John L. Jinks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 October 1929 Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Died | 6 June 1987(1987-06-06) (aged 57) |
| Known for | Genetics andcytoplasmic inheritance |
| Awards | FRS[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | genetics |
| Doctoral students | David Fulker,Lindon J. Eaves,Godfrey Hewitt |
John Leonard JinksCBEFRS[1] (Stoke-on-Trent, 21 October 1929 – 6 June 1987) was a Britishgeneticist. His untimely death at 57 cut short a distinguished career with many contributions in the fields of microbial genetics, cytoplasmic inheritance, andbiometrical genetics.
He was educated atBirmingham University and remained there for the majority of his career, contributing to the development of biometrical genetics, humanbehavioural genetics, and supervising a number of students who went on to make their own contributions, among themDavid Fulker. He was a scientific officer/principal scientific officer in the ARC Unit of Biometrical Genetics from 1953 to 1965. In 1960 he was made an honorary lecturer in the Birmingham University Department of Genetics, eventually becoming Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Pro-Vice Chancellor. Elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1970 he is best known for his studies of cytoplasmic inheritance[2] andquantitative genetics.[3]
In recounting his own career,Nobel Prize winnerSir Paul Nurse recounts how his lack of a foreign language (essential for university study in the UK in those days) had seen him rebuffed from several universities. He met Jinks fortuitously, and, recognising a promising intellect, Jinks smoothed the obstacles from Nurse's path, leading to his successful enrollment and, subsequently, Nobel winning discoveries regardingcell cycle regulation bycyclin andcyclin dependent kinases.[4]
