In 1955, geneticist Dr. James Bowman accepted a position in Iran where he studied favism, the deficiency of glucose-6-dehydrogenase.

Favism is an acute hemolytic syndrome that occurs in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency following the ingestion of fava beans. He would go on to become a profound researcher in general human genetics and ethics at the Howard University.

An expert in the fields of pathology and genetics and professor emeritus in the departments of pathology and medicine at the University of Chicago, Bowman also served on the Committee on Genetics; the Committee on African and African American Studies; and as a senior scholar for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. He also published more than ninety works in the fields of general human genetics; hematological population genetics; genetic variation among diverse peoples; and ethical, legal and public policy issues in human genetics.