Professor Emeritus
About
Professor Adams retired from the faculty in 2010. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in what is now the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology as an assistant professor in 1970, and was promoted to associate professor in 1975 and professor in 1984. He was appointed professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in 2005.
Professor Adams' research focused on genetics and evolutionary biology, specifically the areas of microbial evolution and human population genetics. He worked at the intersection of molecular biology and evolutionary biology, seeking to explain evolutionary changes in biochemical, molecular and physiological terms. His expertise in this area led to his service as chair of the NIH Genetics Study Section and chair of the Gordon Conference on Microbial Population Biology in 1997. He was a resident fellow at the Rockefeller Institute in Bellagio, Italy, and a senior fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. His awards include an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, a U.S. State Department Jefferson Fellowship, and a NATO Fellowship.
While he taught a variety of courses in genetics and biology throughout his career, most recently Professor Adams found great satisfaction in teaching a course for non-science majors in genetics and public policy. Within the Department of Biology, he served as associate chair from 1985-89 and chair from 1996-2001. In 2001, when the biology department was reorganized, he became one of the founding faculty members of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.
He has held visiting appointments at universities in Brazil and Germany. In 1996 he received a Faculty Recognition Award by the University. From 1996 - 2001 he was chair of the Department of Biology. He serves as associate editor for the journals Molecular Biology and Evolution and Genetica .
