Early Life and Education
Allan Wilson was born in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, and raised on a farm at Helvetia, Pukekohe. He attended King's College in Auckland and excelled in maths and chemistry. After school he gained a BSc from the University of Otago. It was here as a Masters student that Wilson met Professor C.P. 'Mac' McMeekan, a New Zealand pioneer in animal science. He suggested that Wilson further his study in biochemistry instead of genetics.
In 1955 Wilson was invited to do his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. At the time the family thought Allan would only be gone two years; instead he stayed at Berkeley for 35 years, gaining his PhD in 1961 under the direction of Arthur Pardee, and setting up one of the world's most creative biochemistry labs.
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