News

Dr. Ford Doolittle addressed faculty, staff and students yesterday during Graduate Research Days in the Riverview Room of Jenkins Hall.

Dr. Doolittle has been at the forefront of fundamental research in evolutionary biology for over four decades. He is one of the world’s top molecular geneticists, having spent his career exploring the earliest stages of cell evolution and the forces and mechanisms determining the structure of genomes.

The Dalhousie University molecular biologist initially faced heavy criticism for his 1999 study arguing that, because of a process called lateral gene transfer (LGT), Darwin’s evolutionary tree is an inadequate model for understanding two-thirds of life’s history on Earth. LGT—gene-swapping prevalent among miniscule life forms like bacteria—is now accepted as one of the major forces driving microbial genome evolution, including the spread of antibiotic resistance and the origin of new pathogens.

(an excerpt from NSERC website)