11/04/03, Browne Professor: Warren Ewens (original) (raw)

Browne Professor: Warren Ewens

Dr. Warren Ewens, professor of biology, has been named the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Biology, SAS Dean Samuel H. Preston has announced. Dr. Ewens, who joined the department of biology in 1972, holds a B.A. from the University of Melbourne, and a Ph.D. from the Australian National University.

Dr. Ewens developed the undergraduate concentrations of mathematical biology and computational biology as well as helped to establish the master's, graduate and post-doctoral programs in computational biology. He currently serves as the associate director in charge of education in the Center for Bioinformatics. As a member of the University Scholars Council, Dr. Ewens provides assistance for honors students pursuing individual research initiatives. His outstanding teaching and mentorship have been recognized in recent years with a Biology Department Teaching Award and Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

An internationally-renowned scholar of population genetics theory, Dr. Ewens has worked in human genetics, computational biology, and evolutionary population genetics. Together with Dr. Richard Spielman, professor of genetics, he is the creator of the transmission/disequilibrium test, which is widely used to analyze genetic linkages associated with complex human diseases. Dr. Ewens has received some of the scientific community's highest honors for his scholarship, including election into the Royal Society, where he is among only 1,300 members worldwide, and the Australian Academy of Science. He is also the recipient of the Australian Statistical Society Pitman Medal and Oxford University's prestigious Weldon Memorial Prize.

The author of several significant publications, Dr. Ewens has written three books including his recent Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics with Dr. Greg Grant. He has served on the editorial boards of GENETICS, Proceeding of the Royal Society B, SIAM Journal in Mathematical Biology, Annals of Human Genetics and Theoretical Population Biology. He also serves on the advisory committees for several boards, including the Singapore Institute of Bioinformatics.

This chair is one of five Browne Distinguished Professorships created by a $10 million gift from Christopher Browne, C '69. Mr. Browne has been a member of the SAS Board of Overseers since 1982 and became chairman in 1999. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University since 1991 and is on several Trustee committees including the academic policy committee. His most recent contributions to the University include the establishment of the Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics and the creation of undergraduate scholarships.

Almanac, Vol. 50, No. 11, November 4, 2003