CHRIS HITTINGER, Ph.D.
MACLYN MCCARTY FELLOW OF
THE HELEN HAY WHITNEY FOUNDATION
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

What makes a little boy obsessed with dinosaurs become a scientist who studies evolution in yeast?

"The most important thing is the curiosity - and perseverance," says Chris Hittinger during an interview at his home where he lives with his wife, a cat, and two pugs, one of whom just stole his lunch.

Hittinger is a postdoctoral fellow in Mark Johnston's lab in the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. He studies yeast to explain evolutionary processes spanning millions of years. "[Yeast] genomes are small and simple and it's easy to apply new techniques," Hittinger explains. "We can reach into their genomes and make specific changes at specific base pairs," he says, "and we can do that in a matter of days."

Hittinger knew he was destined to work in genetics since he was in middle school in Indianapolis. The obsession with dinosaurs gave way to a fascination with the natural world. He was mystified by the diversity around him, and it was the explanatory power of genetics that inspired him to become a scientist.

His main priority was to find a college where he could get into research as soon as possible. He chose Southeast Missouri State University, which emphasized undergraduate research. "I was able to get into a lab my freshman year and get my hands dirty," Hittinger says. "The experience was invaluable." He also read research articles by HHMI investigator Sean Carroll, evolutionary biochemist Russell Doolittle, and others to understand the main thinking in evolutionary biology.

As a college student, Hittinger first learned about the controversial role evolutionary science plays in American society. "It didn't even occur to me that it was a potential theological problem until I went to college." Rather than react with anger or confusion, Hittinger, who comes from a moderate religious family, has sought to improve society's understanding of science and evolution, in part by contributing to HHMI's Ask a Scientist.

"I think that especially in evolutionary biology, there's a pretty large gap between the things we take for granted as practicing scientists and what the public understands about what we do and why we do it," Hittinger says. "Explaining cutting-edge research for Ask a Scientist forces me to cut through confusing jargon and equations and think about the essential issues."

Inspired by the early articles he read, Hittinger joined Carroll's University of Wisconsin-Madison lab as an HHMI predoctoral fellow to study how genetic regulatory networks evolve in fruit flies. He has also studied single-celled protozoa and now yeast. And he's driven by the same curiosity he felt as a child.

"I'm not sure I could convince my six-year-old self that yeast are more fun than dinosaurs," Hittinger says. "I think I'd have to tell him that you don't want to just describe things, you want to be able to explain them. Genetics provides an explanation. I hope he'd be convinced by that."

Updated: 02/16/10 15:26