Maximo Eduardo Drets Nicolini, Uruguayan cytogeneticist (Montevideo 21 April 1930 – Montevideo 23 February 2017)

Authored over 130 scientific publications

Demonstrated the clastogenic action of some substances from animal origin

With F.A. Saez. The action of gonyleptidine on the mitotic and meiotic chromosomes and on the interphase nucleus. Portugaliae Acta Biol. 5:287-302, 1958

With G.A. Folle & A. Aznarez. Clastogen action of a dimethyl p-benzoquinone of animal origin. Mutation Res. 102:159-72, 1982

Extreme chromosome shortening induced in human lymphocytes by 2, 3 dimethyl p-benzoquinone resembling fragmentation. Brief Comm. Environm. Mutag. 5(6):923-7, 1983

First to report a pericentric inversion of the X chromosome

With J.H. Cardoso & A. Navarro. Sex chromosome inversion in a mosaic girl. Heredity 24(3):477-81, 1969

Presented the first case in the world of genetic malformation related chromosome 16

With J. H. Cardoso, A.H. Delfino & J. Carrau. Familial normal partial trisomy 16 with selective endoreduplication in malformation proband. Cytogenetics 9(5):333-50, 1970

Studied accurately the biggest family with Alport syndrome in medical literature

With P. Purriel, E. Pascal, R. Sanchez Cestau et al. Familial hereditary nephropathy (Alport syndrome). Amer. J. Med. 49(6):753-73, 1970

Described the karyotype of capybara, the biggest rodent in the world

With F.A. Saez & N. Brum-Zorrilla. Karyotype of the “carpincho” (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris uruguayensis (Rodentia, Hydrochaeridae). Experientia 27(5):584-5, 1971

With F.A. Saez & N. Brum-Zorrilla described the karyotype of Southern long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus hybridus) in 1964

Discovered the first case of universal chromosome association

With M. Soll. C-banding and non-homologous associations in Gryllus argentinus. Chromosoma 48:367-90, 1974

Observed for the first time different interchromatid distributions of high density chromatin in t-banded segments of human chromosomes and that these subtelomeric segments display standard features 

Discovered TSCE that are subtle exchanges of sister chromatids in subtelomeric t-region 

With G. Obe, F.J. Monteverde, G.A. Folle, I.I. Medina et al. Computerized graphic and light microscope analyses of t-banded chromosome segments of Chinese hamster ovary cells and human lymphocytes. Biol. Zentralbl. 111:204-14, 1992

Designed new techniques and devices for analysis of cells and chromosomes

Image discriminator apparatus for cytophotometry. Mikroskopie 15:14-20, 1960

Ratio recorder for cytophotometry based on an image discriminator apparatus. Mikroskopie 16:341-8, 1962

Bandscan – A computer program for on-line linear scanning of human banded chromosomes. Comp. Progr. Biomed. 8:283-94, 1978

Described G-banding (Giemsa banding) independently from Lejeune & Dutrillaux

With M.W. Shaw. Specific banding patterns of human chromosomes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 68(9):2073-7, 1971

First to design a quantitative plot for location of chromosome bands

With H. Seuanez. Quantitation of heterogeneous human heterochromatin microdensimetric analysis of C and G-bands (1973)

Developed the first method displaying three quantitative definitive parameters for each chromosome band

With F.J. Monteverde. Automated cytogenetics with modern computerized scanning microscope photometer systems (1987)

HONOURS

Edward Larocque Tinker Award