Amar Klar

Amar Jit Singh Klar (April 1, 1947 – March 5, 2017) was an Indian-American yeast geneticist and epigenetics researcher.[1][2] He received media attention for his research on the genetics of human traits, including handedness and the direction of hair whorls.[3][4][5]

Amar J. S. Klar
Born
Amar Jit Singh Klar

(1947-04-01)April 1, 1947
Punjab, India
DiedMarch 5, 2017(2017-03-05) (aged 69)
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Cause of deathHead injury
NationalityIndia
EducationPunjab Agricultural University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Known forEpigenetics research
Spouse(s)Kuljit Klar
ChildrenNatasha and Amy
Scientific career
FieldsGenetics
InstitutionsCold Spring Harbor Laboratory
National Cancer Institute
ThesisEnzyme regulation during vegetative growth and aporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: galactose catabolic enzymes and proteinases (1975)
Doctoral advisorHarlyn O. Halvorson

Early life and education

Klar was born on April 1, 1947 in Lyallpur, which was then part of Punjab, India, but is now part of Pakistan.[6]:94 He earned his undergraduate degree in 1967 and his master's degree in 1969, both from Punjab Agricultural University. In 1975, he received his Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied under Harlyn O. Halvorson. He then completed a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley.[2]

Career

In 1978, after getting a phone call from James Watson, Klar began doing yeast research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). He continued to work there until 1988, and served as director of their Delbrück Laboratory from 1985 until then.[2] In 1988, he left CSHL to join the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, which was affiliated with the NCI-ABL Basic Research Program in Frederick, Maryland.[1][7] In 1999, he became a Principal Investigator in the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory at the NCI's Center for Cancer Research.[2]

Personal life and death

Klar was married to Kuljit Klar, with whom he had two daughters: Natasha and Amy.[7] He died in his yard in Frederick, Maryland on March 5, 2017. His obituary in the Journal of Biosciences stated that he died from a "freak head injury".[1][8]

References
  1. Singh, Jagmohan (September 2017). "Amar Klar: A giant among scientists (1947–2017)". Journal of Biosciences. 42 (3): 355–357. doi:10.1007/s12038-017-9704-7. ISSN 0250-5991. PMID 29358548.
  2. "Amar Klar - In Memory". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  3. Press, The Associated (1997-07-30). "In New Theory, Single Gene Makes a Left-Hander". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  4. Pearson, Helen (2003-09-04). "Handedness equals hairstyle". Nature. doi:10.1038/news030901-7. ISSN 0028-0836. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  5. Smith, Linell (1997-12-11). "A Show of Hands". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  6. Klar, Amar (1975). Enzyme regulation during vegetative growth and aporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: galactose catabolic enzymes and proteinases (Ph.D. thesis). University of Wisconsin–Madison.
  7. "In Memoriam: Amar J.S. Klar, Ph.D." Center for Cancer Research. 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  8. Grant, Bob (2017-03-07). "Prominent Epigeneticist Dies". The Scientist. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
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