{{short description|Dutch psychologist}} {{BLP sources|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Dorret I. Boomsma | image = Dorret_Boomsma-1.jpg | image_size = | caption = <!--(not needed if image is straightforward portrait)--> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|11|18|df=y}} | birth_place = Huizen, The Netherlands | fields = Behavioural genetics<br/>Biological psychology | workplaces = Vrije Universiteit | alma_mater = Vrije Universiteit, University of Colorado at Boulder | doctoral_advisor = | doctoral_students = | known_for = Netherlands Twin Register | awards = Spinoza Prize (2001), Membership in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) (2001) | footnotes = }}
'''Dorret I. Boomsma''' (born 18 November 1957, in Huizen, The Netherlands) is a Dutch biological psychologist specializing in genetics and twin studies.
== Education == * Secondary education: Willem de Zwijgerlyceum, Bussum * Bachelor's: Vrije Universiteit in Psychology, cum laude, 1979 * Master's: Vrije Universiteit in Psychophysiology, cum laude, 1983 * Master's: University of Colorado at Boulder in Biological Psychology/Behavior Genetics, 1983 * Ph.D.: Vrije Universiteit (thesis: Quantitative Genetics of Cardiovascular Risk), cum laude, 1992
== Career ==
After receiving her Ph.D., Boomsma received an appointment as an assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit in the Department of Psychonomics. In 1994 she became associate and in 1998 full professor and head of the Department of Biological Psychology.
== Twin studies == Boomsma has built a database of over 75,000 twins and family members in The Netherlands,<ref name="twins">{{cite web |url=http://www.tweelingenregister.org/index_uk.html |title=Vrije Universiteit - Nederlands Tweelingen Register |accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref> which has been used for dozens of twin studies. The twins and their families have undergone periodic testing over a period of decades, providing a mass of longitudinal data for statistical analysis. A large number of participants have also provided DNA, blood, and urine samples for testing. Her research has primarily focused on better understanding the influence of heredity on various physical and mental diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, pediatric bipolar disorder, and depression. This work has been reported in over 1000 published papers and one book and has led to many awards for Boomsma.
== Research == Twin studies<ref>[http://www.tweelingenregister.org/nederlands/verslaggeving/NTR_publicaties/Dorret%20Nature%20Review%20Genetics.pdf Classical Twin Studies and Beyond, www.nature.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013201404/http://www.tweelingenregister.org/nederlands/verslaggeving/NTR_publicaties/Dorret%20Nature%20Review%20Genetics.pdf |date=October 13, 2008 }}</ref> provide a way to understand how genotype affects an observable characteristic (called a phenotype). In short, identical (monozygotic) twins carry the same alleles for 100% of their genes whereas fraternal (dizygotic) twins will carry different alleles at 50% of the genes for which their parents had different genotypes. So if some characteristic (say, depression) that is observed in one identical twin is always observed in the other one, but this does not hold for fraternal twins, then one can conclude that heredity plays an important role in causing the condition.
Boomsma has been a pioneer in collecting a broad spectrum of data (e.g., medical histories, IQ tests, MRI scans) and biological material (e.g., DNA and RNA samples, blood and urine samples) from thousands of twins and analyzing them to determine the role of genetics in characteristics as varied as adult height, brain volume, intelligence, migraine headaches, anxiety, drug addiction, and love of coffee.
