Born April 29, 1947 ( 1947-04-29 ) Notable awards Molecular Ecology Prize (2015) Alma maters | ||
Population genetics fred w allendorf
Fred W. Allendorf (born 1947) currently works as a Regents Professor of Biology at the University of Montana and an Adjunct Professor of Biology at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He studies the applications of genetics and population biology to the conservation of plants and animals and the preservation of biodiversity. He has been collected by libraries worldwide.
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Career
Before he was a scientist, Allendorf served in the U.S. Army from 1965–1968 during the Vietnam War. Allendorf received his Bachelors in Zoology in 1971 from Penn State University. He then went on to receive his Masters in Fisheries in 1973 and his PhD in Fisheries and Genetics in 1975, both from the University of Washington. After he received his PhD he was a PostDoctoral Scholar at Aarhus University in Denmark under Freddy Christiansen and was later a NATO Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham in England under Bryan Clarke.
Allendorf also wrote a book with his colleague Gordon Luikart in 2001 titled Conservation and the Genetics of Populations. This book is the culmination of his career detailing his studies of molecular genetics and the influences of genetic variation on phenotypic variations and the differences in fitness of organisms in a population. Since his PhD he has published numerous additional papers. Most of these papers concern the variation in type and quantity of enzymes present in fishes such as salmon or trout. Allendorf also has many papers published on the effects of genetics and heterozygosity on the development of organisms.
In 2014, he experienced an avalanche that destroyed his home and took his wife’s life. A year later, Allendorf bounced back and received the 2015 Molecular Ecology Prize for his contributions to the fields of conservation genetics and molecular ecology, in particular contributions and discoveries described in his book. Allendorf has spent most of his life studying population genetics and how new knowledge in the field can be used to preserve heterozygosity and genetic diversity in populations.