Having begun graduate studies in evolutionary biology at the University of
California-Irvine, Turner ended up completing his doctorate at Michigan State after following one of his UC-Irvine mentors to the East Lansing, Mich.-based school. Although Turner focused on the evolution of bacteria as a doctoral student, he turned to research on the evolution of viruses during his first postdoctoral fellowship, which was at the University of Maryland, College Park. He continued the virus research during fellowships at the University of Valencia in Spain and at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Turner explains that the field of evolutionary biology, which is growing, has attracted few Blacks, and he estimates that fewer than 10 African Americans hold academic positions as evolutionary biologists at American institutions.
It is important that while he progresses as a scientific researcher in academia he embraces the task of being a role model for aspiring young scientists, especially for minority students, Turner declares. He makes a point of hiring undergraduates in addition to the graduate students to work with him on his research.
"I like to have undergraduates in the lab to get them exposed to research at an early age," he says.
— By Ronald Roach
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
