Scott F. Gilbert

Last updated
Scott F. Gilbert
Education Wesleyan University (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Johns Hopkins University (PhD)
TitleHoward A. Schneiderman '48 Professor Emeritus in Biology at Swarthmore College

Scott Frederick Gilbert (born 1949) is an American evolutionary developmental biologist and historian of biology.

Contents

Scott Gilbert is the Howard A. Schneiderman Professor of Biology (emeritus) at Swarthmore College and a Finland Distinguished Professor (emeritus) at the University of Helsinki.

Education

He obtained his B.A. in both biology and religion from Wesleyan University (1971). In 1976, he received his MA (history of science, under the aegis of Donna Haraway) and his PhD (biology, in the laboratory of Barbara Migeon) from the Johns Hopkins University. [1] His postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, pursued research on ribosome synthesis in the laboratory of Masayasu Nomura (1976–1978) and investigated developmental immunology in the laboratory of Robert Auerbach (1978–1980). [2]

Academic career

Gilbert is the author of the textbook Developmental Biology (first edition, 1985, and now in its 13th edition, 2023) and has also co-authored (with David Epel) the textbook Ecological Developmental Biology (2009, 2015). He has been credited with helping initiate evolutionary developmental biology and ecological developmental biology as new biological disciplines. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Gilbert's early biological research includes documenting the first pyrimidine-initiated RNA transcripts, [7] elucidating the mechanisms by which antibodies inactivate poliovirus, [8] and studying the roles of paracrine factors in kidney and lung branching. [9] [10]  After co-authoring an early paper in evolutionary developmental biology, [11] he inaugurated a project on the development of turtle shells. With collaborator Judith Cebra-Thomas, Gilbert elucidated the roles of several paracrine factors involved in carapace formation and made the unexpected conclusion that the plastron was derived from trunk neural crest cells. The latter studies led to the hypothesis that the turtle evolved by respecifying its cell types. [12] [13] His most recent studies concern the development of the holobiont and the importance of plasticity and symbiotic microbes during normal animal development. [14] [15] He has argued that the holobiont is an important unit of evolutionary selection. [16]

Gilbert's research in the history and philosophy of biology concerns the interactions of genetics and embryology; feminist critiques of biology; Antireductionism; the formation of biological disciplines; and Bioethics. Some of these studies have documented the origins of the gene theory from embryological controversies, [17] [18] the formation of molecular biology and biochemistry as separate disciplines, [19] the importance of feminist critique as a normative control in cell and developmental biology, [20] [21] and the importance of the environment in phenotype production. [22] [23] [24] His work in the interactions of biology and religion have included extensive analysis of wonder, [25] as well as studies of when different groups of biologists claim that individual human life begins. [26] He has identified (with Ziony Zevit) the bone from which Eve was generated, [27] analyzed embryonic imagery in the art of Gustav Klimt, Diego Rivera, and Frida Kahlo, [28] and has provided one of the first analyses of nerd humor. [29] His biology textbooks have been experiments in the interactions between biology and its social critiques.

Personal life

Scott F. Gilbert is the son of Marvin (Bud) and Elaine Caplan Gilbert. He was raised in East Rockaway, New York, . [30] He is married to Anne Raunio (m.1971), and has three children and two grandchildren. In 2015, Gilbert became emeritus professor at both Swarthmore College and the University of Helsinki, and in 2016 he moved with Anne to Portland, Oregon, where he is on the Asian Arts Council of the Portland Art Museum.

Honors

Honorary doctorates

University of Helsinki (Finland, 2000), University of Tartu, (Estonia, 2011)

Awards and honors

Phi Beta Kappa (1970); Sigma Xi (1980); Medal of François I (Collège de France, 1996); Fellow, AAAS (1998); John Simon Guggenheim Fellow (1999); Honorary member, St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists, St. Petersburg, Russia (2001); Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize (Society for Developmental Biology, 2002); Alexander Kowalevsky Medal (2004); Biosemiotics Achievement Award (2015); Lecture in developmental biology presented to the 14th Dalai Lama (2016) [31]

Selected publications

For full publications list, see Swarthmore College Works.

Articles

A select number of his works are freely available online.

