Mark D. Shriver
Encyclopedia
Mark D. Shriver is an American population geneticist. His research is focused on admixture mapping
, signatures of natural selection
, and phenotypic variability in common trait variation. A major goal of his work is to apply these methods and understanding of genomic variation to studies of common diseases (e.g. obesity
, type 2 diabetes, adaptation to altitude, hypertension
, and prostate cancer
) and to normal variation, in particular skin pigmentation and response to UVR. More recently, his research has focused on the genetics of facial features.
Shriver has consulted for and appeared in several documentaries about ancestry, race, and recent human evolution
. Most notably, he was featured in the 2006 PBS
series African American Lives
and the 2008 series African American Lives 2 (hosted by Henry Louis Gates) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/science_dna2.html. He also appeared in the BBC Two
film Motherland: A Genetic Journey (2003), the BBC
documentary, “The Difference”, French television’s “Tracked Down by Our Genes” (2007), and UK Channel 4
’s “Human Mutants” (2004).
He has made public the discovery of his own recent West African ancestry.
He is an associate professor of genetics at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. From 2009 to 2010, he was on sabbatical as an associate professor of biology at Morehouse College
in Atlanta, Georgia
. In 2006, he was a visiting professor at both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin
.
In 2007, he married science writer and former broadcast meteorologist Katrina Voss
.
Admixture mapping
Admixture mapping is a method of gene mapping that makes use of a population of mixed ancestry to find the genetic loci that contribute to differences in diseases or other phenotypes found between the different ancestral populations...
, signatures of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, and phenotypic variability in common trait variation. A major goal of his work is to apply these methods and understanding of genomic variation to studies of common diseases (e.g. obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, type 2 diabetes, adaptation to altitude, hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, and prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
) and to normal variation, in particular skin pigmentation and response to UVR. More recently, his research has focused on the genetics of facial features.
Shriver has consulted for and appeared in several documentaries about ancestry, race, and recent human evolution
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
. Most notably, he was featured in the 2006 PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series African American Lives
African American Lives
African American Lives is a PBS television miniseries hosted by historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., focusing on African American genealogical research...
and the 2008 series African American Lives 2 (hosted by Henry Louis Gates) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/science_dna2.html. He also appeared in the BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
film Motherland: A Genetic Journey (2003), the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary, “The Difference”, French television’s “Tracked Down by Our Genes” (2007), and UK Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
’s “Human Mutants” (2004).
He has made public the discovery of his own recent West African ancestry.
He is an associate professor of genetics at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. From 2009 to 2010, he was on sabbatical as an associate professor of biology at Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. In 2006, he was a visiting professor at both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
.
In 2007, he married science writer and former broadcast meteorologist Katrina Voss
Katrina Voss
Katrina Voss worked as a bilingual broadcast meteorologist for The Weather Channel Latin America and AccuWeather and holds the AMS Seal.She is known for being a regular columnist for the secular humanist journal Free Inquiry magazine...
.