Spencer Barrett (evolutionary biologist)
Spencer Charles Hilton Barrett FRS FRSC (born June 7, 1948)[4] is a Canadian evolutionary biologist, formerly a Canada Research Chair at University of Toronto and, in 2010, was named Extraordinary Professor at University of Stellenbosch.[5][6]
Spencer Barrett | |
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.jpg) Barrett in 2005 | |
| Born | Spencer Charles Hilton Barrett June 7, 1948[4] |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | University of Toronto |
| Thesis | Breeding systems in Eichhornia and Pontederia, tristylous genera of the Pontederiaceae (1977) |
| Doctoral advisor | Herbert George Baker[2][3] |
| Website | labs |
Education
editBarrett was educated at the University of Reading[4] and the University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded a PhD in 1977[2][7] for research into the breeding systems of the plants Eichhornia and Pontederia. He was supervised by Herbert Baker.[3]
Research and career
editBarrett's interests are in evolutionary biology, evolutionary genetics, evolutionary ecology and plant reproduction.[1] His research seeks understanding of how flowers evolve and what mechanisms are responsible for mating system transitions in flowering plants.[8] Since 2017, he has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Proceedings of the Royal Society series B,[9] the flagship scientific journal of the Royal Society.
Barrett is an evolutionary biologist and a worldwide authority on the ecology and genetics of plant reproduction. His work has focused on increasing understanding of how flowers evolve and the mechanisms responsible for mating system transitions in flowering plants.
Barrett provided the first experimental evidence for the purging of deleterious genes following inbreeding in plants. He also demonstrated that self-fertilization owing to large floral displays in plants can have a detrimental effect on the male fertility of plants.
Barrett’s research group at the University of Toronto focuses on understanding the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of plant mating strategies, and he has edited several leading books in the field.
Awards and honours
editBarrett was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1998 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2004.[8] He is a founding member of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution and its President from 2010 to 2011.[8]
In 2006 the Canadian Botanical Association awarded him the George Lawson Medal for lifetime achievement in botany.[10] In 2008 he received the Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists.[8] In 2014, he received the Flavelle Medal from the Royal Society of Canada.[11] In 2020 the Linnean Society of London award him the Darwin–Wallace Medal.[8]
In April 2020 Spencer Barrett was elected an International Member (Foreign Associate) of the National Academy of Sciences.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Spencer Barrett publications indexed by Google Scholar
- ^ a b Barrett, Spencer Charles Hilton (1977). Breeding systems in Eichhornia and Pontederia, tristylous genera of the Pontederiaceae (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. OCLC 6180836. ProQuest 302835946.
- ^ a b "Evolution Tree - Spencer C.H. Barrett Details". Academictree.org. 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
- ^ a b c "BARRETT, Prof. Spencer Charles Hilton". Who's Who. Vol. 2017 (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Spencer Barrett". gc.ca. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ^ "Spencer Barrett". utoronto.ca. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
- ^ Spencer Barrett's ORCID 0000-0002-7762-3455
- ^ a b c d e "Professor Spencer Barrett". The Royal Society:Fellows Directory. London: Royal Society. 2014.
- ^ Barrett, Spencer C. H. (2017). "Proceedings B 2016: the year in review". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284 (1846): 20162633. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.2633. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 5247507. PMID 28053056.
- ^ "Past Recipients of the Lawson Medal". Canadian Botanical Association/L'Association Botanique du Canada.
- ^ Past Award Winners: The Flavelle Medal
- ^ "2020 NAS Election". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ International Plant Names Index. S.C.H.Barrett.
