Jessica Kissinger
Associate Professor of Genetics
- Creative Research Medal, 2009
Jessica Kissinger, associate professor of genetics, is a molecular biologist who studies the evolution of genomes. Her discovery in 2003 that pathogenic eukaryotic protists engaged in significant lateral gene transfer, a process for transferring genetic information between species, has profound implications for understanding these organisms’ ability to cause disease. Her subsequent series of papers on the Apicomplexa also opened a new window into genome evolution and the biology of several other important disease-causing organisms. In addition, Kissinger’s work has led to a new understanding of evolutionary processes generally. While variation lies at the heart of evolution, her work shows how lateral gene transfer serves to move genes between organisms that cannot interbreed in the usual way. This groundbreaking research has cleared the way for further inquiry into lateral gene transfer and its role both in disease biology and genetics.
