Richard Harland (biologist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Harland
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Richard M. Harland
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| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (PhD) |
| Awards | Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Developmental biology |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge Laboratory of Molecular Biology Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | Control of chromosomal replication (1980) |
| Doctoral advisor | Ron Laskey |
Richard M. Harland is a very important scientist. He is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies Genetics, which is about how traits are passed down. He also studies Genomics, which looks at all of an organism's genes. His main work is in Developmental biology, which is how living things grow and develop from a single cell.
Becoming a Scientist
Richard Harland earned his PhD degree at the University of Cambridge. This is a famous university in the United Kingdom. He studied at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology. There, he worked with his supervisor, Ron Laskey. His research focused on how DNA copies itself in tiny Xenopus embryos. Xenopus are a type of frog.
What He Studies
After his PhD, Dr. Harland did more research. He worked at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. In 1985, he joined the University of California, Berkeley.
His research helps us understand how animals develop. He studies the very first stages of an embryo's growth. He looks at how cells decide what they will become. He also studies how the neural plate forms. This plate is the first step in making a brain and spinal cord. He also researches the Spemann-Mangold organizer. This is a special part of the embryo that guides how other parts develop.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Harland has received many important awards. In 2019, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a big honor for scientists in the United Kingdom. It means he has made major discoveries in science. In 2014, he was also chosen as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. This shows how important his work is in the scientific world.
