John Burch (1929-2021)

Education & Faculty Appointments

B.S., 1952, Randolph-Macon College

M.S., 1954, University of Richmond

Ph.D., 1959, University of Michigan

Assistant Professor & Curator, 1962, University of Michigan

Associate Professor & Curator, 1964, University of Michigan

Professor & Curator, 1970, University of Michigan

Professor & Curator Emeritus, 2001, University of Michigan

Honors & Awards

Honorary Life Memberships: American Malacological Society (2009), Malacological Society of Korea (1994), Malacological Society of the Philippines, (1994).

Lifetime Achievement Award: The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (1999).

Special Recognition Award: The Science Society of Thailand (1995).

Research Interests

Professor John B. (“Jack”) Burch had broad interests in the biology of non-marine Mollusca, especially freshwater snails, and he made numerous significant contributions to their global study. Early in his career, a major focus was the application of karyological, serological, and tissue culture techniques to characterize the roles of intermediate snail hosts in the epidemiology of human schistosome parasites.  This involved extensive field work throughout the tropics and lab work in Ann Arbor (below). One of his major immuno-cytological discoveries was the presence of cryptic diploid and polyploid (tetra/hexa/octoploid) lineages in populations of the important intermediate host Bulinus truncates/tropicus complex, that were differentially susceptible to infection by human schistosome parasites. This seminal work led to years of research (supported by NIH, NSF, and the World Health Organization) and of international outreach, the latter involving numerous workshops on medical malacology as well as the training of scientists from diverse countries.