A public lecture by
Dr. Richard C. Lewontin, Harvard University
Genomania: Good biology and bad metaphors

7pm, Tuesday 17 April 2007
Filene Auditorium, Moore Hall, Dartmouth College (map)

Dr. Richard Lewontin is one of the most important and influential evolutionary biologists of the last century. He pioneered the application of protein gel electrophoresis in evolutionary genetics, which revealed startlingly high levels of genetic variation in populations and fundamentally altered how biologists understood the genetic basis of evolutionary change. Where founders of the Neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis had been debating how natural selection acts, high levels of molecular variation suggested that many genetic changes may not be selected at all - they were neutral. By incorporating molecular biology into evolutionary genetics, Dr. Lewontin helped create the foundations for the field of molecular evolution and drove forward new research on the nature of selection and neutrality, linkage disequilibrium, and population genetics in general. At the same time, Dr. Lewontin has guided and inspired the careers of countless students and young scientists. He is a scholar of the history of science and science education. Furthermore, his prolific popular writings in the New York Review and elsewhere have raised important questions about the role of science in society, genetic determinism, race and IQ, and the possibility of dialectical biology. Dr. Lewontin is Alexander Agassiz Research Professor at Harvard University.  More on Dr. Lewontin.

This event continues an annual seminar series sponsored by the graduate students and faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College to honor the memory of Professor Chris Reed by bringing distinguished scholars to the Dartmouth community who share Professor Reed's passion and talent for education and research.

Backdrop image is a protein electrophoresis gel from the work of R.C. Lewontin (different band locations among columns indicate genetic variation among individuals and multiple bands within columns indicate polymorphisms and isozymes within individuals). 

Artwork, gel image, and historical context compliments of Dr. Michael Dietrich.