Dean Hamer
| Dean Hamer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 29, 1951 (age 65) Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | U.S. |
| Fields | Genetics, documentary film |
| Institutions | National Institutes of Health, Sundance Institute |
| Known for | Xq28, Out in the Silence |
Dean Hamer (/ˈheɪmər/; born 1951) is an American geneticist, author, and filmmaker. He is known for his research on the role of genetics in sexual orientation and human behavior, contributions to biotechnology and HIV/AIDS prevention, and popular books and documentaries on a wide range of topics.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Hamer obtained his BA at Trinity College, CT, and his PhD from Harvard Medical School. He was an independent researcher at the National Institutes of Health for 35 years, where he was the Chief of Gene Structure and Regulation Section at the U.S. National Cancer Institute; upon retirement in 2011 he was designated Scientist Emeritus. Hamer has won numerous awards including the Maryland Distinguished Young Scientist Award, the Ariens Kappers Award for Neurobiology, an Emmy Award, and New York Times author of the year.
Hamer invented the first method for introducing new genes into animal cells using SV40 vectors. while a graduate student at Harvard Medical School. This approach was used to produce a variety of biomedical products including human growth hormone and a vaccine for Hepatitis B, resulting in 4 US patents.
At NIH, Hamerʻs lab initially focused on the metallothionein gene system. They elucidated the mechanism of induction of yeast metallothionein by copper ions, one of the first eukaryotic gene regulatory systems to be understood at the molecular level and a useful method for regulating therapeutic protein production.
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