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]

Biography

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]