David Pulleyblank chats with former students Duncan Jones (centre) and Simon Ives (right)
Students, staff and Faculty members gathered today in the delightful setting of the University Faculty Club to celebrate the 37-year career of Professor David Pulleyblank. We were joined by several former students of David’s who shared in the celebration and regaled us with stories of their times in the Pulleyblank lab.
David grew up in Cambridge, England where his father was a Professor of Chinese history. The family moved to Vancouver when his father took up a position there in 1966. David completed an undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia then moved to Edmonton where he finished a Ph.D. in the biochemistry department with Richard Morgan. During his post-doc with Jerome Vinograd at CalTech, he worked on DNA structure and supercoils. When Vinograd died in 1976, David applied for a job in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Toronto. He started in January 1977.
Seven of David’s Ph.D. students currently hold faculty positions at universities in Canada and other countries. Our department recently hired one of David’s scientific grandchildren, Trevor Moraes. Many of David’s papers on DNA and chromatin structure are still being cited. During his 37 years with the department, David has interacted with, and influenced, dozens of colleagues and students – both undergraduate and graduate. We will all miss him.
