Nobel Laureate Gave “Pages” at NCKU, stimulating researchers’ interests
Dr. Oliver Smithies, the Nobel Laureate in 2007, was invited by the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) to give a seminar on 18th October entitled “Turning Pages: From Gels to Genes” in the symposium with a theme on “The Gene Targeting in Embryonic Stem Cells and Its Effects on Biomedical Sciences”. The venue of this symposium was in the Cheng Hsing Hall at the NCKU College of Medicine.
The symposium ran from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on 18th October, starting with welcome remarks from the Academician and the NCKU President, Dr. Michael, M.C Lai, Professor Wen-Pin Lien, the President of the New Century Health Care Promotion Foundation which is the main sponsor of this symposium.
Academician Michael, M.C. Lai, the NCKU president, especially attributed the success of this symposium to the support from the New Century Health Care Promotion Foundation and other prestigious research institutions in Taiwan. Academician Michael, M.C. Lai pointed out that the last decade was the decade of genomic researches, in which human beings successfully decoded the human gene sequence, and the next decade will be an era for integration of genomic researches and stem cell researches. President Lai also praised Dr. Smithies for his excellent academic achievements and his wonderful seminar given at NCKU along with other fantastic talks in the symposium held over the NCKU College of Medicine. Academician Lai expressed his sincere gratitude as well to Dr. Smithies and his wife, Dr. Nobuyo Maeda, along with Dr. Britton Chance for their kindness to share their views in research and academia with NCKU students at 20th Oct.
In his topic of turning pages: from Gels to Genes, Dr. Oliver Smithies divided the history of his researches into three “pages” The first is “chance”, in which he invented starch gel electrophoresis. The second page is “opportunity”, in which he turned his research interest into how to deal with inherited variation in plasma proteins and tried to figure out the gene recombination. The third page is “planning”, in which he tried to correct a gene by targeting. Dr. Oliver Smithies stressed that gene knockout technique is for treatment of human disease but still far beyond a panacea. However, the key point of gene knockout technique is on the “quantitative”, rather than on “have-or-not” to disease. Still, the impact of gene is far more influential than people can predict on human disease because people had limit on the knowledge of gene research.
Dr. Oliver Smithies attributed his success on science to his third teacher, Dr. A. G. ("Sandy") Ogston by showing his photos before and after the speech. He was Dr. Oliver Smithies ‘s tutor as an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford University, and later oversaw Dr. Smithies‘s change from medical school to graduate school in order to take up research project. Sandy was an extraordinary scientist, and a dedicated teacher. And Dr. A. G. ("Sandy") Ogston conveyed to his students a view of science, which Dr. Oliver Smithies quote in closing, “For science is more than the search for truth, more than a challenging game, more than a profession. It is a life that a diversity of people live together, in the closest proximity, a school for social living. We are members one of another."
According to Dr. Oliver Smithies, scientists should make efforts to save time, rather than to save money. In his earlier research careers when the instruments for experiments were not immediately and easily available, Dr. Oliver Smithies had to make some instruments by himself in order to perform the experiments as quickly as possible. Dr. Oliver Smithies also stressed the importance of cooperation and trust, and added that scientists should accomplish their work by asking and by giving.
During Q&A session, Dr. Oliver Smithies stressed the importance of taking notes, which can help thinking without a stop and ensure each procedure and step are well-done. Therefore, Dr. Oliver Smithies encouraged students to have the habits of taking notes whenever a thought comes out or a change is made. In response to Dr. Brittan Chance’s question about research as lifelong career, Dr. Oliver Smithies said that scientists should do researches in which they are interested. He also showed the photo with his glider as his hobby to conclude this session. He said in humor that he doesn’t know what his next “page” will be, but he ensures that it will definitely be what makes science exciting.
