Roth Honored by the Genetics Society of America
Distinguished Professor John Roth in Nara, Japan (2008-courtesy)
John Roth, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Microbiology, was awarded the 2009 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal by the Genetics Society of America.
The Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal is a medal awarded for lifetime contributions to the field of genetics. The medal is awarded by the Genetics Society of America. The Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime contributions in the field of genetics is named after the 1933 Nobel Prize winner, who received this award for his work with Drosophila and his "discoveries concerning the role played by the chromosome in heredity." In 1981 the GSA established the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime achievement to honor this classical geneticist who was among those who laid the foundation for modern genetics. The journal Genetics included a wonderful article about Dr. Roth in March 2009 issue, which you can read here.
John Roth was elected into the National Academy of Sciences in 1988. Roth is an expert in bacterial genetics, genetic regulation and evolution. He focuses his research on the effects of natural selection on the origin of mutations and how bacteria can serve volatile metabolites. He studies Salmonella enterica, a bacterium often found in the guts of birds and reptiles. Roth particularly enjoys working with students in the lab and in class; he considers this interaction the best part of his job. “Doing research with students is a privilege,” he said.
Roth got his PhD in biology from Johns Hopkins University and became a faculty member at UC Davis in 2002. Prior to his appointment at UC Davis he worked at UC Berkeley and the University of Utah. Roth is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
"I'm very proud to have my name associated even distantly with that of Thomas Hunt Morgan who contributed far more to genetics than I, but we do share a couple of things," said Roth, "We both got our PhD from Johns Hopkins, both were dedicated to developing genetics in one experimental organism and both had the joy of sharing a career with remarkable set of students and co-workers."
Congratulations to John for this distinguished honor!
Visit the Roth lab's Web page.
Read the full story about Dr. Roth in the journal Genetics.