La découvreuse oubliée
La découvreuse oubliée
Marthe Gautier et la découverte de la Trisomie 21
Élisabeth Bouchaud
In 1956, young cardiologist Marthe Gautier joined Professor Turpin’s genetics department at Trousseau Hospital. There, her knowledge of cell growth techniques enabled her to prove that Down syndrome was caused by a chromosomal abnormality: trisomy 21. In 1959, the discovery was announced worldwide. But it was Jérôme Lejeune, Professor Turpin’s assistant, who took the credit. The truth only came out fifty years later, when Marthe Gautier decided to speak out and the INSERM Ethics Committee recognised her role in the discovery of trisomy 21.
Available
2025
French
978-2-7498-1671-5
Drama
L'avant-scène théâtre
Élisabeth Bouchaud is a French physicist, actress and playwright. She has worked for the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and taught at the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris (ESPCI). Since 2015, she has directed the Théâtre de la Reine Blanche in Paris. In 2019, she created the Avignon-Reine Blanche theatre in Avignon, and the La Salle Blanche actor training school, with Florient Azoulay and Xavier Gallais. Together, these two theatres and this school form Scènes Blanches.