A SENATE RESOLUTION recognizing the achievements of dr. oliver smithies, 2007 nobel prize winner.
Whereas, Dr. Oliver Smithies grew up in Yorkshire, England, and attended Oxford University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in physiology and a master's degree and doctorate in biochemistry; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies began his career at Connaught Medical Research Laboratory in Toronto, Canada, where he worked from 1953 to 1960, and during which time he invented a method of separating proteins to identify genes, a technique that became a standard in most laboratories; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies worked at the University of Wisconsin at Madison from 1960 to 1988 and during his tenure there co‑discovered a method of introducing DNA material into cells and replicated a natural process called homologous DNA recombination; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies' laboratory also produced the first animal model of cystic fibrosis; and
Whereas, in 1988, Dr. Smithies joined the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is currently an Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; and
Whereas, while at UNC‑CH, Dr. Smithies has worked on developing animal models for studying gene therapy in hypertension and other genetic disorders, including sickle cell disease; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies has published numerous articles and books on his research and has been elected to various scientific organizations, including the United States National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the United States Institute of Medicine; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies has received many honors and awards for his significant contributions to science and medicine, including the following: Gairdner Foundation International Award for contributions to medical science in 1990; North Carolina Award for Science in 1993; American Association of Medical Colleges' Award for Distinguished Research in 1998; O. Max Gardner Award in 2002; Wolf Prize in Medicine in 2003; and the Genetics Society of America's 2007 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal given for lifetime contributions to the field of genetics in 2008; and
Whereas, on October 8, 2007, the Nobel Foundation announced that Dr. Oliver Smithies, Mario R. Capecchi of the University of Utah's Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Sir Martin J. Evans of the United Kingdom would share the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells"; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies became the first full‑time faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to win a Nobel Prize; and
Whereas, Dr. Smithies' dedication and contributions to genetic research have earned him the respect and admiration of his peers and the citizens of this State; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate:
SECTION 1.  The Senate congratulates Dr. Oliver Smithies on winning the 2007 Nobel Prize and declares him a North Carolina institution.
SECTION 2.  The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to Dr. Oliver Smithies.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.