Douglas Scott Falconer

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

Douglas Scott Falconer
FRS FRSE
Born(1913-03-10)10 March 1913
Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died23 February 2004(2004-02-23) (aged 90)
Edinburgh, Scotland
EducationUniversity of St Andrews; University of Cambridge, Ph.D. 1943 (Honorary Sc.D., 1969)
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
King's College, Cambridge
Known forFalconer's formula; his book Introduction to quantitative genetics
Scientific career
FieldsQuantitative genetics
Genetic epidemiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Edinburgh
Doctoral advisorJames Gray

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]

Falconer graduated with first class honors in zoology from the University of St Andrews in 1940. He then received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1943. He eventually got an honorary ScD from Cambridge in 1969.[4][5]

In 1951, Falconer described a novel mouse mutant that he called reeler for its peculiar gait.[6] 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.[7][8]

In 1973, he was announced as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).[9]

  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. doi:10.1093/genetics/167.4.1529. PMC 1471025. PMID 15342495.
  4. ^ "Douglas Falconer". www.scotsman.com. 9 April 2004. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Kennedy".
  6. ^ 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. S2CID 37918631.
  7. ^ "The inheritance of liability to certain diseases, estimated from the incidence among relatives" Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Falconer 1965
  8. ^ "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
  9. ^ "Professors elected FRS". The Glasgow Herald. 16 March 1973. p. 28. Retrieved 19 December 2018.