Francis J. Ryan | |
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Born | Francis Joseph Ryan February 1, 1916 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Died | July 14, 1963 Manhattan, New York, U.S. | (aged 47)
Alma mater | Columbia University |
Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship (1950) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Genetics |
Institutions | Columbia University |
Notable students | Joshua Lederberg |
Francis Joseph Ryan[1] (February 1, 1916 – July 14, 1963) was an American zoologist. He was professor and chair of Columbia University's department of zoology.[2]
Ryan was born on February 1, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York.[3] He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1937 and his Ph.D. in 1941.[2] He then joined the faculty and eventually became assistant professor, associate professor, full professor and department head.[2] He was a mentor of future Nobel Prize winner Joshua Lederberg, who credited Ryan for "taking a callow underclassman from Washington Heights, brash and argumentative as precocious students often are, and turned [him] into a scientist."[4][5]
Ryan's research focused on a variety of fields, including experimental embryology, microbial genetics, and he did research on escherichia coli to understand how information about an organism is imprinted in its genetic structure.[2] His work during the 1950s also disproved the theories of Trofim Lysenko that evolutionary changes are initiated by the environment.[2]
Ryan received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1950.[6] He was also a Fulbright Professor at the University of Tokyo in 1955–1956, during which he also served as a consultant to Japanese microbiologists in industry and universities.[2] He held visiting professorships and fellowships at the Pasteur Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[2]
Ryan was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1960.[7] He was also a trustee of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.[2]
Ryan died of a heart attack on July 14, 1963, at 47 years old.[2]