Bruce Lahn Explained

Bruce Lahn
Birth Date:1969
Birth Place:China
Citizenship:United States

Bruce Lahn is a Chinese-born American geneticist. Lahn came to the U.S. from China to continue his education in the late 1980s.[1] He is the William B. Graham professor of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago. He is also the founder of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. Lahn currently serves as the chief scientist of VectorBuilder, Inc.[2]

Lahn's honors include the Merrill Lynch Forum Global Innovation Award, the TR100 Award from Technology Review,[3] the Burroughs Wellcome Career Award, and a Searle Scholarship.[4] He was also named to the 40-Under-40 list by Crains Chicago Business. Lahn received his B.A. in General Biology from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the lab of David C. Page.[5] From 2000 to 2012, Lahn was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute sponsored Investigator.[6]

His previous research specialized in human genetics and evolutionary genetics, especially human sex chromosome evolution and the genetic basis that underlies the evolutionary expansion of the human brain. Lahn's current research interests include stem cell biology and epigenetics.[7]

Biography

Bruce Lahn is a Chinese-born American scientist. He currently works at the University of Chicago. In the past he has studied human genetics and evolutionary genetics. His main objective with previous studies was to study the evolution of human sex chromosomes and the underlying basis for the growth of the human brain. Lahn is currently doing a wide spread of stem cell research as well as working with epigenetics. Lahn's previous research has led to the hypothesis that the Neanderthals contributed to evolution of the human brain's size. Lahn is currently working to contribute a better understanding of the widespread use of stem cells to the science world.

Contributions to science

His research on the microcephaly-associated gene, MCPH1, led to the hypothesis that an archaic Homo sapiens lineage such as the Neanderthals might have contributed to the recent development of the human brain.[8] His research also suggested that newly arisen variants of two brain size genes, ASPM and MCPH1, might have been favored by positive natural selection in recent human history.[9] This research provoked controversy due to the finding that the positively selected variants of these genes had spread to higher frequencies in some parts of the world than in others (for ASPM, it is higher in Europe and surrounding regions than other parts of the world; for MCPH1, it is higher outside sub-Saharan Africa than inside).[10] He has advocated the moral position that human genetic diversity should be embraced and celebrated as among humanity's great assets.[11] Later studies did not find the ASPM and MCPH1 gene variants identified by Lahn to be associated with mental ability or cognition in modern populations,[12] [13] [14] and the haplotype was not found in the individuals used to prepare the first draft of the Neanderthal genome.[15] [16]

Lahn has many different studies with stem cells that he is currently working on. They range anywhere from looking at if the suicide gene can be modified with stem cells,[17] to looking at stem cells as a potential source to treat testicular dysfunctions.[18]

