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Daniel J. Fairbanks

Personal Information

Daniel J. Fairbanks
Plant & Wildlife Sciences
Undergraduate Education

Email: daniel_fairbanks@byu.edu

275 WIDB
Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-6852

Professor
Dean of Undergraduate Education

Dr. Fairbanks has been on the faculty at BYU since 1988. He has also been a visiting professor at Southern Virginia University and at the Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil as a Fulbright Fellow. At BYU he has served as an Associate Dean of General Education and Honors and as Director of the University Honors Program. He is a geneticist and author of Genetics: The Continuity of Life, a university-level genetics textbook used at universities in the United States and abroad. His research interests lie in plant evolutionary genetics, polyploidy, conservation of genetic resources, plant breeding, international agriculture, and the history of genetics. He is the U.S. project leader of a collaborative research project on genetic improvement and genetic resource conservation of quinoa, a highly nutritious and important food plant in Andean South America. This project includes seven BYU professors, undergraduate and graduate students, and Bolivian and Peruvian scientists.

Carrying on a family tradition of four generations of artists, Dr. Fairbanks is a sculptor whose work is in museum, university, and private collections. He is a member of the Genetics Society of America and the National Sculpture Society.

 Education
  • PhD , Major: Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Minor: Latin American Studies , University of Arizona , 1988
  • MS , Plant Breeding , University of Minnesota , 1985
  • BS , Majors: Agronomy, Portuguese, Minor: Zoology , Brigham Young University , 1982
 Research

1. Evolutionary Genetics. 2. History of Biology 3. International Scientific Development 4. Sculpture commissions, juried exhibitions, and restoration

 Selected Publications

Articles

Hartl, Daniel L.; Fairbanks, Daniel J.  "Mud sticks: On the alleged falsification of Mendel's data."  Genetics.  175.3 (2007): 975-979.  <website>

Daniel J. Fairbanks and G. Bruce Schaalje.  "The tetrad-pollen model fails to explain the bias in Mendel's pea (Pisum sativum) experiments."  Genetics.  177 (2007): 2531-2534.  <website>

S.A. Christensen, D.B. Pratt, C. Pratt, P.T. Nelson, M.R. Stevens, E.N. Jellen, C.E. Coleman, D.J. Fairbanks, A. Bonifacio, and P. J. Maughan.  "Assessment of genetic diversity in the USDA and CIP-FAO international nursery collections of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) using microsatellite markers."  Plant Genetic Resources.  5.2 (2007): 82-95.  <website>

Daniel J. Fairbanks and Peter J. Maughan.  "Evolution of the NANOG pseudogene family in the human and chimpanzee genomes."  BMC Evolutionary Biology.  6 (2006): 12.  <website>

Alisa P. Ramakrishnan, Susan E. Meyer, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Craig E. Coleman.  "Ecological significance of microsatellite variation in western North American populations of Bromus tectorum."  Plant Species Biology.  21 (2006): 61-73. 

P.J. Maughan, B. Kolano, J. Maluszynska, N. Coles, A. Bonifacio, J.R. Beltran, C.E. Coleman, M.R. Stevens, D.J. Fairbanks, S. Parkinson, and E.N. Jellen.  "Molecular and cytological characterization of ribosomal DNAs in Chenopodium quinoa and Chenopodium berlandieri."  Genome.  49 (2006): 825-839. 

M.R. Stevens, C.E. Coleman, S.E. Parkinson, P.J. Maughan, H.-B. Zhang, M.R. Balzotti, D.L. Kooyman, K. Arumuganathan, A. Bonifacio, D.J. Fairbanks, E.N. Jellen, and J.J. Stevens.  "Construction of a quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) BAC library and its use in identifying genes encoding seed storage proteins."  Theoretical and Applied Genetics.  112 (2006): 15931600.  <website>

S. L. Mason, M. R. Stevens, E. N. Jellen, A. Bonifacio, D.J. FAIRBANKS, C. E. Coleman, R. R. McCarty, A. G. Rasmussen, P. J. Maughan.  "Development and use of microsatellite markers for germplasm characterization in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)."  Crop Science.  45 (2005): 1618-1630. 

S.E. Meyer, D.L. Nelson, S. Clement, J. Waters, M. Stevens, D.J. FAIRBANKS.  "Genetic variation in Ustilago bullata: Molecular genetic markers and virulence on Bromus tectorum."  International Journal of Plant Science.  166 (2005): 105-115. 

Westerlund, J.F. and D.J. Fairbanks.  "Gregor Mendel and Myth-Conceptions."  Science Education.  88.754-758 (2004). 

Coles, N.D., C.E. Coleman, S.A. Christensen, E.N. Jellen, M.R. Stevens, A. Bonifacio, J.A. Rojas-Beltran, D.J. Fairbanks, and P.J. Maughan.  "Development and use of an expressed sequenced tag library in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) for the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms."  Plant Science.  168 (2004): 439-447. 