Other presenters and topics of this symposium include Dr. Bon-Chu Chung on “Steroid Function and Regulation Revealed by Targeting Cypllal”, Dr. Shih-Hua Lin on “Gitelman and Gordon Syndrome: From Bedside to Knock-in Mice,” Dr. Nobuyo Maeda on “Genetic Variations in Atherosclerosis: Humans to Mice and Mice to Humans,” Dr. Patrick C.H. Hsieh on “The Application of Inducible Cre-Lox System for Cardiac Stem Cell Fate-Mapping,” Dr. Yau-Sheng Tsai on “Toll-Like Receptor in the Metabolic Disease and Its Complications,” Dr. Yu-Ting Yan on “Functional Study of the Small Heat Shock Protein HSPB7 in Heart Development,” Dr. Shu-Wha Lin on “Genetically Engineered Mouse Models for Thrombosis: Evaluation of the Thrombotic Activity of Factor IX with Augmented Clotting Function”.
About Dr. Oliver Smithies
Dr. Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, is a co-recipient of 2007’s Nobel Prize in Medicine for his “Discoveries of Principles for Introducing Specific Gene Modification in Mice by Use of Embryonic Stem Cell”.
Born in 1928 in Yorkshire, England, Dr. Smithies as a young child was drawn to the idea of invention and enjoyed building telescopes and radios. He attended a high school for bright students and won a scholarship to Oxford University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a first-class honor in physiology from Oxford in 1946, and went on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate in biochemistry from Oxford in 1951.
In an interview with the Lasker Foundation, which honored him in 2001, Dr. Smithies credited his inspiration for science to a comic strip he read as a boy. The strip had an inventor and, Dr. Smithies said, that’s what he wanted to be and what he always has been.
He also said scientists should have three things in their lives: their work, a hobby and a family. Dr. Smithies is married to his UNC colleague Dr. Nobuyo Maeda, the Robert H. Wagner Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He also is a licensed airplane pilot and is especially fond of glider.
Dr. Smithies came to UNC in 1988 after his 28-year’s career at University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the mid-80s, while still at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Dr. Smithies co-discovered a technique to introduce DNA material in cells, replicated a natural process called homologous DNA recombination. This method also enabled scientists to study specific genes by creating “knockout mice.” His lab at UNC focused on developing animal models for studying gene therapy in hypertension and other genetic disorders, including sickle cell disease. He is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The symposium ran from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on 18th October, starting with welcome remarks from the Academician and the NCKU President, Dr. Michael, M.C Lai, Professor Wen-Pin Lien, the President of the New Century Health Care Promotion Foundation which is the main sponsor of this symposium.
Academician Michael, M.C. Lai, the NCKU president, especially attributed the success of this symposium to the support from the New Century Health Care Promotion Foundation and other prestigious research institutions in Taiwan. Academician Michael, M.C. Lai pointed out that the last decade was the decade of genomic researches, in which human beings successfully decoded the human gene sequence, and the next decade will be an era for integration of genomic researches and stem cell researches. President Lai also praised Dr. Smithies for his excellent academic achievements and his wonderful seminar given at NCKU along with other fantastic talks in the symposium held over the NCKU College of Medicine. Academician Lai expressed his sincere gratitude as well to Dr. Smithies and his wife, Dr. Nobuyo Maeda, along with Dr. Britton Chance for their kindness to share their views in research and academia with NCKU students at 20th Oct.
In his topic of turning pages: from Gels to Genes, Dr. Oliver Smithies divided the history of his researches into three “pages” The first is “chance”, in which he invented starch gel electrophoresis. The second page is “opportunity”, in which he turned his research interest into how to deal with inherited variation in plasma proteins and tried to figure out the gene recombination. The third page is “planning”, in which he tried to correct a gene by targeting. Dr. Oliver Smithies stressed that gene knockout technique is for treatment of human disease but still far beyond a panacea. However, the key point of gene knockout technique is on the “quantitative”, rather than on “have-or-not” to disease. Still, the impact of gene is far more influential than people can predict on human disease because people had limit on the knowledge of gene research.
