[NB: His Tuesday noon talk had to be canceled because of schedule complications]
James J. Bull is currently Johann Friedrich Miescher Regents Professor in Molecular Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is best known for his influential 1983 monograph, Evolution of Sex Determining Mechanisms.
In the early 1990s, he changed the focus of his work to experimental evolution and phylogenetics, and has since had considerable success in both fields. His work in experimental evolution involves observing genetic and phenotypic changes in bacteria and bacteriophages
In 2003 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1]
On the UT campus he is known for wearing Tye-Dye and blue jeans regardless of the occasion.
Research Summary:
Evolutionary genetics from the molecular to the phenotypic levels comprises the bulk of my research. Specific topics include the evolution of engineered genomes, microbial drug resistance, and adaptation addressed empirically and theoretically. Experimental systems are developed in which evolution occurs over short time periods in the laboratory; the evolved lines are then analyzed at the molecular genetic level, so that the course of evolution is known with certainty. Research organisms are chiefly bacteriophage, enabling complete genome sequencing. Students are encouraged to initiate their research on a well-defined model system to gain experience and then expand their research to problems of their own design.