Her results span a wide range of behavioral characteristics, including discovery of the surprisingly large genetic component to feelings of loneliness,<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051110222344.htm Heredity May Be the Reason Some People Feel Lonely, Science Daily]</ref> the fact that first borns have higher IQs than their younger siblings,<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080505234315/http://www.themedguru.com/articles/first_born_babies_more_intelligent_than_their_siblings_study-7323931.html First-Born Babies More Intelligent than their Siblings, Medguru]}}</ref> and the increased influence of genetics on body weight as children grow older.<ref>[http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/10475/1/Estourgie_TRHG_2006.pdf Body Size in Five-Year-Old Twins: Heritability and Comparison to Singleton Standards, Twin Research and Human Genetics]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== European Research Council Advanced Grant == In 2008, the European Research Council began awarding grants of about 2.5 million euro (about $3.5 million) to the top scientists and scholars in Europe via a competition that covered all academic disciplines. Due to the large amount of money and complete lack of bureaucracy and restrictions, these were extremely competitive, with a very strong applicant pool and a 13% acceptance rate. Boomsma received one of the ERC grants for a project on the genetics of mental illness. Her research is focusing on three themes:
* Neuropsychiatric disorders (ADHD, anxiety, depression) and cognition * Depression, anxiety, substance use, abuse, and dependence * Depression, migraine, obesity, and cardiovascular disease
The goal of this research is to use her twin database and biological specimens to try to determine which genes play a role in causing these conditions.
== Awards == Boomsma has received several awards for her research. These include:
* Thompson Award, Behavior Genetics Association (1985)<ref>{{cite journal |author=Baker LA |title=Foundations of behavioral genetics: student recipients of the Thompson award |journal=Behav. Genet. |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=727–33 |date=November 2007 |pmid=17990092 |doi=10.1007/s10519-007-9181-0|s2cid=147292 }}</ref> * Junior-Heymans Award, Dutch Psychological Association (1996) * Membership in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, KNAW) (2001)<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/members/5194 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821125225/https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/members/5194 |title=Dorret Boomsma |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |archive-date=21 August 2017}}</ref> * Membership in the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen) (2001) * Spinozapremie (NWO) (2001)<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.nwo.nl/en/research-and-results/programmes/spinoza+prize/spinoza+laureates/overview+by+year/2001 |title=NWO Spinoza Prize 2001 |publisher=Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research |date=5 September 2014 |accessdate=30 January 2016 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031222948/https://www.nwo.nl/en/research-and-results/programmes/spinoza+prize/spinoza+laureates/overview+by+year/2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * James Shields Award, International Society for Twin Studies (2002)<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Behavior Genetics|volume=32|issue=6|year=2002|pages=495|issn=0001-8244|doi=10.1023/A:1020840529800|title=Awards Presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, July 6, 2002, Keystone, CO, USA|s2cid=189840722}}</ref> * Dr Hendrik Muller Prize for Behavioural and Social Sciences (2009)<ref name="Muller">{{cite web|url=http://www.knaw.nl/cfdata/prizes/prizes_detail.cfm?orgid=134 |title=KNAW > Organisation > Dr Hendrik Muller Prize for Behavioural and Social Sciences |accessdate=2009-05-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104010223/http://knaw.nl/cfdata/prizes/prizes_detail.cfm?orgid=134 |archivedate=2010-11-04 }}</ref> * KNAW Merian Prize (2011) * Elected member of Academia Europaea (2012)<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Boomsma_Dorret_I. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521083530/https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Boomsma_Dorret_I. |title=Dorret I. Boomsma |publisher=Academia Europaea |date= |archive-date=21 May 2020}}</ref> * Dobzhansky Award (2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bga.org/pages/52/Historical_table_of_BGA_Meetings.html |title=Historical table of BGA Meetings |publisher=BGA |accessdate=2013-08-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512231920/http://www.bga.org/pages/52/Historical_table_of_BGA_Meetings.html |archivedate=2013-05-12 }}</ref> * KNAW Academy Professor Prize (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knaw.nl/en/news/news/academy-professor-prize-awarded-to-dorret-boomsma-and-bert-meijer|title=Academy Professor Prize awarded to Dorret Boomsma and Bert Meijer|date=|accessdate=2014-05-16|archive-date=2014-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151644/https://www.knaw.nl/en/news/news/academy-professor-prize-awarded-to-dorret-boomsma-and-bert-meijer|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Honorary doctorate University of Helsinki Medical School (2022), Finland * Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award (2022) from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boomsma, Dorret}} Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:People from Huizen Category:Behavior geneticists Category:Dutch psychologists Category:Dutch women psychologists Category:Members of Academia Europaea Category:Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Spinoza Prize winners Category:Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Category:Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Category:University of Colorado Boulder alumni