Martin Evans 2010 Martin Evans Images

Infobox_Scientist

name = Sir Martin Evans
box_width = 280px
image = Martin_Evans_Nobel_Prize.jpg
image_width =
caption =
birth_date =
birth_place = Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
nationality = English
ethnicity =
field = Developmental biology
work_institutions = University College London
University of Cambridge
Cardiff University
alma_mater = Christ's College, University of Cambridge.
University College London
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for = Discovering embryonic stem cells, and development of the knockout mouse and gene targeting.
author_abbrev_bot =
author_abbrev_zoo =
influences = Jacques Monod
Sydney Brenner
influenced =
prizes = Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2001)
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2007)
religion = Christian
footnotes =
Sir Martin John Evans (b. 1 January 1941, Stroud, Gloucestershire

cite journal

last = Evans| first = Martin J.| authorlink =
date = | year = 2001| month = October
title = The cultural mouse
journal = Nature Medicine| volume = 7| issue = 10| pages = 1081–1083.
doi = 10.1038/nm1001-1081
url = http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v7/n10/full/nm1001-1081.html
accessdate = 1 October 2007
pmid = 11590418
(subscription required) In 2007, the three shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition of their discovery and contribution to the efforts to develop new treatments for illnesses in humans.

cite web

url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2007/index.html
title = The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007
accessdate = 8 October 2007
publisher = Nobelprize.org

cite episode |title=Desert Island Discs with Martin Evans |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20080217.shtml

series=Desert Island Discs | serieslink=Desert Island Discs |network=BBC |station=Radio 4 |airdate=2008-02-17
He won a major scholarship to Christ's College, University of Cambridge at a time when advances in genetics were occurring there and became interested in biology and biochemistry. He then went to University College London where he learned laboratory skills under Dr Elizabeth Deuchar. In 1978, he moved to the Department of Genetics, at the University of Cambridge, and in 1980 began his collaboration with Matthew Kaufman. They explored the method of using blastocysts for the isolation of embryonic stem cells. After Kaufman left, Evans continued his work, upgrading his laboratory skills to the newest technologies, isolated the embryonic stem cell of the early mouse embryo and established it in a cell culture. He genetically modified and implanted it into adult female mice with the intent of creating genetically modified offspring, resulting in the Nobel Prize. Today, genetically modified mice are consider vital for medical research.

Early life

His mother was a teacher. His father maintained a mechanical workshop and taught him to use tools and machines including a lathe. At school he was a bright student. He worked hard studying for the University of Cambridge entrance exams.

Career

Evans won a major scholarship to Christ's College, University of Cambridge, at a time when there were many advances in genetics being made. He studied zoology, botany and chemistry, but soon dropped zoology and added biochemistry, finding himself drawn to plant physiology and function. He moved to University College London where he had a fortunate position as a research assistant, learning laboratory skills under Dr Elizabeth Deuchar. His goal at the time was "to isolate developmentally controlled m-RNA". He was awarded a PhD in 1969.

cite web

url = http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0710/07100801
title = 20th Nobel Prize for UCL community
date = 2007-10-08
accessdate = 9 October 2007
publisher = University College London
He became a lecturer in the Anatomy and Embryology department at University College London, where he did research and taught PhD students and undergraduates. After Kaufman left to take up a professorship in Anatomy in Edinburgh, Evans continued his work, branching out eclectically, "drawn into a number of fascinating fields of biology and medicine." In the 1990s, he was a fellow at St Edmund's College, University of Cambridge. In 1999, he became Professor of Mammalian Genetics and Director of the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University,

cite web

url = http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/contactsandpeople/stafflist/e-h/evans-martin-prof-sir-overview_new.html
title = Staff list: Sir Martin Evans FRS, DSc
accessdate = 1 October 2007
publisher = School of Biosciences, Cardiff University
where he worked until he retired at the end of 2007. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their work in discovering a method for introducing homologous recombination in mice employing embryonic stem cells.

cite web

url = http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2007/index.html
title = The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007
accessdate = 2007-10-08
publisher = Nobelprize.org
Subsequently, Evans was appointed president of Cardiff University and was inaugurated into that position on 23 November 2009.

Stem cell research

Evans and Kaufman isolated the embryonic stem cells from early embryos (embryoblasts) of mice and established them in cell cultures. These early embryonic cells have the potential to differentiate into any of the cells of the adult organism. They modified these stem cells genetically and placed them in the wombs of female mice so they would give birth to genetically modified offspring. In 1981, Evans and Kaufman published results for experiments in which they described how they isolated embryonic stem cells from mouse blastocysts and grew them in cell cultures. Eventually, Evans was able to isolate the embryonic stem cell of the early mouse embryo and establish it in a cell culture. He then genetically modified it and implanted it into adult female mice with the intent of creating genetically modified offspring, the forbearers of the laboratory mice that are considered so vital to medical research today. The availability of these cultured stem cells eventually made possible the introduction of specific gene alterations into the germ line of mice and the creation of transgenic mice to use as experimental models for human illnesses. Evans and his collaborators showed that they could introduce a new gene into cultured embryonic stem cells and then use such genetically transformed cells to make chimeric embryos. The HPRT mutations were produced by retroviral insertion; it was proposed that by taking advantage of genetic recombination between the normal HPRT gene and an artificial gene sequenced added to the cultured embryonic stem cells, "it may also eventually be possible to produce specific alterations in endogenous genes through homologous recombination with cloned copies modified in vitro". The production of transgenic mice using this proposed approach was accomplished in the laboratories of Oliver Smithies,

