's great assets.
Lahn came to the U.S. from China to continue his education in the late 1980s.
Lahn's honors include the Merrill Lynch
Forum Global Innovation Award, the TR100
Award from Technology Review
, the Burroughs Wellcome Career Award, and a Searle scholarship. He was also named to the 40-Under-40 list by Crains Chicago Business. Lahn received his B.A. in biology from Harvard University
and his Ph. D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He is also the founder of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. His previous research specialized in human genetics and evolutionary genetics
Evolutionary genetics
Evolutionary genetics is the broad field of studies that attempts to account for evolution in terms of changes in gene and genotype frequencies within populations and the processes that convert the variation with populations into more or less permanent variation between species...
, especially human sex chromosome evolution and the genetic basis that underlies the evolutionary expansion of the human brain
Human brain
The human brain has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times larger than the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size. Estimates for the number of neurons in the human brain range from 80 to 120 billion...
. Lahn's current research interests include stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
biology and epigenetics
Epigenetics
In biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence – hence the name epi- -genetics...
. His research on the brain size gene, MCPH1, led to the hypothesis that an archaic homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
lineage such as the Neanderthals might have contributed to the recent development of the human brain. His research also suggested that newly arisen variants of two brain size genes, ASPM and MCPH1, might have been favored by positive natural selection in the recent human history. This research provoked controversy due to the finding that the positively selected variants of these genes had spread to higher frequencies in some parts of the world than in others (for ASPM, it is higher in Europe and surrounding regions than other parts of the world; for MCPH1, it is higher outside sub-Saharan Africa than inside). He has advocated the moral position that human genetic diversity should be embraced and celebrated as among humanity's great assets.
Lahn came to the U.S. from China to continue his education in the late 1980s.
Lahn's honors include the Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
Forum Global Innovation Award, the TR100
TR35
The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
Award from Technology Review
Technology Review
Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
, the Burroughs Wellcome Career Award, and a Searle scholarship. He was also named to the 40-Under-40 list by Crains Chicago Business. Lahn received his B.A. in biology from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and his Ph. D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
External links
- 10 questions from Gene Expression
- Researcher Page at the Howard Hughes Medical InstituteHoward Hughes Medical InstituteHoward Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
. - Brain Man Makes Waves With Claims of Recent Human Evolution