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{{Short description|Indian evolutionary biologist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = John Barnabas
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|10|12}}
| birth_place = [[Mangalore]], [[Karnataka]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1994|7|30|1929|10|12}}
| death_place = [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| residence =
| fields = {{ublist | [[Molecular systematics]] | [[Evolution]] }}
| workplaces = {{ublist | Ahmednagar College | [[National Chemical Laboratory]] }}
| alma_mater = {{ublist | [[University of Madras]] |[[University of Bombay]] | [[Yale University]] | [[University of Groningen]] }}
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = Evolutionary [[genetics]] of [[hemoglobins]]
| awards = 1974&nbsp;[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]]<br>1976&nbsp;Sreenivasayya Memorial Award<br>1989&nbsp;[[Indian National Science Academy|INSA]] Golden Jubilee Commemoration Medal
}}
'''John Barnabas''' (1929–1994) was an Indian evolutionary biologist, known for his contributions in the fields of [[Molecular Systematics]] and [[Evolution]].<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=318 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> He was a member of the Science Advisory Committee to the cabinet as well as the [[Department of Biotechnology]] of the Government of India.<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas">{{Cite web |url=http://insaindia.res.in/detail/N79-0055 |title=Deceased fellow - John Barnabas |date=2016 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-date=23 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023011941/http://insaindia.res.in/detail/N79-0055 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow]], Barnabas was also an elected fellow of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]], [[Indian National Science Academy]] and the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]]. The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1974, for his contributions to biological sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Born on 12 October 1929 in [[Mangalore]], a port city in the south Indian state of [[Karnataka]], John Barnabas did his early schooling at local schools before graduating in science from the [[University of Madras]]. Moving to Mumbai, he obtained his master's degree from [[University of Bombay]] and joined the then newly started Ahmednagar College as a member of faculty in 1954.<ref name="John Barnabas (1929–1994) - Obituary">{{cite journal | url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_068_03_0346_0347_0.pdf | title=John Barnabas (1929–1994) - Obituary | author=Prabhakar Ranjekar, Shama Barnabas | journal=Current Science | date=10 February 1995 | volume=68 | issue=3 | pages=346–7}}</ref> He also continued his researches and secured a PhD from [[University of Pune]] in 1956.<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" /> He served Ahmednagar College till 1981 during which time he held many positions such as that of a lecturer, a professor and a head of the department. In between, he had two stints abroad as a post-doctoral fellow, first at [[Yale University]] (1958–59) and then at [[Groningen University]] (1960–61).<ref name="John Barnabas (1929–1994) - Obituary" />{{Refn|group=note|[[Morris Goodman (scientist)|Morris Goodman]] of [[Wayne State University]] and [[Margaret Oakley Dayhoff]] of [[Georgetown University Medical Center]] were two of his associates in the US}}

In 1983, Barnabas joined the [[National Chemical Laboratory]] as a [[Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow]] and after the tenure of the fellowship in 1985, he continued at the laboratory as the head of the Division of Biochemical Sciences. He worked there holding the Distinguished Fellowship of the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] from 1991 till his death on 30 July 1994, at the age of 64.<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" />

