Pierre L. Roubertoux (born June 26, 1937) is a French behavioral geneticist.

Early life and education

Roubertoux was born on June 26, 1937, in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. He received his

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

education in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

, the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, and the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He received a degree in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from the

University of Paris VI Pierre and Marie Curie University ( , UPMC), also known as Paris VI, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, ...

in 1970. He then received a

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from Paris X Nanterre in 1972, followed by three more from

Paris Descartes University Paris Descartes University (), also known as Paris V, was a French public university located in Paris. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 1970. Paris Descartes completely merg ...

in 1977, 1979, and 1982.

Academic career

Roubertoux was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of psychology at Paris Descartes University from 1981 to 1983, after which he became a professor of genetics there. In 1995, he became a professor of genetics at the

University of Orléans The University of Orléans () is a French university, in the Academy of Orléans and Tours. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University. History In 1230, when for a time the ...

. In 2005, he became an emeritus professor at the

University of the Mediterranean The University of the Mediterranean Aix-Marseille II was a French university in the List of public universities in France by academy#Academy of Aix and Marseille, Academy of Aix and Marseille. Historically, it was part of the University of Aix-M ...

and began working at

INSERM The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

U910, a

medical genetics Medical genetics is the branch of medicine that involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to me ...

laboratory in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Research

Roubertoux is known for his research on the genetics of

maternal A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...

and

aggressive behavior Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

. He has also researched the effects of

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

changes on mouse behavior and

neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...

Honors and awards

Roubertoux was president-elect of the

Behavior Genetics Association The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a learned society established in 1970 that promotes research into the connections between heredity and behavior, both human and animal. Its members support education and training in behavior genetics and ...

(BGA) in 1995 when the organization's then-president,

Glayde Whitney Glayde D. Whitney (1939 – January 8, 2002) was an American behavioral geneticist and psychologist. He was professor at Florida State University. Beyond his work into the genetics of sensory system function in mice, in his later life he support ...

, gave a highly controversial presidential address. In it, Whitney argued that racial differences in rates of criminal activity may be due to genetic factors, and that behavior geneticists should investigate the roles of both genes and environment in such differences. Along with

Wim Crusio Wim E. Crusio (born Wilhelmus Elisabeth Crusio on 20 December 1954) is a Dutch behavioral neurogeneticist and a '' directeur de recherche'' (research director) with the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Talence, France. Educ ...

, who was a member-at-large of the BGA's executive committee at the time, Roubertoux resigned from the organization in protest of what he considered their failure to enact sufficiently strong sanctions against Whitney for his address. He received the BGA's Dobzhansky Memorial Award in 2000, and served as its president from 2006 to 2008. In 2017, a study he co-authored on a mouse model of

trisomy 21 A trisomy is a type of polysomy in which there are three instances of a particular chromosome, instead of the normal two. A trisomy is a type of aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes). Description and causes Most organisms that repro ...

received the BGA's Fulker Award, which is given to a "particularly meritorious paper" published in the organization's official journal, ''

Behavior Genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...

''. He is a member of the BGA and the

American Society of Human Genetics The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), founded in 1948, is a professional membership organization for specialists in human genetics. As of 2009, the organization had approximately 8,000 members. The society's members include researchers, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roubertoux, Pierre L. 1937 births Living people Behavior geneticists French geneticists French neuroscientists Pieds-noirs Algerian emigrants to France People from Algiers Academic staff of Paris Descartes University University of Caen Normandy alumni Paris Descartes University alumni University of Strasbourg alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of the University of Orléans Pierre and Marie Curie University alumni Inserm people