Douglas Scott Falconer

Douglas Scott Falconer FRS FRSE (10 March 1913 in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire – 23 February 2004 in Edinburgh)[1] was a Scottish geneticist known for his work in quantitative genetics.[2] 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.[3]

This article is about the geneticist. For the footballer, see Doug Falconer (football player).

Douglas Scott Falconer
Born(1913-03-10)10 March 1913
Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died23 February 2004(2004-02-23) (aged 90)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
King's College, Cambridge
Scientific career
FieldsQuantitative genetics
Genetic epidemiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Edinburgh
Doctoral advisorJames Gray

In 1951, Falconer described a novel mouse mutant that he called reeler for its peculiar gait.[4] Later research using these mice has led to the discovery of reelin, a protein playing important roles in corticogenesis, neuronal migration, and plasticity.

In 1964, he introduced the use of liability threshold models into human disease & trait modeling.[5][6]

In 1973, he was announced as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).[7]

See also

References
  1. Bowman, J. C. (2005). "Douglas Scott Falconer. 10 March 1913 – 23 February 2004: Elected F.R.S. 1973". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 51: 119. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2005.0008.
  2. MacKay, T. F. C. (2004). "Douglas Scott Falconer (1913–2004)". Heredity. 93 (2): 119–121. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800506. PMID 15241449.
  3. Hill, W. G.; MacKay, T. F. (2004). "D. S. Falconer and Introduction to quantitative genetics". Genetics. 167 (4): 1529–1536. PMC 1471025. PMID 15342495.
  4. Falconer, D. S. (1951). "Two new mutants, 'trembler' and 'reeler', with neurological actions in the house mouse (Mus musculus L.)". Journal of Genetics. 50 (2): 192–205. doi:10.1007/BF02996215. PMID 24539699.
  5. "The inheritance of liability to certain diseases, estimated from the incidence among relatives" Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Falconer 1965
  6. "The inheritance of liability to diseases with variable age of onset, with particular reference to diabetes mellitus" Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Falconer 1967
  7. "Professors elected FRS". The Glasgow Herald. 16 March 1973. p. 28. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
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