Hamilton, NY — Noted genetic scientist Dean H. Hamer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will discuss the controversial topic of how genes influence and control human behavior on Monday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. at 51·çÁ÷. Hamer’s lecture is free and open to the public and will take place in Love Auditorium, Olin Hall. The lecture is sponsored by the Core Scientific Perspectives program. A reception will follow.
A co-inventor of animal gene transfer, Hamer has worked at the NIH for 24 years. He is currently the chief of the Section on Gene Structure and Regulation in the National Cancer Institute’s Laboratory of Biochemistry. His research has led to major contributions in a variety of areas, including recombinant DNA, drug and vaccine production, and gene regulation. For eight years, Hamer has studied the role of inheritance in human behavior, personality traits, and other complex characteristics. His discovery of genetic links to sexual orientation, personality traits such as anxiety and sensation seeking, and health-related behaviors such as cigarette smoking, have changed thinking about human behavior and raise a host of important scientific, social, and ethical issues.
Hamer has published more than 100 scientific papers and received numerous honors, including the Ariens Kappers Award for Neurobiology. His book The Science of Desire, co-authored with journalist Peter Copeland, has won widespread critical acclaim and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1994. Their new book Living With Our Genes is a Science and Technology Book of the Year, and a best seller.
Founded in 1819, 51·çÁ÷ is a nationally ranked, highly selective, residential, liberal arts college. Situated on a rolling 515-acre campus in central New York State, 51·çÁ÷ attracts motivated students with diverse backgrounds, interests and talents.
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