== Legacy ==
Barnabas was known to have done pioneering research on haemoglobins of mammals, with respect to the sequence of amino acids in them, and his studies helped in a wider understanding of the subject.<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=19 September 2016 | pages=28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043957/http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> He proposed novel methods by which the molecular structure is utilized in the measurement of evolutionary distance and the rate of change. His methods, based on [[parsimony analysis]], assisted in developing [[phylogenetic]] trees and helped to understand the evolutionary history of different [[eukaryotic]] lineages.<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" /> His research findings have been documented by way of a book, ''Phylogenetic Perspectives of Protists'',<ref name="BarnabasBarnabas1984">{{cite book|author1=Shama Barnabas|author2=John Barnabas|title=Phylogenetic Perspectives of Protists: Shama Barnabas and John Barnabas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eHaAAAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Indian National Science Academy}}</ref> and several articles.<ref name="Descent of Mammalian Alpha Globin Chain Sequences Investigated by the Maximum Parsimony Method">{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nQJdDCuPa4C&dq=John+Barnabas+scientist&pg=PA172 | title=Descent of Mammalian Alpha Globin Chain Sequences Investigated by the Maximum Parsimony Method |author1=John Barnabas |author2=Morris Goodman |author3=G. William Moore | journal=Journal of Molecular Biology | year=1972 | volume=69 | issue=2 | pages=249–278| isbn=9783110800043 | pmid=4627161 | doi=10.1016/0022-2836(72)90229-x| url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Barnabas contributed in the establishment of the department of biochemistry at Ahmednagar College in 1963, when he returned to the college after his post-doctoral stint abroad.<ref name="John Barnabas (1929–1994) - Obituary" /> He served as the councilor of the [[Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres|International Society for the Study of Origin of Life]] from 1980 to 1983 and sat in the scientific advisory committees to the cabinet (1983–85) as well as the [[Department of Biotechnology]] (1990–93).<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" /> He was also associated with the research councils of several scientific agencies including the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] and the advisory committee for space sciences of the [[Indian Space Research Organization]]. He was a member of journals such as ''Biotechnology Letters'', ''Science Technology'', ''Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics'', ''Journal of Biosciences'' and the journals of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] (INSA) and the [[Indian National Science Academy]]. He also served as a member of the INSA council from 1984 to 1986.<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" />

== Awards and honors ==
Barnabas was awarded the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards, by the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] in 1974.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee" /> He received the Sreenivasayya Memorial Award in 1976 and the same year, he was elected by the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] as their fellow.<ref name="IAS Fellows - J. Barnabas">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Barnabas,_Dr_John | title=IAS Fellows - J. Barnabas | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> Two years later, the [[University Grants Commission of India]] selected him as a National lecturer<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" /> and the Indian National Science Academy elected him as their fellow in 1979. In 1983, his project, ''Phylogenetic Systematics Based on Molecular Data sets'', was selected for the [[Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship]] which he completed in 1985 at the [[National Chemical Laboratory]].<ref name="List of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows">{{cite web | url=http://www.jnmf.in/flist.html | title=List of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows | publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund | date=2016 | access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref>

Barnabas, who was a life member of the ''Society of Biological Chemists, India'', presided the organization during 1985–86.<ref name="Past Presidents">{{cite web | url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/sbci/images/SBCpastpresident.pdf | title=Past Presidents | publisher=Society of Biological Chemists, India | date=2016 | access-date=21 September 2016}}</ref> INSA awarded him the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Medal in 1989. He was also a life member of the ''Society for Scientific Values'', a member of the ''Guha Research Conference'', a founder fellow of the ''Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science'' and an elected fellow of the [[Institute of Chemical Technology]] (then known as University Department of Chemical Technology) and the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]].<ref name="NASI Fellows">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasi.org.in/deceased.htm |title=NASI fellows |publisher=National Academy of Sciences, India |date=2016 |access-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528102550/http://www.nasi.org.in/deceased.htm |archive-date=28 May 2015 }}</ref> The many award orations he delivered included ''Vyas Memorial Award Lectureship'' of the Association of Microbiologists of India (1986) and Salim Ali Memorial Lectureship Award of [[Indian Institute of Science]].<ref name="Deceased fellow - John Barnabas" />

== See also ==
* [[Molecular systematics]]
* [[Evolution]]
{{portal|India|Biology}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=http://www.ncl-india.org/files/AboutNCL/RememberingLeaders.aspx?menuid=ql12 | title=Remembering the Leaders | publisher=National Chemical Laboratory | date=2016 | access-date=21 September 2016}}

{{SSBPST recipients in Biological Science}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnabas, John}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science]]
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Fellows of the National Academy of Sciences, India]]
[[Category:Evolutionary biologists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Mangalore]]
[[Category:Kannada people]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:University of Mumbai alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]]
[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Groningen alumni]]
[[Category:ISRO people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]

John Barnabas - Revision history

CleanupBot at 05:36, 22 March 2026