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontogeny</span> Origination and development of an organism

Ontogeny is the origination and development of an organism, usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the study of the entirety of an organism's lifespan.

Zoology is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one of the primary branches of biology. The term is derived from Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion ('animal'), and λόγος, logos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolutionary developmental biology</span> Comparison of organism developmental processes

Evolutionary developmental biology is a field of biological research that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to infer how developmental processes evolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern synthesis (20th century)</span> Fusion of natural selection with Mendelian inheritance

The modern synthesis was the early 20th-century synthesis of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel's ideas on heredity into a joint mathematical framework. Julian Huxley coined the term in his 1942 book, Evolution: The Modern Synthesis. The synthesis combined the ideas of natural selection, Mendelian genetics, and population genetics. It also related the broad-scale macroevolution seen by palaeontologists to the small-scale microevolution of local populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastrulation</span> Stage in embryonic development in which germ layers form

Gastrulation is the stage in the early embryonic development of most animals, during which the blastula, or in mammals the blastocyst, is reorganized into a two-layered or three-layered embryo known as the gastrula. Before gastrulation, the embryo is a continuous epithelial sheet of cells; by the end of gastrulation, the embryo has begun differentiation to establish distinct cell lineages, set up the basic axes of the body, and internalized one or more cell types including the prospective gut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neurulation</span> Embryological process forming the neural tube

Neurulation refers to the folding process in vertebrate embryos, which includes the transformation of the neural plate into the neural tube. The embryo at this stage is termed the neurula.

A germ layer is a primary layer of cells that forms during embryonic development. The three germ layers in vertebrates are particularly pronounced; however, all eumetazoans produce two or three primary germ layers. Some animals, like cnidarians, produce two germ layers making them diploblastic. Other animals such as bilaterians produce a third layer between these two layers, making them triploblastic. Germ layers eventually give rise to all of an animal's tissues and organs through the process of organogenesis.

In embryology, cleavage is the division of cells in the early development of the embryo, following fertilization. The zygotes of many species undergo rapid cell cycles with no significant overall growth, producing a cluster of cells the same size as the original zygote. The different cells derived from cleavage are called blastomeres and form a compact mass called the morula. Cleavage ends with the formation of the blastula, or of the blastocyst in mammals.

Joan Roughgarden is an American ecologist and evolutionary biologist. She has engaged in theory and observation of coevolution and competition in Anolis lizards of the Caribbean, and recruitment limitation in the rocky intertidal zones of California and Oregon. She has more recently become known for her rejection of sexual selection, her theistic evolutionism, and her work on holobiont evolution.

Genetic assimilation is a process described by Conrad H. Waddington by which a phenotype originally produced in response to an environmental condition, such as exposure to a teratogen, later becomes genetically encoded via artificial selection or natural selection. Despite superficial appearances, this does not require the (Lamarckian) inheritance of acquired characters, although epigenetic inheritance could potentially influence the result. Waddington stated that genetic assimilation overcomes the barrier to selection imposed by what he called canalization of developmental pathways; he supposed that the organism's genetics evolved to ensure that development proceeded in a certain way regardless of normal environmental variations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biology</span> Science that studies life

Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morphogenetic field</span> Developmental biology concept

In the developmental biology of the early twentieth century, a morphogenetic field is a group of cells able to respond to discrete, localized biochemical signals leading to the development of specific morphological structures or organs. The spatial and temporal extents of the embryonic field are dynamic, and within the field is a collection of interacting cells out of which a particular organ is formed. As a group, the cells within a given morphogenetic field are constrained: thus, cells in a limb field will become a limb tissue, those in a cardiac field will become heart tissue. However, specific cellular programming of individual cells in a field is flexible: an individual cell in a cardiac field can be redirected via cell-to-cell signaling to replace specific damaged or missing cells. Imaginal discs in insect larvae are examples of morphogenetic fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turtle shell</span> Shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles

The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles, completely enclosing all the vital organs of the turtle and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such as the ribs, parts of the pelvis and other bones found in most reptiles. The bone of the shell consists of both skeletal and dermal bone, showing that the complete enclosure of the shell likely evolved by including dermal armor into the rib cage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyomandibula</span> Set of bones in most fishes that plays a role in suspending the jaws

The hyomandibula, commonly referred to as hyomandibular [bone], is a set of bones that is found in the hyoid region in most fishes. It usually plays a role in suspending the jaws and/or operculum. It is commonly suggested that in tetrapods, the hyomandibula evolved into the columella (stapes).

