Allen P. James Scholarship
Affectionately addressed as “Mr. Yeast” by scientific friends, Allen P. James pioneered in Canada in the early 1950’s the use of yeast as an organism for the study of genetics. His research into the mechanisms of mutation and repair earned him a worldwide reputation in the field of yeast genetics.
Dr. James was born in Lacolle, Quebec, and he obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. (Cytogenetics) at McGill University. After receiving his Ph.D. in genetics at Iowa State University he worked at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories in Ontario on the effect of radiation on human populations and began his life-long studies on yeast genetics.
In 1970 Dr. James moved to the National Research Council at Ottawa to head the Molecular Genetics Section until his retirement in 1984. During this period he published many outstanding papers on radiation–induced mutations and DNA repair. These studies led to a series of elegant experiments in the late 1970’s which clearly showed the interrelationship of DNA replication and ultraviolet radiation-induced mutations. His meticulous techniques and rigorous intellectual standards have been a model to many. For his life-long contributions to this field he received the Award of Excellence in 1986 from the Genetics Society of Canada.
Dr. James was a quiet, soft spoken man who enjoyed research. He was a kind, generous person who loved nothing more than to be able to share his ideas and experimental skills with the undergraduate summer students or the postdoctoral fellows who worked in his laboratory. To him science was a joy.
This scholarship was established in his memory by his wife, Dr. Nancy James, to assist you in your studies in the hope that you will also experience the joys of scientific research and will one day have the opportunity to pass on your love of science to a future generation.