DOCSLIB.ORG

Antony John Clark OBE, FRSE This Obituary First Appeared in The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Antony John Clark OBE, FRSE This Obituary First Appeared in The Antony John Clark OBE, FRSE This obituary first appeared in The Guardian on 25 August 2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2004/aug/25/obituaries.health The sudden death of Professor John Clark, at the age of 52, has robbed Britain of a world leader in animal science and biotechnology, and an individual whose commitment to science was based on a genuine concern for others. A visionary, energetic and resolute leader, he made outstanding contributions not only in research, but also in translating it to the commercial environment. Clark was director of the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, one of the world's leading centres for research on farm and other animals, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Council. He pioneered the development of techniques for the genetic modification of livestock that led to the cloning techniques and the birth, in 1996, of Dolly the sheep, the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell. This event created entirely new opportunities in research and regenerative medicine. Appointed to the then Animal Breeding Research Organisation in 1985, Clark soon assumed leadership of a project to produce human proteins in the milk of sheep. Its success required an understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the functioning of genes, the technical ability to manipulate DNA sequences and methods for the introduction of gene sequences into sheep embryos. While these are now commonplace, this was not the case at the time, and the project was technically challenging. The birth, in 1990, of Tracy, the first sheep to produce very large quantities of human protein in her milk - alpha-1-antitrypsin for the treatment of cystic fibrosis - was a milestone in the field, and a success that laid the foundation for the continuing reputation of the Roslin Institute (as it became in 1993) as pioneers in transgenic technology. The development of cloning techniques at Roslin in the mid-1990s provided the first opportunity to introduce precise genetic changes in animals other than mice, and Clark and his colleagues were the first to produce a large animal from which a specific gene had been removed (a prion protein gene from a sheep). Characteristically quick to recognise scientific opportunities, Clark responded to the news, in 1997, of the isolation of the first human embryonic stem cells by rapidly establishing his own projects building on that research. Currently, the laboratory he managed is working on the derivation of liver cells and neurones from human embryonic stem cells for potential use in the testing of new drugs and the treatment of Parkinson's disease, stroke and spinal cord injury. Scientists in the UK are often criticised for failing to convert scientific advances into practical benefit. Clark was an exception in that he had a clear commitment to commercialising research - and the entrepreneurial flair to achieve this. The successful project to produce human proteins in sheep milk was carried out at Roslin, but provided the intellectual basis for the establishment of PPL Therapeutics in 1987. Clark's experience with the creation of that company was invaluable when Dolly followed. The establishment of another company, Roslin BioMed, and its subsequent acquisition by the US Geron Corporation in 1999, delivered a six-year commitment to fund human stem cell research at the institute, and has underpinned its status as a leader in this exciting new field. Most of Clark's career was driven by setting a strategy in which possible applications provided the rationale and justification for research. Thus, he was ideally suited to provide the scientific leadership and direction when he became director of Roslin on August 1 2003. Irrespective of the level at which he was operating, from team leader to director, he always ensured he had time for his staff, especially for the many students he personally supervised. Clark was born in Blackpool, but the family moved to Lincolnshire, where he was educated at Barton grammar school. After he graduated in natural sciences at Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1973, he and his wife Helen began what they later called their "world tour". First, they went to the University of Western Ontario, Canada, where Clark obtained an MSc for studies on the regulation of development in a mudsnail. They then travelled for a year through the US and South America. This experience had a lasting impact on Clark, and he could always amaze with anecdotes of their many adventures, such as horseback journeys to visit remote archaeological sites in the Colombian rainforest. Back in Britain, Clark began research in what were still the very early days of molecular biology. Working in Edinburgh, he completed a pioneering study on human satellite DNA, for which he was awarded a PhD in 1982, before working, with John Bishop, of the Institute of Genetics at Edinburgh University, on genes that function in the liver of mice Clark was awarded the OBE in 1997, elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1999, and was a valued contributor to numerous scientific committees and working groups. A widely read man, he enjoyed music, dancing and a broad circle of friends. Though he, Helen and his two sons, Charlie and Laurie, travelled widely together, they returned repeatedly to the tranquillity of Colonsay, in the Inner Hebrides. Ian Wilmut Anthony John Clark, MA, MSc, PhD, scientist and entrepreneur, born September 18 1951. Elected FRSE March 1999. Died August 12 2004.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dolly the Sheep – the First Cloned Adult Animal
