Martin Evans Nobel prize winner

Sir Martin Evans won the most prestigious award in science, the Nobel Prize, for “a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals.” This fulfilled a boyhood dream for Sir Martin and firmly placed the Cardiff bio science centre on an international stage. He was one of three recipients of this award, the others being Professor Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah and Professor Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina for their quite outstanding contribution in the ongoing development of this research.
Their experiments concentrated on gene cell targeting in mice. This form of work allows scientists to manipulate the gene cells of the mice and through this to manipulate them. Professor of Genetics, Alan Clarke, notes that this study has effectively changed the way a biologist conducts experiments. The work allows scientists to understand the function of specific genes; prior to this, gene targeting was not possible. Sir Martin Evans’s specific role within the work was the discovery and isolation of embromic stem cells and for this he is known to his peers as ‘The Grandfather of ES cells’.
Normally an embryo goes through a constrained time period. These cells, initially studied by Capecchi and Smithies, could not be used in gene-targeting animals. What was needed was a cell that could develop to the fully formed germ cell, because this would allow them to manipulate the cell and then see its effects. Cue Sir Martin, who discovered an early form of embryo in the mice which had the amazing ability to develop into any cell. He named these cells ‘Embromic stem cells’.
Sir Martin explains that it is now possible to isolate vast quantities of these embromic stem cells into tissue culture and still be able to put them back into carrier embryo, which can then regenerate a whole mouse. The end result of this is the magnificent ability to manipulate the gene cells and see the effects in the whole mouse.
There was one problematic factor with this experiment, that the targetting could be random. However, thanks to the work of the fellow awardees, who developed a system that could target any specific gene to alter the genetics of mice, this aspect was conquered. The system is called homologous recombination, and this new technique meant that the scientists could alter or destroy any gene of the mouse that they desired. This lead to the possibility of testing the function of genes and being able to change an endogenous gene. Sir Martin illustrates why this is so important by noting that “we know the geno sequence of a mouse and a human but in many cases we don’t know what genes do”. To discover this, a gene would need to be manipulated and studied in real context, in a real organism for example, a mouse. Sir Martin claims that one way to answer this would be to work out what would happen to a mouse without a specific gene.
Scientific experiments on animals are always a morally controversial subject: do we have the right to experiment on another living specimen? Where should the line be drawn between scientific progression and potential animal cruelty? I do not intend to discuss the possible answers to these debates, but will advocate that even though the testing is carried out on a mouse gene, it appears that there are a multitude of benefits to humans.
Professor Steve Brown, Director of the Medical Research Council Mammalian Genetics Unit, said “As mouse and human genomes are almost identical this approach is having an enormous impact on our understanding of human disease. The ability to study how individual genes might cause disease, leads to enormous opportunities for the development of new approaches to therapeutics and treatment.”
Professor Alan Clarke says that previously scientists could not find a gene potentially relevant to disease, however, with gene targetting they now can. He describes this breakthrough as giving scientists a “proper handle on building therapy.. and can find whether therapy works”. This technique, one that Sir Martin played a vital role in developing, has already produced more than 500 different models of human disorders. Overall, the result of this experiment has created a system of gene targeting that massively aids biomedicine. The ability to understand a specific gene function has numerous benefits for mankind.
When Sir Martin, in an interview, queried the point of studying the gene functioning of a mouse, he drew on an inspiring metaphor to justify his personal reasoning behind any questions of doubt. Sir Martin said that astrologists study the universe that we live in because we are part of that universe and therefore it is of great interest to the human race. He then proclaimed that our ‘internal stars’ need to be studied too; that humans live in a biological planet, thus it is essential that we have a deep understanding of it’s logic.
Professor Sir Martin Evans achieved a BA in Biochemistry from Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1963. He came to Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences in 1999. He has since been developing the biochemistry, not only with his fascinating experiments on mice but also by launching the Cardiff biochemistry onto the international arena, achieving such accolades as a Knighthood in 2004 and the prestigious Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in the US in 2001.
The Nobel Prize as Sir Martin says ‘puts the icing on the cake’ of his personal successes. He does, however, refer to the benefits of a Nobel Prize winning professor teaching at Cardiff University: “I am very pleased that it will particuarly reflect well on science at Cardiff Universty, where we have assembled a very strong Bioscience and Bio-medical team”. His plethora of awards has been a key aspect in establishing Cardiff University as a top centre for biomedical research. Cardiff University the impressive achievement of being named in the world’s top 100, and the top ten in the UK, for biomedicine in the Times Higher Educational Supplement World University Rankings. As well as which, who can forget the shared prize money of £755,000. Even the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, conveys the broader relevance to the award in his congratulatory speech to the Professor, saying: “this is a proud day for Sir Martin, for Cardiff University and for the country”. There is no question that with his many awards and the kudos for his scientific achievements that it is a huge advantage for Cardiff University to have him and I’m sure he’s pleased too.