Show Noble Utah scientist wins the biggest prize I II Anne Roper Contributing Writer A piece of the prize will soon find its home in Salt Lake City The Nobel Prize that is University of Utah scientist Mario R. R Capecchi along with his colleagues Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hilland Hill Hilland Hilland and Sir Martin J. J Evans of Cardiff University in Vales Wales won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine and more specifically for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells cells according to the Nobel Foundation The announcement came early last Monday morning I 1 still have to get over the shock Capecchi told The Salt Lake Tribune Its a great honor for me and for all the people who have worked in the lab and contributed this as well as our department our university and the state of Utah Capecchi hopes this recognition will make more funds available for genetic research and for forthe forthe forthe the Uni University of Utah He expects the award to add further farther prestige to the University of Utah especially but also to his colleagues' colleagues respective universities The trios trio's body of work has provided considerable insight into human genetic problems and abnormalities Their research of 20 years has aided the study of heart d disease sease cancer cystic fibrosis diabetes and other diseases The research has also helped some experts begin to understand brain development in the embryo and further understanding of the immune system Their technique targets genes to deactivate or modify unfavorable genes in mice then in turn observes the effect the modifications had on the mice and potentially other mammals Mice arc are useful in studying human genetics because of their percent likeness to the human genome The process of disabling genes in mammals is a two-step two process First the targeted section of DNA is snipped out while in ina a test tube An intact gene then replaces it The first alteration of mice genetics was in 1989 Since then different genes from mice have been studied However this form o of gene targeting differs from how use of stem cells propose the treatment of disease in humans Capecchi and his associates' associates method uses the embryonic stem cells from mice When applied to human research the stem cells would be nudged to become replacement tissue similar to the transplant of nerve cells into patients This is not the first time the three scientists have received some sort of recognition for their extensive research They also share the 2001 Albert Lasker Award for basic medical research often referred to as the American Nobel Prize This award focused on the trios trio's knockout mice These mice have designer strains of DNA in which certain genes have been knocked out or disabled Despite his decorated repertoire it has been a along along along long climb to the top for Capecchi Born Bom in Verona Italy in 1937 a young Capecchi was separated from his mother when she was put in the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau after she joined an Fascist anti-Fascist group Capecchi then proceeded to beg and steal food with other homeless children A year after the war ended Capecchi and his mother were reunited and quickly emigrated to the United States Capecchi earned his PhD in biophysics from Harvard where he learned from fellow Nobel Prize Prizewinner Prizewinner Prizewinner winner James D. D Watson discoverer co-discoverer of DNA's helix double-helix structure After beginning his career of science at Harvard Capecchi decided to leave the competitive east coast coastin coastin coastin in 1973 to help build up the genetics program at the U. U while it was still in its infancy On the East Enst Coast at the time there was so much pressure toward daily success that pretty soon that's all you go after said Capecchi Here Im I'm just immensely proud of all Ive I've accomplished in the past 30 years I II I f Photo c I II I Photo courtesy of Dr Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah will be awarded the Nobel Prize on Dec 10 I He currently serves not only as a scientist at the Eccles Institute of Human Genetics but also as co- co chair of the Department of Human Genetics and as one of the original members of the Brain Institute at the University of Utah The prize for medicine was the first of the awards anno announced this year The remaining awards are for achievements in physics economics literature peace and chemistry The Nobel Awards are formally given on Dec 10 of each year on the anniversary of the death of of Alfred Nobel |