Citation | Professor Akam has pioneered the genetic approach to evolutionary studies of ontogeny. He participated in the first cloning of the developmental control genes of the homeotic or Hox clusters. He developed the technique of in situ hybridisation for the fruit fly tissues and was the first to show that Hox genes are spatially regulated along the embryo. He has used the extreme conservation of Hox gene function in insects and vertebrates to understand the relationships between development and evolution |