Alum returns to talk about human genome
By Amy Geiszler-Jones
When DNA testing and the mapping of the human genome was still unheard of, Pat Higgins first became interested in genetics in the late 1960s, working alongside distinguished WSU professor Alvin Sarachek in his lab.
Now a genetics researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Higgins is returning to his alma mater to share insights about the advances in genetics as part of the Watkins Visiting Professorship Lecture Series.
Higgins, a biochemistry professor, will talk about "The Hidden Impact of Transposons (Jumping Genes) on Bacterial and Human Chromosomes" at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in 209 Hubbard Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. He’ll give a more scientific talk on "Studying DNA Movement Inside Living Cells" at 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, in 208 Hubbard Hall.
Transposons are DNA segments that move between chromosomes. Sometimes thought of as molecular parasites and also known as jumping genes, they make up most of the human genome, Higgins says. "The main difference between a man and a mouse isn’t in the standard set of genes, it’s in these transposons."
While jumping genes can be beneficial – one class produces a person’s antibodies – they can cause diseases and other havoc on the body when they mutate.
Higgins’ research over the past two decades has focused on a bacterial jumping gene called Mu, which is a powerful DNA virus. Its mutation is just like the AIDS virus.
When Higgins left WSU in 1970 with his undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology to earn a doctorate at the University of Chicago, he thought he would be "undereducated" compared to the students hailing from such Ivy League schools as Harvard and Yale.
"It turned out I was one of the better students," says Higgins, who credits Sarachek for preparing him so well.
Sarachek’s genetics class had an impact on more than Higgins’ career. He met his wife Darlene in the class.