References

  1. News: Rebel with a Lab. Hopkin. Karen. 29 August 2005. 27 February 2018. The Scientist.
  2. News: VectorBuilder and Landau enter into strategic partnership to establish world's first primate gene therapy R&D center. 15 October 2021. 23 June 2022. The Scientist.
  3. http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?trid=508 Technology Review Bio.
  4. http://www.searlescholars.net/person/129 Searle Scholars Bio.
  5. https://news.uchicago.edu/profile/bruce-lahn UChicago News Profile.
  6. http://www.hhmi.org/scientists/bruce-t-lahn HHMI Investigator Alumni Bio.
  7. http://genes.uchicago.edu/lahn.html Lahn's Lab Website
  8. http://www.hhmi.org/news/lahn20061006.html Could interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals have led to an enhanced human brain?
  9. http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/050922/brainevolution.shtml Lahn's analysis of genes indicates human brain continues to evolve
  10. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115040765329081636 Scientist's Study Of Brain Genes Sparks a Backlash
  11. Lahn . Bruce T. . Ebenstein . Lanny . Let's celebrate human genetic diversity . Nature . 8 October 2009 . 461 . 7265 . 726–728 . 10.1038/461726a . 19812654 . 2009Natur.461..726L . 205050141 .
  12. Mekel-Bobrov N, Posthuma D, Gilbert SL, Lind P, Gosso MF, Luciano M, Harris SE, Bates TC, Polderman TJ, Whalley LJ, Fox H, Starr JM, Evans PD, Montgomery GW, Fernandes C, Heutink P, Martin NG, Boomsma DI, Deary IJ, Wright MJ, de Geus EJ, Lahn BT . 6 . The ongoing adaptive evolution of ASPM and Microcephalin is not explained by increased intelligence . Human Molecular Genetics . 16 . 6 . 600–8 . March 2007 . 17220170 . 10.1093/hmg/ddl487 . free .
  13. Timpson N, Heron J, Smith GD, Enard W . Comment on papers by Evans et al. and Mekel-Bobrov et al. on Evidence for Positive Selection of MCPH1 and ASPM . Science . 317 . 5841 . 1036; author reply 1036 . August 2007 . 17717170 . 10.1126/science.1141705 . 2007Sci...317.1036T .
  14. Rushton JP, Vernon PA, Bons TA . No evidence that polymorphisms of brain regulator genes Microcephalin and ASPM are associated with general mental ability, head circumference or altruism . Biology Letters . 3 . 2 . 157–60 . April 2007 . 17251122 . 2104484 . 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0586 .
  15. Pennisi E . Elizabeth Pennisi . Neandertal genomics. Tales of a prehistoric human genome . Science . 323 . 5916 . 866–71 . February 2009 . 19213888 . 10.1126/science.323.5916.866 . 206584252 .
  16. Green RE, Krause J, Briggs AW, Maricic T, Stenzel U, Kircher M, Patterson N, Li H, Zhai W, Fritz MH, Hansen NF, Durand EY, Malaspinas AS, Jensen JD, Marques-Bonet T, Alkan C, Prüfer K, Meyer M, Burbano HA, Good JM, Schultz R, Aximu-Petri A, Butthof A, Höber B, Höffner B, Siegemund M, Weihmann A, Nusbaum C, Lander ES, Russ C, Novod N, Affourtit J, Egholm M, Verna C, Rudan P, Brajkovic D, Kucan Ž, Gušic I, Doronichev VB, Golovanova LV, Lalueza-Fox C, de la Rasilla M, Fortea J, Rosas A, Schmitz RW, Johnson PL, Eichler EE, Falush D, Birney E, Mullikin JC, Slatkin M, Nielsen R, Kelso J, Lachmann M, Reich D, Pääbo S . 6 . A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome . Science . 328 . 5979 . 710–722 . May 2010 . 20448178 . 10.1126/science.1188021 . 2010Sci...328..710G . 5100745.
  17. Chen . Fei . Cai . Bing . Gao . Yong . Yuan . Xiaofeng . Cheng . Fuyi . Wang . Tao . Jiang . Meihua . Zhou . Yijia . Lahn . Bruce T. . Li . Weiqiang . Xiang . Andy Peng . Suicide gene-mediated ablation of tumor-initiating mouse pluripotent stem cells . Biomaterials . February 2013 . 34 . 6 . 1701–1711 . 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.11.018 . 23218839 .
  18. Jiang . Mei Hua . Cai . Bing . Tuo . Ying . Wang . Jiancheng . Zang . Zhi Jun . Tu . Xiang'an . Gao . Yong . Su . Zhijian . Li . Weiqiang . Li . Guilan . Zhang . Min . Jiao . Jianwei . Wan . Zi . Deng . Chunhua . Lahn . Bruce T . Xiang . Andy Peng . Characterization of Nestin-positive stem Leydig cells as a potential source for the treatment of testicular Leydig cell dysfunction . Cell Research . 21 November 2014 . 24 . 12 . 1466–1485 . 10.1038/cr.2014.149 . 25418539 . 4260348 .

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