Sir Martin John Evans FRS FMedSci FLSW (born January 1, 1941) is an English biologist. In 1981, he and Matthew Kaufman were the first to grow mouse embryonic stem cells in a laboratory. He also worked with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies to develop the knockout mouse and gene targeting, a method that uses embryonic stem cells to change specific genes in mice. In 2007, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with these two scientists for their discovery, which helped advance research into treating human illnesses.
Evans earned a scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, during a time of major advances in genetics. He became interested in biology and biochemistry. He later studied at University College London, where Elizabeth Deuchar taught him laboratory skills. In 1978, he joined the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge. In 1980, he began working with Matthew Kaufman to study how blastocysts could be used to isolate embryonic stem cells. After Kaufman left, Evans improved his laboratory techniques, isolated embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos, and grew them in a culture. He then genetically modified these cells and implanted them into adult female mice to create genetically modified offspring. This work earned him the Nobel Prize in 2007. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. Today, genetically modified mice are considered very important for medical research.
Early life and education
Evans was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, on January 1, 1941. His mother was a teacher. His father worked in a mechanical workshop and taught Evans how to use tools and machines, including a lathe. Evans had a close relationship with his grandfather, who was a choir leader at a Baptist Church for over 40 years. His grandfather was interested in music, poetry, and the Baptist Church. Evans' mother's brother was a professor of astronomy at the University of Cambridge. As a child, Evans was quiet, shy, and curious. He enjoyed science, and his parents supported his learning. He especially liked old science books and received an electric experimental set as a Christmas gift. He credits a chemistry set with helping him develop a strong interest in science. He attended St Dunstan's College, an independent school for boys in South East London, where he took classes in chemistry, physics, and biology. He worked hard to prepare for entrance exams to the University of Cambridge. At school, he was one of the top students, though not the best in his class.
Evans earned a major scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, during a time when genetics research was growing rapidly. He studied zoology, botany, and chemistry but later stopped studying zoology and added biochemistry. He became interested in plant biology and how plants function. He attended lectures by scientists Sydney Brenner and Jacques Monod. He graduated from Christ's College in 1963 with a BA degree, though he did not take his final exams because he was sick with glandular fever. He chose to study how genes control the development of vertebrates. He moved to University College London, where he worked as a research assistant under Dr. Elizabeth Deuchar, learning laboratory skills. His goal was to isolate developmentally controlled m-RNA. He received a PhD in 1969.
Career and research
He became a lecturer in the Anatomy and Embryology department at University College London, where he conducted research and taught PhD students and undergraduates. In 1978, he moved to the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge, where his work with Matthew Kaufman began in 1980. Together, they developed the idea of using blastocysts to isolate embryonic stem cells.
After Kaufman left to take a professorship in Anatomy at Edinburgh, Evans continued his research, exploring various areas of biology and medicine. In October 1985, he visited the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for one month to learn the latest laboratory techniques.
In the 1990s, he was a fellow at St Edmund's College, Cambridge. In 1999, he became Professor of Mammalian Genetics and Director of the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, where he worked until his retirement in 2007. He was awarded the title of Knight Bachelor in the 2004 New Year Honours for his work in stem cell research. He received this honor from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2004. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discovery of a method to introduce homologous recombination in mice using embryonic stem cells. Evans was appointed president of Cardiff University and took office on 23 November 2009. Later, he became Chancellor of Cardiff University in 2012. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
Evans and Kaufman isolated embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos (embryoblasts) and grew them in cell cultures. These cells can develop into any type of cell found in an adult organism. They genetically modified these stem cells and implanted them into the wombs of female mice, resulting in genetically modified offspring.
In 1981, Evans and Kaufman published results describing how they isolated embryonic stem cells from mouse blastocysts and grew them in cell cultures. This was also achieved independently by Gail R. Martin in the same year. Evans later successfully isolated embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos and established them in cell cultures. He then genetically modified these cells and implanted them into adult female mice to create genetically modified offspring, which became the ancestors of laboratory mice now widely used in medical research. The availability of these cultured stem cells enabled scientists to introduce specific gene changes into the germ line of mice and create transgenic mice for studying human diseases.
Evans and his collaborators demonstrated that they could insert a new gene into cultured embryonic stem cells and use these genetically altered cells to create chimeric embryos. In some chimeric embryos, the modified stem cells produced gametes, allowing the artificial mutation to be passed to future generations of mice. This process led to the creation of transgenic mice with mutations in the enzyme Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). These mutations were caused by retroviral insertion. Scientists proposed that by using genetic recombination between the normal HPRT gene and an artificial gene added to the stem cells, it might be possible to make specific changes to endogenous genes through homologous recombination with cloned copies modified in the laboratory. This approach was later successfully used in the laboratories of Oliver Smithies and Mario Capecchi.
Personal life
When Evans was a student in Cambridge, he met his wife, Judith Clare Williams, at a lunch hosted by his aunt, who was married to an astronomy professor. After they became engaged, their relationship faced challenges, and Judith moved to live in Canada. However, a year later she returned to England, and the couple married. In 1978, they moved from London to Cambridge with their young children. They lived there for more than 20 years before relocating to Cardiff. They have one daughter and two sons. Their older son studied at the University of Cambridge, and their younger son was a boarder at Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and sang in the Christ Church Cathedral choir.
Judith Clare Williams, the granddaughter of Christopher Williams, was appointed MBE in the 1993 New Year Honours for her work in nursing. Around the time the family moved to Cardiff, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She continues to support breast cancer charities, and Martin Evans has become a trustee of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.