View source for Lin Chao

'''Lin Chao''' is a [[Chinese Brazilian]]{{endash}}[[United States|American]] [[evolutionary biologist]] and [[geneticist]]. He earned his PhD in 1977 from the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]], as a student of Bruce R. Levin (now at [[Emory University]]), and was a [[NIH]] postdoctoral fellow at [[Princeton University]] in the laboratory of Edward C. Cox. He spent most of his career in the Department of Biology of the [[University of Maryland, College Park]] and is currently at the [[Ecology]], Behavior and Evolution Section of the [[University of California, San Diego]].

Chao is best known for his early work on the evolution of [[bacteriocins]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Structured habitats and the evolution of anticompetitor toxins in bacteria|first1=L.|last1=Chao|first2=B. R.|last2=Levin|date=1 October 1981|journal=PNAS|volume=78|issue=10|pages=6324–6328|pmid=7031647|pmc=349031|doi=10.1073/pnas.78.10.6324|bibcode=1981PNAS...78.6324C|doi-access=free}}</ref> his demonstration of [[Muller’s ratchet]] in the [[RNA Virus]] Phi-6 <ref>{{cite journal|title=Fitness of RNA virus decreased by Muller's ratchet|first=Lin|last=Chao|date=29 November 1990|journal=Nature|volume=348|issue=6300|pages=454–455|doi=10.1038/348454a0|pmid=2247152|bibcode=1990Natur.348..454C|s2cid=4235839}}</ref> and his work on sex in viruses.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.genetics.org/content/147/3/953|title=The Advantage of Sex in the RNA Virus φ6|journal=Genetics|first1=Lin|last1=Chao|first2=Thu T.|last2=Tran|first3=Thutrang T.|last3=Tran|date=1 November 1997|volume=147|issue=3|pages=953–959|doi=10.1093/genetics/147.3.953|pmid=9383044|pmc=1208270}}</ref> More recently, he was instrumental in the demonstration of the evolution of parasitic genetic elements in co-infecting [[bacteriophages]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=Prisoner's dilemma in an RNA virus|first1=Paul E.|last1=Turner|first2=Lin|last2=Chao|date=1 April 1999|journal=Nature|volume=398|issue=6726|pages=441–443|doi=10.1038/18913|pmid=10201376|bibcode=1999Natur.398..441T|s2cid=4422956}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=2665189|pmid=11008699 |year=2000 |last1=Chao |first1=L |title=Kin selection and parasite evolution: Higher and lower virulence with hard and soft selection |journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology |volume=75 |issue=3 |pages=261–75 |last2=Hanley |first2=K. A. |last3=Burch |first3=C. L. |last4=Dahlberg |first4=C |last5=Turner |first5=P. E. |doi=10.1086/393499|s2cid=24404768 |url=https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/3f462g01r }}</ref> and experimental tests of [[Fisher's geometric model]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.genetics.org/content/151/3/921|title=Evolution by Small Steps and Rugged Landscapes in the RNA Virus ϕ6|journal=Genetics|first1=Christina L.|last1=Burch|first2=Lin|last2=Chao|date=1 March 1999|volume=151|issue=3|pages=921–927|doi=10.1093/genetics/151.3.921|pmid=10049911|pmc=1460516}}</ref> He argued that "[[life]] is [[evolution]] by [[natural selection]]".<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0245:tmol]2.3.co;2|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0245:tmol]2.3.co;2|title=The Meaning of Life|journal=BioScience|volume=50|issue=3|pages=245–250|year=2000|last1=Chao|first1=LIN|doi-access=free}}</ref> The approach generally used in his laboratory is called microbial [[experimental evolution]].

Chao is married to Camilla Rang, a fellow scientist, T-shirt designer and Swedish children's book author.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

* UCSD Chancellor's Associates Faculty Excellence Award (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/40th_faculty_excellence_awards_honors_outstanding_teaching_research_and_ser|title = 40th Faculty Excellence Awards Honors Outstanding Teaching, Research and Service}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www-biology.ucsd.edu/faculty/chao.html Chao's Faculty Webpage at UCSD]

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[[Category:American people of Brazilian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Brazilian people of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Phage workers]]
[[Category:University of California, San Diego faculty]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni]]
[[Category:Princeton University fellows]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]


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