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 university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. 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 describes how Heredity, inherited DNA and/or RNA change over evolutionary time, and the consequences of this for proteins and other components of Cell (biology), cells and organisms. Molecular evolution is the basis of phylogen ...

, and population genetics.

Early life

Hartl was born in 1943 and spent his childhood in

Antigo, Wisconsin Antigo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,100 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactured prod ...

. 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 A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members o ...

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 in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

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–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. He remained at the University of Wisconsin, Madison to earn his PhD in genetics. Hartl studied ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...

'' (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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he worked with geneticist Spencer Brown.

Academic career

Beginning in 1969 Hartl had faculty positions at the

University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts The University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts (CLA) is the largest college of the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Established in 1868, the College of Liberal Arts offers more than 65 majors and 70 minors to its more t ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is home to the College of Arts and Sciences and corresponding graduate programs across its many departments. The current Dean of the Faculty is Feng Sheng Hu, the Lucille P. Markey Distingui ...

, and

Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the largest of the ten faculties that constitute Harvard University. Headquartered principally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and centered in the historic Harvard Yard, FAS is the only faculty respo ...

. 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 or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resis ...

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, NGO, 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 ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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 other ...

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 College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences faculty People from Antigo, Wisconsin University of Minnesota faculty Purdue University faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty University of California, Berkeley fellows 20th-century American biologists University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni