Douglas C. Wallace

Douglas Cecil Wallace (born November 6, 1946) is a geneticist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.[3][4] He pioneered the use of human mitochondrial DNA as a molecular marker.

Douglas Cecil Wallace
Douglas Wallace with a gift from his team at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2017
Born (1946-11-06) November 6, 1946[1]
Cumberland, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University (B.S., 1968)
Yale University (Ph.M., 1968) (Ph.D., 1975)
Known forPioneering human mitochondrial genetics
SpouseElizabeth (2 children)[2]
AwardsPassano Award (2000)
Gruber Prize in Genetics (2012) Benjamin Franklin Life Sciences Medal
Scientific career
FieldsHuman Genetics
InstitutionsStanford University School of Medicine, Emory University, Human Genome Organisation, University of California, Irvine, Academia Sinica, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
ThesisCytoplasmic genetics in mammalian tissue culture cells
Websitewww.chop.edu/doctors/wallace-douglas-c
Douglas C. Wallace at the Benjamin Franklin Life Sciences Medal Symposium

Career

Wallace earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Developmental Biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1968, a Master of Philosophy in Microbiology and Human Genetics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in 1972 and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Human Genetics at Yale University in 1975.[3] His dissertation was titled Cytoplasmic genetics in mammalian tissue culture cells.[5]

He remained at Yale University as a postdoctoral fellow until he was awarded a professorship (Assistant Professor) at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California in 1976. In 1983 he became professor (Adjunct Professor) for Biochemistry, Anthropology and Pediatrics (Genetics) at the Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1996 to 2002, he was Chairperson and Senior Editor of the Mitochondrial DNA Locus-Specific Database for the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO). In 2002 he assumed a professorship of Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Irvine and founded the Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics there. In 2006 he was awarded a visiting professorship at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2010 he became professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and became the founding director of the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.[2][6][7][8]

In June 2022 he was awarded a honorary degree in Medicine and Surgery by the University of Padua, Italy.[9]

Work

Wallace is a pioneer in the study of mitochondrial DNA. Wallace and his colleagues introduced human mitochondrial genetics into the field of molecular genetics.[10] In 1975, for the first time ever, Wallace could associate a genetic disorder with the mitochondrial DNA region (resistance to chloramphenicol)[11] and in 1990 he described a mitochondrial DNA mutation as the cause of a particular form of myoclonic epilepsy.[12] He has been instrumental in the study of the mitochondrial genome and has developed new methods for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA.[13]

Wallace and his colleagues demonstrated that human mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother[14] and reconstructed the origin and ancient migration patterns of women using variations in mitochondrial DNA sequences.[2][10][15][16]

Honours and awards

See also

References
  1. "Book of Members: Chapter W" (PDF). American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  2. "2012 Genetics Prize: Douglas C. Wallace". Gruber Foundation. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  3. "Douglas C Wallace". The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. "Douglas C Wallace, PhD: Bio". The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. Wallace DC; et al. (1976). "Cytoplasmic inheritance in mammalian tissue culture cells". In Vitro. 12 (11): 758–76. doi:10.1007/bf02835451. PMID 1035581. S2CID 3245970.
  6. "Douglas C. Wallace to Join UCI Faculty in Biology and Medicine". UC. 18 March 2002. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013. Founder of 'Mitochondrial Eve' Research to Establish Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine Center at Irvine
  7. "Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D. (CV)" (PDF). Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  8. "Top Expert on Mitochondrial Disorders Launches Center at Children's Hospital". Newswise, Inc. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. "The Honorary Degree for Douglas Cecil Wallace". 800 anni unipd. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  10. "Douglas C Wallace, PhD: Expanded Bio". The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  11. Wallace DC; et al. (1975). "Cytoplasmic transfer of chloramphenicol resistance in human tissue culture cells". J Cell Biol. 67 (1): 174–88. doi:10.1083/jcb.67.1.174. PMC 2109574. PMID 1176530.
  12. Shoffner JM; et al. (1990). "Myoclonic epilepsy and ragged-red fiber disease (MERRF) is associated with a mitochondrial DNA tRNA(Lys) mutation". Cell. 61 (6): 931–7. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(90)90059-n. PMID 2112427. S2CID 6101099.
  13. "The Passano Awards". Passano Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013. Drs. Attardi and Wallace were selected for their landmark contributions to the mitochondrial genome project and their development of innovative methods for studying mitochondrial genetics and human disease.
  14. Giles RE; et al. (1980). "Maternal inheritance of human mitochondrial DNA". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77 (11): 6715–9. Bibcode:1980PNAS...77.6715G. doi:10.1073/pnas.77.11.6715. PMC 350359. PMID 6256757.
  15. Torroni A; et al. (1993). "Asian affinities and continental radiation of the four founding Native American mtDNAs". Am J Hum Genet. 53 (3): 563–90. PMC 1682412. PMID 7688932. The term haplogroup was coined in this paper.
  16. Wallace DC; et al. (1999). "Mitochondrial DNA variation in human evolution and disease". Gene. 238 (1): 211–30. doi:10.1016/s0378-1119(99)00295-4. PMID 10570998.
  17. "Douglas C. Wallace elected to Institute of Medicine". University of California, Irvine. 13 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  18. "MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2018.
  19. "IOM Class of 2009". Institute of Medicine. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  20. "2012 Gruber Genetics Prize Citation". Gruber Foundation. Retrieved 28 February 2013. The Gruber Foundation proudly presents the 2012 Genetics Prize to Douglas Wallace for the discovery of mutations in the mitochondrial genome and their impact on human health.
  21. "Douglas C. Wallace". The Franklin Institute. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 19 Apr 2017.
  22. "Dr Paul Janssen Award". Janssen Global Services. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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