Ralf Josef Sommer is a German biologist specializing in evolutionary developmental biology.

The A.O. Kovalevsky Medal, awarded annually by the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists for extraordinary achievements in evolutionary developmental biology and comparative zoology, is named after the noted Russian embryologist Alexander Kovalevsky. Since 2002, only one medal has been awarded annually .{Mikhailov and Gilbert, 2002}

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Carroll (biologist)</span> American biologist and ecologist

Scott P. Carroll is an American evolutionary biologist and ecologist affiliated with the University of California, Davis and the University of Queensland. Carroll's main interests are in exploring contemporary evolution to better understand adaptive processes and how those processes can be harnessed to develop solutions to evolutionary challenges in food production, medical care and environmental conservation. With Charles W. Fox, Carroll edited Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action, a book published by Oxford University Press in 2008 in which contributors, across the field of evolutionary biology and conservation, apply evolutionary thinking to concepts and practices in conservation biology, an area of research sometimes called evolutionary ecology. Carroll is founding director of the Institute for Contemporary Evolution.

The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) consists of a set of theoretical concepts argued to be more comprehensive than the earlier modern synthesis of evolutionary biology that took place between 1918 and 1942. The extended evolutionary synthesis was called for in the 1950s by C. H. Waddington, argued for on the basis of punctuated equilibrium by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge in the 1980s, and was reconceptualized in 2007 by Massimo Pigliucci and Gerd B. Müller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain vesicle</span>

Brain vesicles are the bulge-like enlargements of the early development of the neural tube in vertebrates, which eventually give rise to the brain.

Ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo) is a field of biology combining ecology, developmental biology and evolutionary biology to examine their relationship. The concept is closely tied to multiple biological mechanisms. The effects of eco-evo-devo can be a result of developmental plasticity, the result of symbiotic relationships or epigenetically inherited. The overlap between developmental plasticity and symbioses rooted in evolutionary concepts defines ecological evolutionary developmental biology. Host- microorganisms interactions during development characterize symbiotic relationships, whilst the spectrum of phenotypes rooted in canalization with response to environmental cues highlights plasticity. Developmental plasticity that is controlled by environmental temperature may put certain species at risk as a result of climate change.

