John Gurdon, considered the godfather of cloning and who shared the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 2012, has died at the age of 92.
The Gurdon Institute said he died Tuesday. No cause of death was given.
“John was a visionary in the field of developmental biology whose pioneering work on nuclear transfer in frogs addressed one of the most fundamental questions in biology — whether genetic information is retained or lost during development — and paved the way for groundbreaking advances in biomedical research, from stem cell biology to mouse genetics and IVF,” the institute, which he co-founded in 1991, said in a statement.
“The Gurdon Institute remembers John as an inspiring scientist, insightful colleague, mentor, teacher and leaders, whose legacy will live on through the generations of scientists trained in his lab.”
Born in Hampshire, Britain, in 1933, Gurdon’s pioneering research demonstrating that adult cell nuclei can be reprogrammed to create an entire new organism opened science to possibilities once thought of as science fiction.
Though not the inventor of nuclear transfer, which is the removal of a nucleus from one cell and implanting it in another, he advanced the theory, demonstrating its possibilities with animals, science necessary for, among other capabilities, cloning.
While a graduate student at Oxford University in 1962, Gurdon successfully removed a fertilized frog egg cell and replaced it with the nucleus of a tadpole intestine cell. This new cell then developed into a new frog.
He was knighted in 1995 for his work.
“Sir John Gurdon was, and will continue to be, one of the most inspirational scientists in our community, and in the world,” Professor Jon Simons, head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where the Gurdon Institute was founded, said in a statement.
“As well as outstanding contributions to developmental biology, John was also a dedicated colleague and mentor, who was deeply committed to interdisciplinary collaboration. He will be greatly missed.”
Gurdon was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for his work in 2012, which he shared with Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka. Their work prompted a global effort to discover the chemical signals responsible for the genetic reprogramming.
Nearly 50 years later, Yamanaka altered genes in mouse connective tissue cells to put them in a state known as pluripotency, allowing them to develop into other kinds of cells.
Scientists continue to pursue this approach to create populations of cells that can be used to treat human disease. His work cleared the way for breakthrough advances in biomedical research, from stem cell biology to mouse genetics and in-vitro fertilization.
“As well as being a towering figure in developmental and stem cell biology, through his dedication to science, his affection for colleagues and his humility, Sir John Gurdon was an inspiration to us all,” Professor Ben Simons, director of the Gurdon Institute, said in a statement.
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Joan KennedyLeft to right, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Joan Kennedy, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis attend a tribute ceremony to Sen. Kennedy at the Shubert Theater in New York City on March 23, 1980. Joan Kennedy, the first wife of Edward Kennedy, who was a prominent U.S. mental health and addiction advocate, died at the age of 89 on October 8. Photo by UPI | License Photo