    DOLLY THE SHEEP – THE FIRST CLONED ADULT ANIMAL NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR IMPROVING LIVESTOCK From Squidonius via Wikimedia Commons In 1996, University of Edinburgh scientists celebrated the birth of Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned using SCNT cloning is the only technology adult somatic cells. The Edinburgh team’s success followed available that enables generation of 99.8% its improvements to the single cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) genetically identical offspring from selected technique used in the cloning process. individuals of adult animals (including sterilized animals). As such, it is being Dolly became a scientific icon recognised worldwide and exploited as an efficient multiplication tool SCNT technology has spread around the world and has been to support specific breeding strategies of used to clone multiple farm animals. farm animals with exceptionally high genetic The cloning of livestock enables growing large quantities of value. the most productive, disease resistant animals, thus providing more food and other animal products. Sir Ian Wilmut (Inaugural Director of MRC Centre for Regeneration and Professor at CMVM, UoE) and colleagues worked on methods to create genetically improved livestock by manipulation of stem cells using nuclear transfer. Their research optimised interactions between the donor nucleus and the recipient cytoplasm at the time of fusion and during the first cell cycle. Nuclear donor cells were held in mitosis before being released and used as they were expected to be passing through G1 phase. CLONING IN COMMERCE, CONSERVATION OF AGRICULTURE AND PRESERVATION ANIMAL BREEDS OF LIVESTOCK DIVERSITY Cloning has been used to conserve several animal breeds in the recent past.
    [Show full text]
  • Cloning: a Select Chronology, 1997-2003
    Order Code RL31211 Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Cloning: A Select Chronology, 1997-2003 Updated March 10, 2003 Mary V. Wright Information Research Specialist Information Research Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Summary This is a selected chronology of the events surrounding and following the cloning of a sheep from a single adult sheep cell by Scottish scientists, which was announced in February 1997. The project was cosponsored by PPL Therapeutics, Edinburgh, Scotland, which has applied for patents for the techniques used. This chronology also addresses subsequent reports of other cloning experiments, including the first one using human cells. Information on presidential actions and legislative activities related to the ethical and moral issues surrounding cloning is provided, as well as relevant Web sites. More information on cloning and on human embryo research can be found in CRS Report RL31015, Stem Cell Research and CRS Report RS21044, Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research. This report will be updated as necessary. Contents Chronology .......................................................1 1997 ........................................................1 1998 ........................................................2 1999 ........................................................3 2000 ........................................................4 2001 ........................................................5 2002 ........................................................6
    [Show full text]
  • In Re Roslin Institute: Federal Circuit Finds Cloned Animals Not Patent Eligible
    CLIENT MEMORANDUM In re Roslin Institute: Federal Circuit Finds Cloned Animals Not Patent Eligible May 13, 2014 AUTHORS Michael Johnson | Tara Thieme THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT HOLDS THAT CLAIMS COVERING DOLLY THE SHEEP ARE NOT PATENT ELIGIBLE WITHOUT ELEMENTS MARKEDLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ANIMAL FOUND IN NATURE On May 8, 2014, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in In re Roslin Institute,1 holding that, absent claim elements that cover aspects of the invention that are “markedly different” from that which is found in nature, a cloned animal is not patent eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Background On July 5, 1996, Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell became the first researchers to successfully clone a mammalian cell using a process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this process, Wilmut and Campbell created a clone embryo by removing the nucleus of a donor somatic cell and implanting that nucleus into an enucleated oocyte (egg cell). The somatic-cell nucleus, now contained in the egg, reprogrammed the host egg cell and, once stimulated, began to divide and grow in the same manner as a normal embryo grows into a fetus. The clone embryo was then implanted into a surrogate to develop. 1 Appeal No. 2013-1407 (Fed. Cir. May 8, 2014). 1 In re Roslin Institute: Federal Circuit Finds Cloned Animals Not Patent Eligible Continued Dolly the Sheep, cloned from a mammary cell of a donor sheep, was the first mammal successfully cloned using this technique. Since then, this process has successfully cloned a number of mammals, including pigs, deer, horses and bulls.
