Daniel L. Hartl (born 1943) is the Higgins Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He is also a principal investigator at the Hartl Laboratory at Harvard University. His research interests are focused on evolutionary genomics,

molecular evolution Molecular evolution is the process of change in the sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations. The field of molecular evolution uses principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics ...

, and population genetics.

Early life

Hartl was born in 1943 and spent his childhood in Antigo, Wisconsin. He has three brothers and grew up with foster children living in his home. Hartl's father worked in a cheese factory and his mother worked nights as a sous chef.

Education

Hartl was not exposed to the study of genetics in high school, and he was not sure he would go to college. His high school teacher, Robert Meyer, encouraged Hartl to apply for a scholarship, which allowed him to attend

University of Wisconsin–Marathon County A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

in Wausau, Wisconsin for two years. He had just enough money for tuition, and his brothers bought him a car so he could commute the 35 miles to school. He then transferred to the main campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, whose genetics programs were among the best in the world. There he had the opportunity to study with acclaimed geneticists, such as James Crow. He remained at the University of Wisconsin, Madison to earn his PhD in genetics. Hartl studied ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'' (a group of fruit flies) and investigated "the mystery of segregation distortion." In 1968 he began postdoctoral work at the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, where he worked with geneticist Spencer Brown.

Academic career

Beginning in 1969 Hartl had faculty positions at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, and

. He has been at Harvard since 1993. Hartl is the Higgins Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

Research

Hartl began his career studying genetics of segregation distortion in ''Drosophila''''.'' He has published work on population genetic theory, tests of selection, evolution of antimicrobial resistance in ''E. coli'' and malaria. His lab identified the ''Mariner'' transposon. As of 2017 research at the Hartl Laboratory at Harvard University focused on evolutionary genomics,

, and population genetics. Hartl's ongoing research includes malaria research, which his connected to his work on

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. ...

Author

Hartl is the author of a widely used textbook on population genetics and an introductory text on genetics.

Awards and honors

Hartl is the 2019 recipient of the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal from the Genetics Society of America (GSA). The award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in genetics research. He was elected President of the

Genetics Society of America The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is a scholarly membership society of more than 5,500 genetics researchers and educators, established in 1931. The Society was formed from the reorganization of the Joint Genetics Sections of the American Soc ...

for 1989. He is an elected fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

Published works

* Daniel L Hartl, Andrew G Clark, Andrew G Clark.
Principles of population genetics
', 4th ed. 1997. Sinauer Associates (Sunderland, Massachusetts). * H Ochman, A S Gerber, D L Hartl.
Genetic applications of an inverse polymerase chain reaction
. ''Genetics''. November 1, 1988 vol. 120 no. 3 621–623. * Hartl, D. L.
A primer of population genetics
'. 1988. Sinauer Associates (Sunderland, Massachusetts). .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartl, Daniel L 1943 births Living people 21st-century American biologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Harvard University faculty People from Antigo, Wisconsin