Martin Evans

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For other people named Martin Evans, see Martin Evans (disambiguation).

Sir Martin Evans
FRS FMedSci
Evans in October 2007
Born
Martin John Evans

(1941-01-01) 1 January 1941 (age 83)
Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Education
Known forDiscovering embryonic stem cells, and development of the knockout mouse and gene targeting.
Spouse
Judith Clare Williams MBE
​
​
(m. 1966)​
[2]
Childrentwo sons, one daughter[2]
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsDevelopmental biology
Institutions
ThesisStudies on the ribonucleic acid of early amphibian embryos
Doctoral studentsAllan Bradley[3][4]
Elizabeth Robertson
Martin Evans's voice
from the BBC programme Desert Island Discs, 17 February 2008[5]
Websitecardiff.ac.uk/martinevans

Sir Martin John Evans FRS FMedSci FLSW (born 1 January 1941) is an English biologist[6] who, with Matthew Kaufman, was the first to culture mice embryonic stem cells and cultivate them in a laboratory in 1981. He is also known, along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, for his work in the development of the knockout mouse and the related technology of gene targeting, a method of using embryonic stem cells to create specific gene modifications in mice.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11][12][13]

He won a major scholarship to

genetically modified
mice are considered vital for medical research.

Early life and education

Evans was born in

South East London, where he started chemistry and physics classes, and studied biology.[12] He worked hard studying for the University of Cambridge entrance exams. At school he was one of the best pupils, although not at the top of the class.[10]

Evans won a major scholarship to

PhD in 1969.[16][2][7][17]

Career and research

He became a lecturer in the

blastocysts for the isolation of embryonic stem cells.[18]

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."[12] In October 1985, he visited the Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for one month of practical work to learn the most recent laboratory techniques.[8][19]

In the 1990s, he was a fellow at

Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2004.[23] 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.[9] Evans was appointed president of Cardiff University and was inaugurated into that position on 23 November 2009.[24] Subsequently, Evans became Chancellor of Cardiff University in 2012.[25] He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.[26]

Stem cell research

Evans and Kaufman isolated the

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.[27]

In 1981, Evans and Kaufman published results for experiments in which they described how they isolated embryonic stem cells from

germ line of mice and the creation of transgenic mice to use as experimental models for human illnesses.[27]

Evans and his collaborators showed that they could introduce a new

endogenous genes through homologous recombination with cloned copies modified in vitro".[27] The production of transgenic mice using this proposed approach was accomplished in the laboratories of Oliver Smithies,[33] and of Mario Capecchi.[34]

Personal life

When Evans was a student in Cambridge he met his wife, Judith Clare Williams,[2] at a lunch held by his aunt, wife of an astronomy professor.[10] 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.[10] 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.[2][35] 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.[10] Martin's granddaughter has graduated from the University of Nottingham and is now a practicing medicine Yorkshire and Humber.

His wife Judith Clare Williams, granddaughter of

MBE for her services to practice nursing in the 1993 New Year Honours.[36][37] 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.[10]

Awards and honours

Evans has won numerous awards including:

References

  1. ^ a b "Martin Evans EMBO profile". people.embo.org. Heidelberg: European Molecular Biology Organization.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "EVANS, Sir Martin (John)". Who's Who. Vol. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Bradley, Allan (1985). Isolation characterization and developmental potential of murine embryo-derived stem cells (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ "Allan Bradley - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute". Sanger.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Martin Evans". Desert Island Discs. 17 February 2008. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Christ College Cambridge Alumni".
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Stem cell architect is knighted BBC News : Wednesday, 31 December 2003
  8. ^
    S2CID 26951331
    . (subscription required)
  9. ^ a b c "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Desert Island Discs with Martin Evans". Desert Island Discs. 17 February 2008. BBC. Radio 4.
  11. ^ "Professor Sir Martin Evans Nobel Prize for Medicine". Cardiff University. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Martin Evans on Nobelprize.org Edit this at Wikidata, accessed 11 October 2020 including the Nobel Lecture Embryonic Stem Cells: The Mouse Source – Vehicle for Mammalian Genetics and Beyond
  13. ^ "A celebration of science in the UK: 10 Britons who shaped our world". The Independent. 5 July 2006.
  14. ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Martin Evans". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  15. ^ Evans, Martin. "Martin Evans FRS, DSc". Cardiff School of Biosciences. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  16. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.659008
    .
  17. ^ a b "20th Nobel Prize for UCL community". University College London. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  18. S2CID 4256553
    .
  19. ^ "Sir Martin J. Evans: Interview". The Nobel Foundation.
  20. ^ a b "Staff list: Sir Martin Evans FRS, DSc". School of Biosciences, Cardiff University. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  21. ^ Chan, Xuefei (7 December 2007). "Experiences of the Nobel Prize Laureates in Physiology or Medicine". People's Daily. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  22. ^ a b "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 1.
  23. ^ "No. 57391". The London Gazette. 24 August 2004. p. 10694.
  24. ^ "Nobel Laureate appointed as president at Cardiff University". Cardiff University. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  25. ^ "Who's who at Cardiff".[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "St Edmund's College - University of Cambridge". www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  27. ^ a b c d e Hansson, Göran K. "The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Advanced Information". Nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  28. S2CID 4256553
    .
  29. PMID 6950406
    .
  30. S2CID 4335599
    .
  31. S2CID 4241422
    .
  32. S2CID 1657244
    .
  33. PMID 2573070
    .
  34. PMID 1620105
    .
  35. ^ a b "2001 Albert Lasker Award - Acceptance remarks by Martin Evans". Lasker Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  36. ^ "No. 53153". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1992. p. 14.
  37. ^ "Leader of the Stem Cell Revolution Wins Nobel Prize". Medscape Today. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  38. ^ "List of Fellows of the Royal Society: 1660–2007: A - J". The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  39. ^ "Directory listing". Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  40. ^ "March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology: Previous Recipients" (PDF). March of Dimes. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  41. ^ "2001 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  42. ^ "Albert Lasker Award". Cardiff University. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  43. ^ "Biography: Professor Sir Martin Evans FRS". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  44. ^ "Summer graduation ceremonies begin today at Bath Abbey". University of Bath. 19 July 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
  45. ^ "Honorary Degrees". UCL. 16 September 2008.
  46. ^ "Gold Medal for Nobel Prize winner". Cardiff University. 21 January 2009.[permanent dead link]
  47. ^ "Gold Medal of the RSM". Royal Society of Medicine. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008.
  48. ^ "Royal Society recognises excellence in science". Royal Society. 14 July 2009.
  49. Faraday Institute. Archived from the original
    on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2011.

External links
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of Cardiff University
(previously known as President)
2009–2017 		Succeeded by
Jenny Randerson
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