    [Show full text]
  • Module 2 Biotechnology: History, State of the Art, Future. Lecture Notes
    MODULE 2 BIOTECHNOLOGY: HISTORY, STATE OF THE ART, FUTURE. LECTURE NOTES: UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY, HISTORY AND CONCEPTS DEFINITION Dr Marcel Daba BENGALY Université Ouaga I Pr Joseph KI ZERBO Final version, February 2017 Disclaimer This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. 1 This Unit 1 of Module 2 is an integral part of the six Master's level course modules (each of 20 hrs) in the field of agricultural biotechnology as elaborated by the EDULINK-FSBA project (2013-2017) which are: Module 1: Food security, agricultural systems and biotechnology Module 2: Biotechnology: history, state of the art, future Module 3: Public response to the rise of biotechnology Module 4: Regulation on and policy approaches to biotechnology Module 5: Ethics and world views in relation to biotechnology Module 6: Tailoring biotechnology: towards societal responsibility and country specific approaches PRESENTATION OF MODULE 2 INTRODUCTION Achieving food security in its totality (food availability, economic and physical access to food, food utilization and stability over time) continues to be a challenge not only for the developing nations, but also for the developed world. The difference lies in the magnitude of the problem in terms of its severity and proportion of the population affected. According to FAO statistics, a total of 842 million people in 2011–13, or around one in eight people in the world, were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger.
    [Show full text]
  • SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY June 2014
    TIMELINE SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY June 2014 Timeline: Synthetic Biology Science, Policy and Regulation in Canada, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom & the United States Principal Researcher: Barbara Kubica, M.Sc., M.A. Note from the Series Editor This timeline outlines important events related to synthetic biology science, policy and regulation in Canada, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the purposes of this timeline, synthetic biology refers to genetic engineering —the ability to design and construct new biological parts, devices and systems. For background purposes, the author has also chosen to include broader developments in science policy as well as significant events outside of the focus regions where deemed appropriate. Please help us keep this timeline accurate and up-to-date by providing comments to [email protected]. Marc Saner Director, ISSP Acknowledgements Many thanks to Justine Lallement, who developed an earlier version of this timeline as part of her internship at the ISSP. About the Author Barbara Kubica holds a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and a Joint Master of Arts in International Communication from Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) and IULM University of Languages and Communication (Italy). She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary (Canada). Her interests lie in the fields of science communication and public engagement in the assessment and regulation of emerging technologies. © 2014, Institute for Science, Society and Policy, University of Ottawa Available for download at www.issp.uottawa.ca This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
    [Show full text]
  • Drawn to Edinburgh
    Drawn to Edinburgh Photo by Martha Huynh, Norway / A lucky find / Edinburgh Photography Competition 2017 Information Session for International applicants and prospective students Spring 2018 Drawn to Edinburgh Presentation Why choose the University of Edinburgh? • Historic and prestigious • City of Edinburgh • Academic and degree structure • Tuition and scholarships • Admissions and joining • Accommodation • Student experience Q&A Session Photo by Miranda Garralda, Hong Kong / People’s Choice Prize Drawn to Edinburgh The University An ancient university, founded in 1583 World-class university and top study destination in the UK and within Europe One of the largest universities in the UK Over 39,000 students, more than 25,000 undergraduates, 14,000+ postgraduates Over 17,000 international students from more than 156 countries Ranked 13th most international university in the world (THE 2017) 3 Colleges, 21 Schools Academic to student ratio 1:5 Ranked 32nd in the world for student employability (THE 2016) Numerous networks and global partnerships - Russell Group, LERU, Universitas 21 Photo by Charlotte Noring, Australia Drawn to Edinburgh Historic & Prestigious Consistently ranked in the world’s top 50 23rd in the World by QS World University Rankings 2018 World-leading research institution 1st in Scotland and 4th in the 2014 UK REF Excellent reputation for teaching & research over 80% academic staFF active in research Outstanding history of discovery, invention and innovation Research at Edinburgh laid the Foundations oF modern economics,
    [Show full text]
  • Final Project Report
