Mario Capecchi

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Mario Capecchi (1937- ) is an Italian-born American molecular geneticist. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics and Biology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Mario Capeecchi was born in Verona, Italy in 1937. He went to Antioch College in Ohio and received a B.S. in chemistry and physics from Antioch in 1961. He then went to Harvard for graduate work and received a Ph.D. in biophysics in 1967 with a doctoral thesis under the tutelage of James D. Watson. Capecchi was a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University from 1967 to 1969. In 1969 he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Harvard School of Medicine. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1971. In 1973 he joined the faculty at the University of Utah. Since 1988 Capecchi has also been an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

[edit] Knockout mice

Mario Capecchi is particularly well known for his pioneering work in gene targeting of the mouse embryo-derived stem cells which enabled other transgenic technologies including cloning and genetic modification. This work was accomplished through the efforts of Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies working on the knockout mice.

Dr. Capecchi has also pursued a systematic analysis of the mouse Hox gene family. This gene family plays a key role in the control of embryonic development in all multicellular animals.

[edit] Honours

Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience Research, 1992
Gairdner Foundation International Award for Achievements in Medical Sciences, 1993
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, 2001
Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, 1996
Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for distinguished achievement in neuroscience research
Gairdner Foundation International Award
General Motors Corporation's Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Prize, 1994
German Molecular Bioanalytics Prize, 1996
Franklin Medal for Advancing Our Knowledge of the Physical Sciences, 1997
Feodor Lynen Lectureship, 1998
Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, 1998
Baxter Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences, 1998
Helen Lowe Bamberger Colby and John E. Bamberger Presidential Endowed Chair in the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, 1999
lectureship in the Life Sciences for the Collège de France, 2000
Horace Mann Distinguished Alumni Award, Antioch College, 2000
Italian Premio Phoenix-Anni Verdi for Genetics Research Award, 2000
Spanish Jiménez-Diáz Prize, 2001
Pioneers of Progress Award, 2001
National Medal of Science, 2001
John Scott Medal Award, 2002
Massry Prize, 2002
Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research, 2003
Wolf Prize in Medicine, 2002,2003
March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, 2005