Biography
Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist . He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, [ 3 ] and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans , of the technique of homologous recombination of transgenic DNA with genomic DNA, a much more reliable method of altering animal genomes than previously used, and the technique behind gene targeting and knockout mice . [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007 for his genetics work. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Smithies was born in Halifax , West Yorkshire , England, to William Smithies and his wife Doris, née Sykes. His father sold life insurance policies and his mother taught English at Halifax Technical College . He had a twin brother and a younger sister. He attended a primary school in the nearby village of Copley and then went to Heath Grammar School in Halifax. [ 9 ] He said that his love of science came from an early fascination with radios and telescopes . [ 10 ] He attended Balliol College, Oxford on a Brackenbury Scholarship , initially reading medicine . He studied anatomy and physiology , winning a prize in anatomy, and graduated with a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree in animal physiology, including biochemistry , in 1946. Inspired by tutorials from Alexander G. Ogston on applying physical chemistry to biological systems, Smithies then switched away from medicine to earn a second bachelor's degree in chemistry. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] He published his first research paper, co-written with Ogston, in 1948. [ 9 ] In 1951, he received a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry under Ogston's supervision; his thesis was entitled "Physico-chemical properties of solutions of proteins". [ 12 ] [ 1 ] Fields: Biochemistry, Genetics
About the Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary Woodard Lasker (a medical research activist). The awards are sometimes referred to as "America's Nobels."
Quick Facts
- Award: Lasker Award - Basic Medical Research
- Added: 2026-02-07
- Source: Wikipedia
- Established: 1946
- Presented by: Lasker Foundation