Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Co-creator of Dolly the sheep will deliver University Core Curriculum lecture
 Dr. Keith Campbell, a cell biologist/embryologist and the co-creator of Dolly the sheep, will speak at USI about his experiences with cloning on Tuesday, April 11.Campbell worked with Ian Wilmut and others in the ground-breaking experiment that produced the world’s first cloned large animal. His appearance is part of the University Core Curriculum’s Speaker Series, the 2005-06 theme for which is “Scientific Breakthroughs.” After qualifying as a medical laboratory technologist specializing in medical microbiology, Campbell attended Queen Elizabeth College London where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in microbiology. A member of the Marie Curie Institute, he was awarded the Marie Curie Research Scholarship and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex. Following two postdoctoral positions, he joined the Edinburgh, Scotland based Roslin Institute, where he applied his knowledge to the production of mammalian embryos by nuclear transfer. In 1995, this research led to the birth of Megan and Morag, two Welsh mountain lambs. These were the first mammals to be cloned from cultured differentiated cells. In 1996, these experiments were repeated and extended resulting in the birth of Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult derived somatic cell. The aims of the studies were to understand the basic mechanisms underlying cellular differentiation and to provide a means for the precise genetic modification of farm animal species. Campbell's work, in collaborative studies with PPL Therapeutics, resulted in the birth of Polly, the first transgenic mammal to be produced by nuclear transfer from a cell line genetically modified in culture. Previously a consultant for PPL Therapeutics, Campbell left the Roslin Institute in 1997 to become Head of Embryology at PPL. His aims were to accelerate the benefits of transgenic technology in the field of human medicine and to further understand the mechanisms underlying embryo development and cellular differentiation. These goals were realized by the production of a number of transgenic animals producing therapeutic proteins. In July 1999, the first gene targeted lambs were born, followed in March by the first piglets cloned from somatic cells. In 2000, Campbell published "Dolly," an explanation of the story of Dolly and the use of transgenic animals. In 1999, he became professor of animal development at the University of Nottingham. He will deliver the University Core Curriculum lecture at 7:30 p.m. April 11 in Mitchell Auditorium in the Health Professions Center. For more information, contact John Gottcent, director of the University Core Curriculum, at 812/464-1750. |
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