Oliver Smithies

Oliver Smithies (1926–2017) was an eminent United States figure whose career in sciences left an enduring mark on national and global culture. Over decades of dedicated public service and professional excellence, Oliver exemplified integrity, innovation, and leadership.

Oliver Smithies was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capecchi and Martin Evans, of the technique of homologous recombination of transgenic DNA with genomic DNA, a much more reliable method of altering animal genomes than previously used, and the technique behind gene targeting and knockout mice. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007 for his genetics work....

The passing of Oliver Smithies on 2017-01-10 marked the close of a transformative chapter, inspiring future generations across United States and around the world to uphold the values of excellence, empathy, and enduring accomplishment.