Maughan, P.J., A. Bonifacio, E.N. Jellen, M.R. Stevens, C.E. Coleman, M. Ricks, S.L. Mason, D.E. Jarvis, B.W. Gardunia, and D.J. Fairbanks.  "A genetic linkage map of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) based on AFLP, RAPD, and SSR markers."  Theoretical and Applied Genetics.  109 (2004): 1188-1195. 

Ramakrishnan, A.P., S.E. Meyer, J. Waters, M.R. Stevens, C.E. Coleman, and D.J. Fairbanks.  "Correlation between molecular markers and adaptively significant genetic variation in Bromus tectorum (Poaceae), an inbreeding annual grass."  American Journal of Botany.  91 (2004): 797-803. 

Wright, K.A. K.C. Huber, D.J. Fairbanks, and C.S. Huber.  "Isolation and characterization of Atriplex hortensis and sweet Chenopodium quinoa starches."  Cereal Chemistry.  79 (2002): 715-719. 

Ramakrishnan, A.P., C.E. Coleman, S.E. Meyer, and D.J. Fairbanks.  "Microsatellite markers for Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)."  Molecular Ecology Notes.  2 (2002): 22-23. 

Wright, K.A, O.A. Pike, D.J. Fairbanks, and C.S. Huber.  "Composition of Atriplex hortensis, sweet and bitter Chenopodium quinoa seeds."  Journal of Food Science.  67 (2002): 1383-1385. 

Fairbanks, D.J. and B. Rytting.  "Mendelian controversies: a botanical and historical review."  American Journal of Botany.  88 (2001): 737-752. 

Ruas, C.F., P.M. Ruas, H.C. Stutz, and D.J. Fairbanks.  "Cytogenetic studies in the genus Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae)."  Caryologia.  54 (2001): 129-145. 

Daniel J. Fairbanks.  "Development of genetic resistance to iron-deficiency chlorosis in soybean."  Journal of Plant Nutrition.  23 (2000): 1903-1914. 

Ruas, P.M., A. Bonifacio, C.F. Ruas, D.J. Fairbanks, and W.R. Andersen.  "Genetic relationship among 19 accessions of six species of Chenopodium L. by random amplified polymorphic DNA fragments (RAPD)."  Euphytica.  105 (1999): 25-32. 

C.F. Ruas, D.J. Fairbanks, W.R. Andersen, R.P. Evans, H.C. Stutz, and P.M. Ruas.  "Male-specific DNA in Atriplex garrettii."  American Journal of Botany.  85 (1998): 162-167. 

Books

Daniel J. Fairbanks.  Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA.  Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, Oct. 2007.  <website>

Peter J. Maughan, Alejandro Bonifacio, Craig E. Coleman, Eric N. Jellen, Mikel R. Stevens and Daniel J. Fairbanks.  "Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)."  Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants.  Berlin: Springer Verlag, Jan. 2007.  Vol. 3.  <website>

Fairbanks, D.J.  "Chromosome Mutation."  Encyclopedia of Genetics, Revised Edition.  Ed. Ness, B.D.  Pasadena, California: Salem Press, 2004. 

St. Clair, L.L., R.G. Cates, and D.J. Fairbanks.  Biology: Principles and Applications.  3rd ed.  Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., Jan. 2001. 

Daniel J. Fairbanks.  Brigham Young University 2000-2001 Speeches.  Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2001. 

Fairbanks, D.J. and W.R. Andersen.  Genetics: The Continuity of Life.  Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole and Wadsworth Publishing Companies, Jan. 1999. 

Andersen, W.R. and D.J. Fairbanks.  Student Companion to Genetics: The Continuity of Life.  Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Jan. 1999. 

Andersen, W.R. and D.J. Fairbanks.  Instructors Manual for Genetics: The Continuity of Life.  Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Jan. 1999. 

 Experience

Teaching

  • Visiting Professor , Southern Virginia University , 2002-2004
  • Visiting Professor , Universidade Estadual de Londrina , 1991-1991
  • Professor , Brigham Young University , 1988-Present

 Awards
  • Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship , Brigham Young University , 2005
  • Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award , Brigham Young University , 2000
  • Education and Documentation Book Interior Award , Bookbuilder's West 29th Annual Book Show , 1999
  • Young Scholar Award , BYU , 1999
  • Teacher of the Year, Department of Botany and Range Science , BYU , 1998
  • Teacher of the Year, Department of Botany and Range Science , BYU , 1997
  • Teaching Excellence Award , William C. Brown Communications , 1994
  • Alcuin Award for General Education Teaching , BYU , 1991
  • Fulbright Scholar Award for Lecture and Reasearch to Brazil , United States Information Agency , 1991
  • Outstanding Graduate Student in the College of Agriculture , University of Arizona , 1988
  • Graduate Academic Merit Award , University of Arizona , 1988
  • Graduate Fellowship , University of Minnesota , 1983
  • High Honors Graduation Distinction , BYU , 1982
 Courses Taught

Honors 260. Biological Principles and Reasoning

Biology 276. Genetics and Reproduction

Biology 340. Genetics

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