References

  1. ↑ Gilbert S. F. 2009. Bio. Evolution and Development 11: 331 – 332.
  2. ↑ Gilbert S. F. 2009. Bio. Evolution and Development 11: 331 – 332.
  3. ↑ Mikhailov, A. T. and Gilbert S. F. 2005. Putting evo-devo into focus: An interview with Scott F. Gilbert. International Journal of Developmental Biology 48: 9 – 16.
  4. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2001. Ecological developmental biology: Developmental biology meets the real world. Developmental Biology  233: 1 - 12.
  5. ↑ Duschek, J. It's the ecology, stupid. Nature 418: 578 - 579.
  6. ↑ Wake, M., Development in the real world. Reviewed Work: Ecological Developmental Biology: Integrating Epigenetics, Medicine, and Evolution by Scott F. Gilbert, David Epel. Amer. Sci. 98(1): 75-78.
  7. ↑ Gilbert, S. F., Boer, H. A. de, and Nomura, M. 1979. Identification of initiation sites for the in vitro transcription of rRNA operons rrnE and rrnA in Escherichia  coli.  Cell 17: 211-224.
  8. ↑ Icenogle, J., Shiwen, H., Duke, G., Gilbert, S. F., Rueckert, R., and Anderegg, J. 1983. Neutralization of poliovirus by a monoclonal antibody:  Kinetics and stoichiometry. Virology 127: 412 - 425.
  9. ↑ Cebra-Thomas, J. A., Bromer, J., Gardner, R., Lam, G. K., Scheipe, H., and Gilbert, S. F.  2003. T-box gene products are required for mesenchymal induction of epithelial branching in the embryonic mouse lung. Developmental Dynamics226: 82 - 90.
  10. ↑ Ritvos, O., Tuuri, T., Erämaa, M., Sainio, K., Hilden, K., Saxén, L., and Gilbert, S. F.  1995. Activin disrupts epithelial branching morphogenesis in developing murine kidney, pancreas, and salivary gland. Mechanisms of Development  50: 229 - 245.
  11. ↑ Gilbert, S. F., Opitz, J., and Raff, R. A. 1996. Resynthesizing evolutionary and developmental biology. Developmental Biology 173: 357 - 372.
  12. ↑ Gilbert, S. F., Cebra-Thomas, J. A., and Burke, A. C. (2007). How the turtle gets its shell. In Biology of Turtles (J. Wyneken, M. H. Gofrey, and V. Bels, eds.). CRC Press, Boca Raton. Pp. 1- 16.
  13. ↑ Cebra-Thomas, J. A., Betters, E., Yin, M., Plafkin, C., McDow, K., and Gilbert, S. F. 2007. A late-emerging population of trunk neural crest cells forms the plastron in the turtle Trachemys scripta. Evolution and Development 9: 267 – 277.
  14. ↑ Gilbert, S.F., Sapp. J., and Tauber, A. I. 2012. A symbiotic view of life: We have never been individuals. Quarterly Review of Biology 87: 325 – 341.
  15. ↑ Gilbert, Scott F; Bosch, Thomas C. G; Ledón-Rettig, Cristina. (2015). "Eco-Evo-Devo: developmental symbiosis and developmental plasticity as evolutionary agents". Nature Reviews Genetics 16: 611–622.
  16. ↑ Roughgarden, J., Gilbert, S. F., Rosenberg, E., Zilber-Rosenberg, I, and Lloyd, E. A. 2017. Holobionts as units of selection and a model of their population dynamics and evolution. Biological Theory 13: 44-65.
  17. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 1978.  The embryological origins of the gene theory. J. Hist. Biol. 11: 307-351.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 1988.  Cellular Politics:  Just, Goldschmidt, and the attempts to reconcile embryology and genetics,  In The American Development of Biology  (ed. R. Rainger, K. Benson, J. Maienschein) University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. pp. 311-346.
  19. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 1982.  Intellectual traditions in the life sciences:  Molecular biology and biochemistry.  Perspec. Biol. Med. 26: 151-162.
  20. ↑ Beldecos, A., Bailly, S., Gilbert, S., Hicks, K., Kenschaft, L., Niemczyk, N., Rosenberg, R., Schaertel, S., and Wedel, A. 1988.  The importance of feminist critique for contemporary cell biology.  Hypatia 3:  61-76.
  21. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. and Howes-Mischel 2004. "Show Me Your Original Face before You Were Born": The Convergence of Public Fetuses and Sacred DNA. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 26: 377 – 394.
  22. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2001. Ecological developmental biology: Developmental biology meets the real world. Developmental Biology  233: 1 - 12.
  23. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2012. Ecological developmental biology: Environmental signals for normal animal development. Evolution and Development 14: 20 – 28.
  24. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2002. Genetic determinism: The battle between scientific data and social image in contemporary developmental biology. In On Human Nature. Anthropological, Biological, and Philosophical Foundations. (Grunwald, A., Gutmann, M., and Neumann-Held, E. M., eds.) Springer-Verlag, NY. Pp. 121 - 140.
  25. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2013. Wonder and the necessary alliances of science and religion. Euresis Journal 4: 7-30.
  26. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 2008. When "personhood" begins in the embryo: avoiding a syllabus of errors. Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today 84: 164 - 173.
  27. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. and Zevit, Z. 2001. Congenital human baculum deficiency: The generative bone of Genesis 2: 21-23. American Journal of Medical Genetics 101: 284 - 285.
  28. ↑ Gilbert. S. F. and Braukmann, S. 2011. Fertilization narratives in the art of Gustav Klimt, Diego Rivera, and Frida Kahlo: Repression, Domination, and Eros among cells. Leonardo 44: 221 – 227.
  29. ↑ Gilbert, S. F. 1985.  Bacchus in the laboratory:  In defense of scientific puns. Perspec. Biol. Med. 29: 148-152.
  30. ↑ Gilbert S. F. 2009. Bio. Evolution and Development 11: 331 – 332.
  31. ↑ Session 4- Bridging Buddhism and Science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DPdHJkPLcM
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