Dronamraju Krishna Rao (14 January 1937 – 3 December 2020) was an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n-born

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Foundation for Genetic Research in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He was born in

Pithapuram Pithapuram (also spelled as Pitapuram) is a Town and municipality in the Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh, India. With a history spanning over 1,500 years, it is one of the oldest towns in the state. Pitapuram served as the capital for vario ...

, in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. One focus of his work has been the research of his mentor

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary ...

. As an author, his name is usually rendered Krishna R. Dronamraju. He died in Houston at age 83.

Biography

Education

Dronamraju went to M. R. College in Vizianagaram, Andhra University to study

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in 1955. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university, formerly named as Agra University, was later named after Bhimrao Ambedkar. Affiliated colleges The U ...

in 1957; he studied plant breeding and genetics. When J.B.S. Haldane moved to India in 1957, Dronamraju wrote to Haldane for an opportunity to pursue a research career under his direction at the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta. Early in his research career, he discovered the first case of a gene on the human Y chromosome and published a paper in 1960. It was also part of his PhD thesis at the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta. Dronamraju's research with Haldane at the Indian Statistical Institute included many areas.

Research contributions

Dronamraju's research covered the visits of several species of lepidoptera to different colored flowers of ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced i ...

'' reported the discovery of a species-specific pattern of color preference behavior by pollinating insects. He did research in human genetics in India. In 1966, Dronamraju completed his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta. He studied under J. B. S. Haldane. The topic of his doctoral thesis was "Genetic Studies of the Andhra Pradesh population". Dronamraju's early research in human genetics (and the independent work of L.D. Saghvi at the Tata Cancer Center in Mumbai) eventually led to the foundation of the Indian Society of Human Genetics. Dronamraju received advanced training at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. After he moved to the US, he continued research on inbreeding in human populations such as the Amish population in Pennsylvania in collaboration with Victor A. McKusick at Johns Hopkins. He also studied the Seneca Indians in New York State and other populations in the US and Canada. He studied the relationship between fetal mortality and the occurrence of oral cleft defects in families. In recent years, Dronamraju's research focused on the history of genetics and human/medical genetics. He published several books, especially with reference to the contributions of his mentor J. B. S. Haldane.

Books

* "A Century of Geneticists: Mutation to Medicine", CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Company, London, UK, 2018. * ''Popularizing Science: The Life and Work of JBS Haldane''. (2017) Oxford University Press * ''Victor McKusick and the History of Medical Genetics''. (2012) Springer * ''Haldane, Mayr and Beanbag Genetics'' (2011) Oxford University Press * ''What I Require from Life: Writings on Science and Life from JBS Haldane'' (2009) Oxford University Press * ''Emerging Consequences of Biotechnology'' (2008), World Scientific Publishing Company * ''Genetic and Evolutionary Aspects of Malaria'' (2006), Springer * ''Infectious Disease and Host-Pathogen Evolution'' (2004), Cambridge University Press * ''Biological Wealth and Other Essays'' (2002), World Scientific Publishing Company ASIN B-001-T63O7-0 * ''Science and Society'' (1998), University Press of America * ''Biological and Social Issues in Biotechnology Sharing'' (1998), Ashgate Publishing * ''Haldane's Daedalus Revisited'' (1995), Oxford University Press * ''The History and Development of Human Genetics in Different Countries'' (1993), World Scientific Publishing * ''If I am To Be Remembered: The Life and Work of Julian Huxley'' (1992), World Scientific Publishing ASIN B-001-KJODG-M * ''Selected Genetic Papers of JBS Haldane'' (1990), Garland Science * ''The Foundations of Human Genetics'' (1989), Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd * ''Cleft Lip and Palate: Aspects of Reproductive Biology'' (1986), Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd * ''Haldane: The Life and Work of JBS Haldane with special reference to India'' (1985), Pergamon Pr * ''Haldane and Modern Biology'' (1968), The Johns Hopkins University Press * ''Haldane in India'' (1998)

Achievements

Awards

* National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Washington D.C. * Yellapraggada Subba Rao Memorial Award, India. * Nayudamma Award in Technology, India.

Concurrent positions

* Honorary Professor, Albert Schweitzer Institute, Geneva, Switzerland * Invited Professor,

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, France * Honorary Visiting Professor,

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

, India * Honorary Research Fellow,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, UK. * Chairman, International Advisory Committee, Chemtech Corp. * Adjunct Professor,

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. * Advisor, The Science Garage,

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

The Science Garage
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References

External links

Official Website

Dronamraju in Mathematics Genealogy Project

Noted Texas artist Dorothy Hood on Dronamraju Krishna Rao
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Dronamraju 1937 births 2020 deaths Telugu people Evolutionary biologists Indian bioinformaticians Population geneticists Academics of the University of London Alumni of University College London Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University alumni Indian geneticists Pennsylvania State University faculty People from East Godavari district Scientists from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian biologists