From Cells to Developmental Systems and Beyond: A Symposium Honoring Ernest Everett Just

November 21, 2008
Carnegie Building, Conference Room A, Howard University, Washington, DC
8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Note that although this symposium is free and open to everyone, pre-registration is still required.

http://www.eejsymposium.com/

Symposium Overview

Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) was an African American biologist of
international standing who studied fertilization and development in marine
invertebrates. Perhaps best known for his discovery of the wave of negativity
that sweeps over the egg upon fertilization, E. E. Just also was the first to
associate cell surface changes with stages of embryonic development. He was
deeply familiar with the natural history of the marine animals whose eggs he
studied. His knowledge of natural settings led him to emphasize the importance
of using laboratory conditions that closely match those in nature.

Regarded around the world as an expert in the handling of marine invertebrate
eggs and embryos, Just devised a set of “indices of development” that allowed
him to predict with a high degree of certainty whether or not a particular
fertilized egg would develop normally. Based on his more than thirty years of
work, he came to believe that it was the cell surface and the structured layer
below it, the ectoplasm, that played the most critical roles in development, and
in heredity and evolution. He promoted a holistic view of cells and organisms in
opposition to the gene-centric view that was becoming more prevalent with the
rise of genetics. Just’s incisive critique of genetic reductionism finds echoes
in contemporary multiscale, systems approaches in biology. He also speculated on
the relationship between developmental and evolutionary mechanisms in a manner
that resonates with contemporary evolutionary-developmental biology.

This symposium seeks to draw attention to Ernest E. Just and his contributions
to biology by bringing together a group of distinguished scientists from areas
of research in cell and developmental biology and ecology that all relate in
some way to Just and his work. The timing and location of the symposium are
significant: the year 2008 is the 125th anniversary of Just’s birth, and Just
was a faculty member at Howard University throughout his scientific career.

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