Jeffrey Connor Hall

                                                            Jeffrey Connor Hall 

                       Jeffrey Connor Hall is an American geneticist and chronobiologist. Hall is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Brandeis University and currently resides in Cambridge, Maine. Hall spent his career examining the neurological component of fly courtship and behavioral rhythms. Through his research on the neurology and behavior of Drosophila melanogaster, Hall uncovered essential mechanisms of biological clocks and shed light on the foundations for sexual differentiation in the nervous system. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his revolutionary work in the field of chronobiology.  Along with Michael W. Young and Michael Rosbash, he was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm"

                   Jeffrey Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C., while his father worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, covering the U.S. Senate. Hall's father, Joseph W. Hall, greatly influenced him especially by encouraging Hall to stay updated on recent events in the daily newspaper. As a good high school student, Hall planned to pursue a career in medicine. Hall began pursuing a bachelor's degree at Amherst College in 1963. However, during his time as an undergraduate student, Hall found his passion in biology. For his senior project, to gain experience in formal research, Hall began working with Philip Ives. Hall reported that Ives was one of the most influential people he encountered during his formative years. Hall became fascinated with the study of Drosophila while working in Ives' lab, a passion that has permeated his research. Under the supervision of Ives, Hall studied recombination and translocation induction in Drosophila. The success of Hall's research pursuits prompted department faculty to recommend that Hall pursue graduate school at University of Washington in Seattle, where the entire biology department was devoted to genetics.

                     Hall began working in Lawrence Sandler's laboratory during graduate school in 1967. Hall worked with Sandler on analyzing age-dependent enzyme changes in Drosophila, with a concentration on the genetic control of chromosome behavior in meiosis. Hershel Roman encouraged Hall to pursue postdoctoral work with Seymour Benzer, a pioneer in forward genetics, at the California Institute of Technology. In an interview, Hall regarded Roman as an influential figure in his early career for Roman fostered camaraderie in the laboratory and guided nascent professionals. Upon completing his doctoral work, Hall joined Benzer's laboratory in 1971. In Benzer's lab, Hall worked with Doug Kankel who taught Hall about Drosophila neuroanatomy and neurochemistry. Although Hall and Kankel made great progress on two projects, Hall left Benzer's laboratory before publishing results. In Hall's third year as a postdoctoral researcher, Roman contacted Hall regarding faculty positions that Roman had advocated for Hall. Hall joined Brandeis University as an Assistant Professor of Biology in 1974. He is known for his eccentric lecturing style.