Leroi, Armand Marie 1964-

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LEROI, Armand Marie 1964-

PERSONAL: Born July 16, 1964, in Wellington, New Zealand. Education: Dalhousie University, B.Sc., 1989; University of California at Irvine, Ph.D., 1993; postdoctoral study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

ADDRESSES: Home—London, England. Offıce— Department of Biological Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Imperial College, London, Ascot, Berkshire SLG 7PY, England. E-mail—a.leroi@imperial.ac.uk.

CAREER: Imperial College, London, London, England, lecturer, 1996-2001, reader in evolutionary developmental biology, 2001—.

WRITINGS:

Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body, Viking (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to academic journals, including Bioinformatics, Genetics, Evolution and Development, American Naturalist, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; also contributor of book reviews to London Review of Books and Times Literary Supplement. Member of editorial board, Evolution and Development.

ADAPTATIONS: Mutants was adapted as a three-part television series by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

SIDELIGHTS: Armand Marie Leroi is a developmental biologist who has studied the molecular and genetic aspects of biological development from nematode worms to humans. In his first book, Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body, he examines the biology behind people born with deformities in light of modern knowledge concerning the molecular basis of human development. His ultimate goal, however, is to delineate the molecular principles that form the foundations of all human development.

Leroi's approach is to illustrate the molecular basis of development through historical anecdotes and references, including the stories of real people and mythic legends such as the Cyclops. For example, his chapters focusing on the development of overall body form includes stories about conjoined twins that illustrate humans' three basic tissue types and how they are developed. In another story about the Greek myth of the Cyclops, the author explains how homeotic genes can specify the identity of body parts. He also delves into the skeleton's development through stories of pygmies, giants, monsters, and the case of a man whose normal skeleton encased another skeleton. In his discussion of skin and hair, the author introduces the reader to albinos, piebalds (spotted or blotched coloring), and people whose bodies are covered with hair like other animals, a condition known as generalized hypertrichosis. In other chapters, he investigates the process of aging and many other aspects of human and animal development. Mutants includes reproductions of sixty woodcuts, lithographs, drawings, paintings, and photographs illustrating examples of development gone wrong, such as hermaphroditism.

Both lay and academic reviewers have praised Mutants as a highly literary scientific book. Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, Jerry Coyne noted that the author "presents a gracefully written and up-to-date account of the state of the field" of developmental biology. Coyne went on to note, "His approach is cunning: like a fairground barker, he first appeals to our voyeurism, but then adroitly bends our interests towards the science underlying the mutants." In a review for Nature, Peter Little called Mutants "an exquisitely life-enhancing book." The reviewer added, "It captures what we know of the development of what makes us human, and it recognizes the random tragedy inflicted by nature and nurture." David FitzPatrick wrote in the American Journal of Human Genetics that Leroi's book contains "very few factual errors" and that the "footnotes, illustrations, and references are excellent." He concluded that the "book is a courageous attempt to show that human developmental genetics is an important and fruitful field of study."