Douglas Scott Falconer (10 March 1913 in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire – 23 February 2004 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

) was a Scottish geneticist known for his work in

quantitative genetics Quantitative genetics deals with phenotypes that vary continuously (such as height or mass)—as opposed to discretely identifiable phenotypes and gene-products (such as eye-colour, or the presence of a particular biochemical). Both branches u ...

. Falconer's book ''Introduction to quantitative genetics'' was written in 1960 and became a valuable reference for generations of scientists. Its latest edition dates back to 1996 and is coauthored by

Trudy Mackay Trudy Frances Charlene Mackay (born 10 September 1952) is the director of Clemson University's Center for Human Genetics located on the campus of the Greenwood (S.C.) Genetic Center. She is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities o ...

. Falconer graduated with first class honors in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1940. He then received his PhD from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in 1943. He eventually got an honorary ScD from Cambridge in 1969. In 1951, Falconer described a novel mouse mutant that he called

reeler A reeler is a mouse mutant, so named because of its characteristic "reeling" gait. This is caused by the profound underdevelopment of the mouse's cerebellum, a segment of the brain responsible for locomotion. The mutation is autosomal and recess ...

for its peculiar gait. Later research using these mice has led to the discovery of

reelin Reelin, encoded by the ''RELN'' gene, is a large secreted extracellular matrix glycoprotein that helps regulate processes of neuronal migration and positioning in the developing brain by controlling cell–cell interactions. Besides this impor ...

, a protein playing important roles in

corticogenesis Corticogenesis is the process during which the cerebral cortex of the brain is formed as part of the development of the nervous system of mammals including its development in humans. The cortex is the outer layer of the brain and is composed of u ...

neuronal migration The development of the nervous system, or neural development (neurodevelopment), refers to the processes that generate, shape, and reshape the nervous system of animals, from the earliest stages of embryonic development to adulthood. The fiel ...

, and plasticity. In 1964, he introduced the use of liability threshold models into human disease & trait modeling. In 1973, he was announced as a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

(FRS).

References

1913 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Scottish geneticists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People from Aberdeenshire Academics of the University of Edinburgh Genetic epidemiologists {{Geneticist-stub

See also

References