Mohamed Noor
Encyclopedia
Mohamed Noor is a Professor and Associate Chair of Biology at Duke University
. His specialities include Evolution
, Genetics
and Genomics
.
With a BS from the College of William and Mary
(1992) and a PhD from University of Chicago
(1996), together with a postdoctoral residency at Cornell University
(1996-1998), he specialises in Drosophila
evolution and in 2007 contributed to the publication on sequencing the genomes of twelve Drosophila species. The corresponding paper published in Nature
that year has become the benchmark for the emerging field of comparative genomics.
Likewise, Noor was one of the first scientists to demonstrate by experiment speciation by "reinforcement", that is, as a result of natural selection
mating preferences diverge against deleterious hybridization and reduce gene flow between species. He is also known for developing (along with others) a model wherein regions of restricted recombination, as by chromosomal inversions, facilitate the persistence of hybridizing species.
He was editor for the international journal Evolution
, is or was associate editor for several other journals, and the author of close to 100 publications.
In 2008 he was awarded the Darwin-Wallace Medal
.
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. His specialities include Evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, Genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and Genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
.
With a BS from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
(1992) and a PhD from University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1996), together with a postdoctoral residency at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(1996-1998), he specialises in Drosophila
Drosophila
Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
evolution and in 2007 contributed to the publication on sequencing the genomes of twelve Drosophila species. The corresponding paper published in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
that year has become the benchmark for the emerging field of comparative genomics.
Likewise, Noor was one of the first scientists to demonstrate by experiment speciation by "reinforcement", that is, as a result 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....
mating preferences diverge against deleterious hybridization and reduce gene flow between species. He is also known for developing (along with others) a model wherein regions of restricted recombination, as by chromosomal inversions, facilitate the persistence of hybridizing species.
He was editor for the international journal Evolution
Evolution (journal)
Evolution, the International Journal of Organic Evolution, is a leading monthly scientific journal that publishes significant new results of empirical or theoretical investigations concerning facts, processes, mechanics, or concepts of evolutionary phenomena and events. Evolution is published by...
, is or was associate editor for several other journals, and the author of close to 100 publications.
In 2008 he was awarded the Darwin-Wallace Medal
Darwin-Wallace Medal
The Darwin–Wallace Medal is a medal awarded by the Linnean Society of London for "major advances in evolutionary biology". Historically, the medals have been awarded every 50 years, beginning in 1908...
.
Recent publications
- Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium (Noor is 151st author of 417), Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny., Nature, vol. 450 no. 7167 (November, 2007), pp. 203-218 [abs].
- MAF Noor, DA Garfield, SW Schaeffer, CA Machado, Divergence Between the Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis Genome Sequences in Relation to Chromosomal Inversions., Genetics, vol. 177 no. 3 (November, 2007), pp. 1417-1428 [abs].