On Thursday, March 4, I saw the third floor conference room in Life Sciences South buzzing with activity. Everyone had come to meet and have lunch with Dr. Robert Plomin, visiting lecturer from the U.K. Dr. Plomin had come to Tucson to give the David C. Rowe Memorial Lecture. A mentor and colleague of Dr. Rowe’s, Dr. Plomin spoke admiringly about David’s commitment to pushing the envelope and changing the conventional thinking of others in his field.

Dr. Plomin is head of the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatric Research Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. His use of twins and adoptive families in the study of the role of genetics in behavior has made him a name in the field, and has allowed him to publish several books on the subject. The crowd at lunch was diverse, with representatives from biochemistry, molecular biology, bioethics, physics, and criminal justice. Even a mathematician showed up. Everyone wanted to get a chance to pick Dr. Plomin’s brain about his current research. Questions ranged from how many mathematicians were on staff at the institute, to how Dr. Plomin saw his work being applied in the field of law. Looking around the room, I was struck by how important the field of behavioral genetics had become. Everyone had an interest and a question for Dr. Plomin.

Both Dr. Plomin and Dr. Rowe began researching behavior without the help of molecular biology, and both came to realize the importance of molecular techniques, becoming conversant in new technologies as a way to further investigate human behaviors. Dr. Plomin believes that the role of molecular biology in the study of behavior has become more important with time. However, he still stressed an across-the-board approach, in which researchers at all levels of study, from complex behavior assessment to precise molecular techniques, communicate and work together. With regard to the field of law, he emphasized the importance of personal accountability in order to assure that the evolving understanding of the molecular basis of behavior doesn’t create a blanket excuse of “my genes made me do it” in the judicial system
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When asked what he wanted to accomplish with his research, Dr. Plomin replied that he wanted to find the genes he has been looking for, because that’s when the real fun begins. Everyone at the table laughed and agreed. I encourage UBRP students to take advantage of future events like this; it was an entertaining and informative experience about the
significance of research in the real world.
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Melissa Drake, UBRPer in Dr. Gail Burd's lab, Molecular and Cellular Biology