Martin Evans (Stroud, England 1941) is a researcher, geneticist, biochemist and university professor of British origin. He was the winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology along with his two fellow scientists, Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies. He is considered the 'architect of stem cell research' for his work in the field of genetic manipulation of animals.
With their contributions, they have been able to replicate some 500 models of human diseases in mice, such as cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis or many others in the cardiovascular field. This model has made it possible to study in the laboratory the application of possible treatments and therapies that may later be successful in humans.
Sir Martin John Evans, British scientist Source: Cardiff University
Evans and his colleague, Matthew Kaufman, discovered so-called embryonic stem cells by isolating them from healthy mice. These scientists were able to determine that, also called ES cells, could be used to introduce mutations into the mouse genome.
The artificial modification of DNA in these rodents laid the scientific foundations around individual genes and their role in certain diseases, a great contribution in the field of genetic selection.
This discovery paved the way for so-called 'knockout mice', a technology that he developed together with Mario Capecchi from the University of Utah and Oliver Smithies from the University of North Carolina, and which earned them the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in the year 2007.
These 3 scientists never met in the same laboratory but, from their respective countries, they obtained pioneering advances of great significance in genetics. Today, this technology is used in practically all areas of biomedicine, from the most basic studies to the most innovative therapies.
They are genetically modified mice, which usually have a certain gene 'turned off' to model some human disease. With a strong similarity between the human and mouse genomes, treatments for "patterned" human disorders can be tested in these rodents.
Thanks to their research, the first demonstration of gene therapy to combat cystic fibrosis was carried out in their laboratories, as well as being a key step in understanding the genetic background of breast cancer.
Awards and honours
With more than 140 scientific essays to date, Sir Evans has received more than 10 accolades from the scientific community and international awards. Among the awards are:
- Member of the Royal Society (1993).
- Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1998).
- March of Dimes Annual Award in Developmental Biology (1999).
- Lasker Award, together with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies (2001).
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA (2002).
- Knight of the Order of the British Empire (2004).
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Bath, England (2005).
- Nobel Prize in Medicine, along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies (2007).
- Honorary Doctorate from University College London, England (2008).
- Gold medal from the Royal Society of Medicine (2009).
- Copley Medal of the Royal Society (2009).
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Faraday Institute (2009).
- UCL Master Lecture on Clinical Sciences (2009).
References
- "Evans, Sir Martin John." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Recovered from Encyclopedia.com
- Tikkanen, M. & Encyclopædia Britannica (2019, January 01) Sir Martin J. Evans. Recovered from britannica.com
- (2007, October 8). The 'parents' of the laboratory mouse. The world. Recovered from elmundo.es
- Nobel Prize. (2007). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007. Recovered from nobelprize.org
- Dr. Sir Martin J. Evans. (sf) Recovered from mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org
- Cardiff University. (sf). Sir Martin Evans, Nobel Prize in Medicine. Recovered from ac.uk
- Martin Evans. (2019, March 6). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org