    Final project report ‘Towards Dolly: Edinburgh, Roslin and the Birth of Modern Genetics’ ‘The Making of Dolly: Science, Politics and Ethics’ Funded by the Wellcome Trust’s Research Resources scheme April 2012 – May 2016 1 Contents ‹ Page 2: Contents and project overview ‹ Page 3: The collections ‹ Page 4: Preservation and conservation ‹ Page 5: Public engagement ‹ Page 6: Academic and student engagement ‹ Page 7: Working with the science community ‹ Page 8: Associated projects ‹ Pages 9-10: Additional projects ‹ Page 11: Conclusions and acknowledgements ‹ Pages 12-35: Appendices Project Overview This report covers the work undertaken as part of two Wellcome Trust projects based around animal genetics collections at Edinburgh University Library Special Collections: ‘Towards Dolly: Edinburgh, Roslin and the Birth of Modern Genetics’ (April 2012- February 2014; January-May 2016), £135,607 (096694/Z/11/Z) ‘The Making of Dolly: Science, Politics and Ethics’ (October 2013 – December 2015), £101,191 (100731/Z/12/Z) The staff employed on these projects were Clare Button, Project Archivist (2012-2016) and Kristy Davis, Rare Book Cataloguer (2012-2014). Out of the work of these projects, additional funding was also secured for the following: ‘Scoping Beyond Dolly’ (July 2012), £10,000 (099447/Z/12/Z) ‘Science on a Plate: natural history through glass slides 1870-1930’ (October 2014-April 2015), £17,466 (105088/Z/14/Z) ‘Untangling the roots of animal genetics in Edinburgh, 1899-1939’ (forthcoming, June-November 2016), £26,261 (200428/Z/15/Z) 2 The Collections The collections which make up the projects encompass archives, rare books, objects, glass slides and artwork, and date from the 15th century to the present day.
    [Show full text]
  • Animal Breeding in the Age of Biotechnology
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology Citation for published version: Garcia-Sancho, M 2015, 'Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: The investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep', History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 282-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-015-0078-6 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1007/s40656-015-0078-6 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences Publisher Rights Statement: This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40656-015-0078-6 General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 Animal breeding in the age of biotechnology: the investigative pathway behind the cloning of Dolly the sheep Miguel García-Sancho Science, Technology and Innovation Studies University of Edinburgh [email protected] Abstract: This paper addresses the 1996 cloning of Dolly the sheep, locating it within a long- standing tradition of animal breeding research in Edinburgh.
    [Show full text]
  • Fda Regulation of Human Cloning: Usurpation Or Statesmanship?
    Harvard Journal of Law & Technology Volume 15, Number 1 Fall 2001 PAGE LAYOUT AND NUMBERING DO NOT CORRESPOND TO ORIGINAL FDA REGULATION OF HUMAN CLONING: USURPATION OR STATESMANSHIP? Richard A. Merrill* & Bryan J. Rose** TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .....................................86 II. THE EVOLUTION OF GENETIC TECHNOLOGY AND THE SCIENCE OF CLONING .........................89 A. Cloning Techniques: Definitions and the Problem of Context ................90 B. The Development of Cloning Technology ...............93 C. The Science Behind Dolly and the Twenty-Two Mice ..........................95 III. THE FDA CLAIMS JURISDICTION ........................97 A. The FDA’s Public Explanation .......................98 B. The FDA’s Oversight of Clinical Research ............106 C. Other Legal Options ..............................109 1. Option 1: Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act .......110 2. Option 2: The FDA’s Human Tissue “Plan”........111 3. Option 3: The FDA’s Regulation of Gene Therapy ..........117 4. Option 4: A Plausible Source of FDA Authority ............119 IV. HAS THE FDA VIOLATED THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT? ................124 V. A NORMATIVE ANALYSIS OF REGULATION OF CLONING RESEARCH ................131 A. The Comparative Appeal of FDA Regulation ...........131 B. The FDA’s Institutional Capacity ....................133 1. Medical Concerns............................134 * Daniel Caplin Professor and Sullivan & Cromwell Research Professor, University of Virginia School of Law. ** Assistant Attorney General,
    [Show full text]
  • Top 100 Living Contributors to Biotechnology
    Over the last 30 years, a small group of visionaries in science, technology, legislation and business have driven the development of biotechnology. THE Today, in the midst of tremendous advances in medicine and agriculture, this exhibition and accompanying brochure pays tribute to the leaders that have shaped the biotechnology industry. TOP The Top 100 Living Contributors to Biotechnology have been selected by their peers and through independent polls conducted by Reed Exhibitions, a division of Reed Elsevier. Senior staff throughout the biotechnology industry have identified the most influential and inspirational pioneers. The results 100 are presented here alphabetically. LIVING CONTRIBUTORS To those named in the Top 100, and the many other contributors not listed, TO BIOTECHNOLOGY the biotechnology community is deeply appreciative. P 1 4 MICHAEL ASHBURNER SEYMOUR BENZER PAUL BERG Michael Ashburner is Professor Seymour Benzer instilled the Paul Berg is Cahill Professor in of Biology at the University of fundamental idea that genes Cancer Research, Emeritus, at Cambridge where he received his control behaviour. He began his the Stanford University School undergraduate degree and PhD, career studying gene structure of Medicine, and director emeri- both in genetics. Ashburner’s and code, developing a method tus of the Beckman Centre for current major research interests to determine the detailed struc- Molecular and Genetic are the structure and evolution of ture of viral genes in 1955. He Medicine. He is one of the prin- genomes. Most of his research then switched to the field of cipal pioneers in the field of 33 has been with the model organ- neurogenetics, focusing on “gene splicing.” Berg, along with ism Drosophila melanogaster, the inheritance of behaviour.
