GEORG HALDER

Georg Halder, age 30, discovered that a specific gene in the fruit fly acts as a "master control gene," so called because it turns on the program that directs the development of an entire organ. Manipulating this main switch in different ways induces functional eyes in parts of a fruit fly such as the antennae and wings. Halder and others subsequently discovered this master control gene at work in the eye development of other animals. Said Halder, "We interpreted that the common ancestor of most, if not all, bilaterally symmetric animals had a primitive 'eye' and therefore all eyes may have evolved from this single ancestral 'eye.' This is in contrast to the traditional view of eye evolution, which stated that the different types of eyes have originated independently of each other."

In addition to the Pharmacia Biotech & Science Prize in 1997, Halder earned another Science award in 1996, the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize. AAAS presents this monetary award annually to the authors of an exceptional paper in Science. The winning research article was based on part of Halder's Ph.D. dissertation; he was first author of the article, sharing the byline and award with a laboratory colleague and his adviser.

Halder spent his first years living in the mountains of Switzerland and in the small village of FŸllinsdorf, close to the industrial city of Basel. He said his interest in science began then. "I was always exploring, always going to the forest looking at things, learning about nature." He reported that his interest extends to subjects such as physics: "Even today, I like to take all our appliances apart and try to understand how they work." He chose his current field, said Halder, "Because I wanted to investigate living things; they develop and evolve." Halder plans to continue doing developmental and evolutionary research at an academic institution. He is currently a postdoc at University of Wisconsin, Madison, investigating the genetics behind wing development in insects. He is focusing on the fruit fly, but also trying to relate that knowledge to other insects, such as butterflies.

Halder's interests apart from science include traveling, cycling, and trekking. He said he loves the Sahara desert and studied hieroglyphics when he was in Switzerland. When asked how he plans to spend his $5,000, he replied, "For a trip to the Sahara to look for meteorites!"

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