Robert Plomin

Robert Plomin is MRC Research Professor of Behavioral Genetics at the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. Plomin worked at Pennsylvania State University from 1986 until 1994, when he moved to the Institute of Psychiatry in London to help launch the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre. He is considered a pioneer in charting the relation between genetics and normal variation in human behavior. His work is marked by creative rigor and has continually been at the forefront of his field. He has conducted some of the most fundamental studies of abilities of twins. His research exploits recent techniques in molecular biology to understand ways in which genetic variation versus environmental factors contribute to differences in cognitive ability. He is a past president of the Behavior Genetics Association (1989-1990) and has received lifetime achievement awards from the Behavior Genetics Association (2002), American Psychological Society (2005), the Society for Research in Child Development (2005), and the International Society for Intelligence Research (2011).