John Lee Hubby, 64, a retired professor of biology at the University of Chicago, helped challenge basic tenets in the science of genetics by establishing in 1966 that there is a much greater diversity among normal fruit flies of the same species than had previously been believed.
A resident of Santa Fe, he died there March 28.
Professor Hubby’s work “was a breakthrough, a revolutionary finding,” said Brian Charlesworth, professor of ecology and evolution at U. of C. “It led to an explosion of work. Everyone in the field rushed out to duplicate these studies in other organisms, including humans, and they found more and more examples of genetic diversity.”
Professor Hubby conducted the studies with Professor Richard Lewontin, who was then at the U. of C. and is now at Harvard University. They published two papers, considered classics.
Professor Hubby was a pioneer in developing and applying to population genetics the technique of gel electrophoresis, a research tool that can reveal minor differences between specific genes from different organisms.
“This work was extremely fruitful; it opened a whole new area of study,” said Janice Spofford, associate professor of ecology and evolution at U. of C. “By developing the tools to characterize different forms of the same genes and revealing how genes varied between species and within a species, Hubby provided an experimental base for a great deal of subsequent evolutionary theory.”
A native of Clovis, New Mexico, he earned a bachelor’s degree as well as his doctorate in biology from the University of Texas. He joined the U. of C. faculty in 1960 and retired in 1985. In 1973, he won the U. Of C.’s Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Survivors include his wife, Marian; a daughter, Donya Corry; and two sons, Carl and John.
There were no services.