Dr. Oliver Smithies attributed his success on science to his third teacher, Dr. A. G. ("Sandy") Ogston by showing his photos before and after the speech. He was Dr. Oliver Smithies ‘s tutor as an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford University, and later oversaw Dr. Smithies‘s change from medical school to graduate school in order to take up research project. Sandy was an extraordinary scientist, and a dedicated teacher. And Dr. A. G. ("Sandy") Ogston conveyed to his students a view of science, which Dr. Oliver Smithies quote in closing, “For science is more than the search for truth, more than a challenging game, more than a profession. It is a life that a diversity of people live together, in the closest proximity, a school for social living. We are members one of another."
According to Dr. Oliver Smithies, scientists should make efforts to save time, rather than to save money. In his earlier research careers when the instruments for experiments were not immediately and easily available, Dr. Oliver Smithies had to make some instruments by himself in order to perform the experiments as quickly as possible. Dr. Oliver Smithies also stressed the importance of cooperation and trust, and added that scientists should accomplish their work by asking and by giving.
During Q&A session, Dr. Oliver Smithies stressed the importance of taking notes, which can help thinking without a stop and ensure each procedure and step are well-done. Therefore, Dr. Oliver Smithies encouraged students to have the habits of taking notes whenever a thought comes out or a change is made. In response to Dr. Brittan Chance’s question about research as lifelong career, Dr. Oliver Smithies said that scientists should do researches in which they are interested. He also showed the photo with his glider as his hobby to conclude this session. He said in humor that he doesn’t know what his next “page” will be, but he ensures that it will definitely be what makes science exciting.
Other presenters and topics of this symposium include Dr. Bon-Chu Chung on “Steroid Function and Regulation Revealed by Targeting Cypllal”, Dr. Shih-Hua Lin on “Gitelman and Gordon Syndrome: From Bedside to Knock-in Mice,” Dr. Nobuyo Maeda on “Genetic Variations in Atherosclerosis: Humans to Mice and Mice to Humans,” Dr. Patrick C.H. Hsieh on “The Application of Inducible Cre-Lox System for Cardiac Stem Cell Fate-Mapping,” Dr. Yau-Sheng Tsai on “Toll-Like Receptor in the Metabolic Disease and Its Complications,” Dr. Yu-Ting Yan on “Functional Study of the Small Heat Shock Protein HSPB7 in Heart Development,” Dr. Shu-Wha Lin on “Genetically Engineered Mouse Models for Thrombosis: Evaluation of the Thrombotic Activity of Factor IX with Augmented Clotting Function”.
About Dr. Oliver Smithies
Dr. Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, is a co-recipient of 2007’s Nobel Prize in Medicine for his “Discoveries of Principles for Introducing Specific Gene Modification in Mice by Use of Embryonic Stem Cell”.
Born in 1928 in Yorkshire, England, Dr. Smithies as a young child was drawn to the idea of invention and enjoyed building telescopes and radios. He attended a high school for bright students and won a scholarship to Oxford University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a first-class honor in physiology from Oxford in 1946, and went on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate in biochemistry from Oxford in 1951.
In an interview with the Lasker Foundation, which honored him in 2001, Dr. Smithies credited his inspiration for science to a comic strip he read as a boy. The strip had an inventor and, Dr. Smithies said, that’s what he wanted to be and what he always has been.
He also said scientists should have three things in their lives: their work, a hobby and a family. Dr. Smithies is married to his UNC colleague Dr. Nobuyo Maeda, the Robert H. Wagner Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He also is a licensed airplane pilot and is especially fond of glider.
Dr. Smithies came to UNC in 1988 after his 28-year’s career at University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the mid-80s, while still at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Dr. Smithies co-discovered a technique to introduce DNA material in cells, replicated a natural process called homologous DNA recombination. This method also enabled scientists to study specific genes by creating “knockout mice.” His lab at UNC focused on developing animal models for studying gene therapy in hypertension and other genetic disorders, including sickle cell disease. He is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Provider:
新聞中心
Date:
2008-10-18
