John Robert Stanley Fincham FRS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(11 August 1926 – 9 February 2005) was a noted British geneticist who made important contributions to

biochemical genetics Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

and

microbial genetics Microbial genetics is a subject area within microbiology and genetic engineering. Microbial genetics studies microorganisms for different purposes. The microorganisms that are observed are bacteria, and archaea. Some fungi and protozoa are also s ...

Education and personal life

Fincham was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, where he read

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. He earned his PhD in the Botany School at Cambridge and then did a year's postgraduate research at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

with Sterling Emerson (whose daughter Ann he married).

Career and research

Fincham laboratory was among the first to demonstrate "intragenic complementation" through finding "pseudowild" progeny from ''am1'' × ''am2'' crosses. He obtained the first direct evidence for the "one gene-one enzyme" hypothesis, using

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

s of ''

Neurospora crassa ''Neurospora crassa'' is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning "nerve spore" in Greek, refers to the characteristic striations on the spores. The first published account of this fungus was from an infestation ...

'' deficient in a specific

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

called

glutamate dehydrogenase Glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH, GDH) is an enzyme observed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotic mitochondria. The aforementioned reaction also yields ammonia, which in eukaryotes is canonically processed as a substrate in the urea cycle. Typical ...

. Fincham was appointed first as lecturer in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

(1950–1954) and then as reader (1954–1960) at

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

. A year as an associate professor in the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

preceded his appointment as head of the Genetics Division of the

John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

(JIC) in 1961. Fincham's appointment at the JIC is an acknowledgement that much really progressive work in biology is now done with microorganisms and is a strategic move by K.S. Dodds to give JIC leadership in the field. During his time at the

, his treatise with Peter Day, the first edition of ''Fungal Genetics'' (1963) was released. The book gathered existing knowledge of basic biology, recombination, tetrad analysis, mating systems, and extranuclear inheritance together with a single chapter on biochemical genetics, which provided a common background to a growing community of scientists. He remained at the John Innes until 1966, when he was appointed as professor and head of the newly established Department of Genetics at

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. In 1976, John was appointed to the Buchanan Chair of Genetics in Edinburgh and was head of the Department of Genetics until 1984.http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/obits_alpha/fincham_john.pdf Obituaries, the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fincham was the

Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics The Arthur Balfour Professorship of Genetics is the senior List of Professorships at the University of Cambridge, professorship in genetics at the University of Cambridge, founded in 1912. It is thought to be the oldest Chair of Genetics in the Engl ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

between 1984 and 1991. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1969 and a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

in 1978. He was president of

the Genetics society The Genetics Society is a British learned society. It was founded by William Bateson and Edith Rebecca Saunders in 1919 and celebrated its centenary year in 2019. It is therefore one of the oldest learned societies devoted to genetics. Its membe ...

from 1978 to 1981. In 1977 he was awarded the

Emil Christian Hansen Emil Christian Hansen (8 May 1842 – 27 August 1909) was a Danish mycologist and fermentation physiologist. Born in Ribe, he financed his education by writing novels. He was awarded a gold medal in 1876 for an essay on fungi, titled ''De dans ...

Medal for his contribution to research into fungi.

References

1926 births 2005 deaths People from Southgate, London Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Arthur Balfour Professors of Genetics English geneticists British mycologists {{geneticist-stub