cite journal | author = Doetschman T, Gregg, R.G., Maeda, N., Hooper, M.L., Melton, D.W., Thompson, S., Smithies, O. | title =Germ-line transmission of a planned alteration made in a hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells

url = | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 86 | issue = 22 | pages = 8927–8931 | year = 1989 | pmid = 2573070 | doi =10.1073/pnas.86.22.8927 | pmc = 298403
and of Mario Capecchi.

cite journal | author = Thomas KR, Deng C, Capecchi MR. | title = High-fidelity gene targeting in embryonic stem cells by using sequence replacement vectors |url =

journal = Mol Cell Biol. | volume = 12| issue = 7 | pages = 2919–2923 | year = 1992 | pmid = 1620105 | pmc = 364504

Personal life

When Evans was a student in Cambridge he met his wife, Judith, at a lunch held by his aunt, wife of an astronomy professor. After they were engaged, their relationship did not go well and Judith went to live in Canada; however, a year later she returned to England and they married. In 1978, they moved from London to Cambridge with their young children, where they lived for more than 20 years before moving to Cardiff. They have one daughter and two sons.

cite web

url = http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/newsandevents/news/newsstories/albert-lasker-award.html
title = 2001 Albert Lasker Award - Acceptance remarks by Martin Evans
accessdate = 10 May 2008 |publisher = Lasker Foundation
Their older son was a student at the University of Cambridge and their younger son was a boarder at Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and sang in Christ Church Cathedral choir. Judith Evans, granddaughter of Christopher Williams, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to practice nursing in the 1993 New Year Honours.

cite web

url = http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/564324_5
title = Leader of the Stem Cell Revolution Wins Noble Prize
accessdate = 2 November 2007
publisher = Medscape Today|date = 2007-10-17
She was diagnosed with breast cancer at about the time the family moved to Cardiff. She works for breast cancer charities, and Martin Evans has become a trustee of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Awards and recognition

1993 - Fellow of the Royal Society.

cite web

url = http://royalsociety.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=4274
publisher =The Royal Society
title = List of Fellows of the Royal Society: 1660–2007: A - J
accessdate = 9 October 2007

1998 - Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

cite web

url = http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/index.php?pid=59&fid=276
publisher =Academy of Medical Sciences
title = Directory listing
accessdate = 9 October 2007

1999 - The USA charity March of Dimes awarded their annual prize in Developmental Biology for research into embryonic growth jointly to Professor Richard Gardner of Oxford University and Evans.

cite web

url = http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/685_1443.asp
title = March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology: Previous Recipients
accessdate = 1 October 2007|publisher = March of Dimes

2001 - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, jointly with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies.

cite web

url = http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/2001_b_accept_evans.htm
title = 2001 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
accessdate = 10 May 2008
publisher = Lasker Foundation

cite web

url = http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/newsandevents/news/newsstories/albert-lasker-award.html
title =Albert Lasker Award
publisher = Cardiff University
accessdate = 10 May 2008

2002 - Honorary doctorate from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA.

cite web

url = http://www.cf.ac.uk/martinevans/biography/index.html
title =Biography: Professor Sir Martin Evans FRS
publisher = Cardiff University
accessdate = 10 May 2008

2004 - Knighthood (New Year Honours) "for services to medical science".
2005 - Honorary doctorate from the University of Bath, England.

cite web

url = http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/archive/graduation-tues190705.html
title = Summer graduation ceremonies begin today at Bath Abbey
date = 2005-07-19
accessdate = 8 October 2007
publisher = University of Bath

2007 - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies.
2008 - Honorary doctorate from University College London, England.

cite web

url = http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0809/08091603 | publisher = UCL |title =Honorary Degrees|date =16 September 2008

2009 - Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine

cite web

url = http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/articles/gold-medal-for-nobel-prize-winner.html | publisher = Cardiff University |title =Gold Medal for Nobel Prize winner|date =21 January 2009

cite web

url = http://www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/gold.php | publisher = Royal Society of Medicine |title =Gold Medal of the RSM|date =20 January 2009

2009 - Copley Medal of the Royal Society
2009 member of the Advisory Board of the Faraday Institute

References

External links

Professor Sir Martin Evans Nobel Prize for Medicine
Evans Nobel Prize lecture
Cardiff University School of Biosciences
Cardiff University School of Medicine
The Nobel Foundation

Persondata

NAME= Evans, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Developmental biology, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007.
DATE OF BIRTH= 1 January 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH= Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=