    [Show full text]
  • Dolly: the Science Behind the World's Most Famous Sheep
    DOLLY: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS SHEEP H.D. Griffin Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Roslin, UK Abstract ‘The Roslin Institute near Edinburgh is one of the world’s leading centres for research on farm animals. Its main expertise is in animal genetics, with the results benefiting the livestock breeding and production industries in particular. Its work was, however, little known to the general public. A single lamb changed all that. Dr Harry Griffin, Assistant Director at the Institute, explains.....’ Dolly was the first mammal cloned from a cell from an adult animal. She was derived from cells that had been taken from the udder of a 6-year old Finn Dorset ewe and cultured for several weeks in the laboratory. Individual cells were then fused with unfertilised eggs from which the genetic material had been removed. Two hundred and seventy seven of these ‘reconstructed eggs’ - each now with a diploid nucleus from the adult animal - were cultured for 6 days in temporary recipients. Twenty nine of the eggs that appeared to have developed normally to the blastocyst stage were implanted into surrogate Scottish Blackface ewes. One gave rise to live lamb, Dolly, some 148 days later. DOLLYMANIA Dolly was born on 5 July 1996. It took Ian Wilmut and his colleagues a few weeks to complete the experimental work and several more months before they had written a paper and had it accepted by Nature. Publication was confirmed for 27 February, 1997 and by then plans were well advanced to handle the expected media interest. We knew that Nature was featuring Dolly in the weekly press release that it distributes each Friday.
    [Show full text]
  • A Century of Genetics
    2019 Genetics Society Meeting A Century of Genetics 13 – 15 November 2019. Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh Meeting Programme THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS GOLD SILVER BRONZE WELCOME Just 10 years after Wilhelm Johannsen coined In June we celebrated the unveiling of Blue the term “gene”, and 14 years after William Plaques for Saunders and Bateson at the Bateson bequeathed us the word “genetics”, John Innes Centre, the focal point of UK on 25th June 1919 Bateson and Edith plant genetics, founded by Bateson. It is then “Becky” Saunders convened a meeting in the appropriate that the centenary conference rooms of the Linnaean Society to propose the should be convened in Edinburgh, for long a founding of a “Genetical Society”. Approved UK centre for animal and molecular genetics. unanimously, the first meeting was held in By happy coincidence, 2019 is also the Cambridge on 12th July that year. centenary of the origins of genetics research in Edinburgh. From the 26 members at the founding meeting, the Genetical Society (now the Genetics and Edinburgh Genetics Society) has grown over the last The first lectureship in genetics was instituted century to an all-time high now in excess at The University of Edinburgh in 1911. of 2500 members. Members reflect a The Animal Breeding Research Station of broad span of career stages and expertise, the government’s Board of Agriculture and covering all major branches of pure and Fisheries was established in Edinburgh in applied genetics. A cursory glance at the 1919 and evolved over the next 10 years to past Presidents of the Society reflects both become The University of Edinburgh’s Institute the standing of the Genetics Society over the of Animal Genetics.
    [Show full text]