The molecular biologist Walter Gehring, awarded an honorary doctorate by the UB
The molecular biologist Walter J. Gehring (Zurich, 1939), Director of the Biozentrum Cell Biology Laboratory at the University of Basel (Switzerland), was awarded the title Doctor Honoris Causa at a ceremony held in the Paranymph Hall, presided over by the Rector of the UB, Dídac Ramírez. Professor Gehring was introduced by Emili Saló, Professor of the Department of Genetics and head of the Developmental Genetics and Biology Research Group.
The molecular biologist Walter J. Gehring (Zurich, 1939), Director of the Biozentrum Cell Biology Laboratory at the University of Basel (Switzerland), was awarded the title Doctor Honoris Causa at a ceremony held in the Paranymph Hall, presided over by the Rector of the UB, Dídac Ramírez. Professor Gehring was introduced by Emili Saló, Professor of the Department of Genetics and head of the Developmental Genetics and Biology Research Group.
During his acceptance speech, Walter Gehring explained his lifelong interest in molecular biology, which began when he "saw a wonderful butterfly emerge" from its chrysalis, prompting him to question the nature of metamorphosis and development.
Gehring is a renowned for his research into the genetic foundations for the development of the body plan in metazoa and, as explained by Emili Saló in his introduction, is recognized as having "led the discovery and analysis of new concepts that have changed our understanding of genetics". Walter Gehring's scientific work made a major contribution to the field of molecular genetics in the latter part of the 20th century, and his findings are crucial to understanding mechanisms of human evolution and, more specifically, the genetic foundations regulating the development of body plans of different organisms.
Gehring completed his PhD in 1965 with a thesis on transdetermination phenomena in the imaginal discs of Drosophila, leading to the discovery of "a mutation that transforms the the antennae on the head of the fly into mesothoracic legs". In 1983, Gehring's team and researchers from Indiana University independently discovered the "homeobox", a DNA sequence found in genes highly preserved during evolution that controls the development of the body plan in arthropods and in vertebrates including man. Gehring explained that, on making the discovery, he "knew that it held the key to understanding the process of cell determination".