Jonathan Hodgkin | |
---|---|
Born | Jonathan Alan Hodgkin 1949 (age 74–75)[3] |
Alma mater | University of Oxford (BA) University of Cambridge (PhD) |
Awards | Edward Novitski Prize (2017)[1] |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Laboratory of Molecular Biology[2] |
Thesis | Genetic and Anatomical Aspects of the Caenorhabditis elegans Male (1974) |
Notable students | Magdalena Skipper[2] |
Website | www |
Jonathan Alan Hodgkin (born 1949)[3] FRS is a British biochemist, Professor of Genetics at the University of Oxford[4] and an emeritus fellow of Keble College, Oxford.[5]
Hodgkin was educated at the University of Oxford where he graduated in 1971.[citation needed] He was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1974 for research on the genetics of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans.[6]
Hodgkin was a scientist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.[7][3] Hodgkin was one of the earliest researchers to explore the genetics of development in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans.[8] He first unraveled the genetic and maturational events in worm sex determination before extending his interest to other developmental pathways, behaviour and immunity.[8]
Most Caenorhabditis elegans worms are self-fertilizing hermaphrodites, with two X chromosomes, but X0 males can also arise spontaneously, permitting genetic crosses.[8] Hodgkin used genetic mutations in this tiny, fast-breeding species to define the regulatory cascade of genes that controls the development of male or hermaphrodite characteristics providing a model for approaching development in other species.[8]
Since 2000, Hodgkin has focused on the nematode's response to attack by bacteria, exploring highly conserved pathways of innate immunity that are also relevant to development.[8] Through microarray analysis, he has identified antibacterial factors produced by the worm that could be candidates for new antibiotics.[8] He has also discovered novel pathogenic bacteria that attack nematodes, which may have potential as biological pest control agents against parasitic nematodes.[8]
Hodgkin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1990.[8] In 2011, he received The Genetics Society Medal.[8] Hodgkin was a member of the Faculty of 1000.[9] He was awarded the Edward Novitski Prize by the Genetics Society of America in 2017.[1][10]
See also: Hodgkin family |
Hodgkin is the son of Nobel laureate Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and the editor Marni Hodgkin.[3]