Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 6 October 1937) is an Italian-born molecular
geneticist and a co-awardee of the 2007
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
for discovering a method to create mice in which a specific gene is turned off, known as
knockout mice
A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse (''Mus musculus'') in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are importan ...
.
He shared the prize with
Martin Evans and
Oliver Smithies
Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
.
He is currently Distinguished Professor of
Human Genetics and
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
at the
University of Utah School of Medicine.
Life
Mario Capecchi was born in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, Italy, as the only child of Luciano Capecchi and Lucy Ramberg, an Italian-born
daughter of American-born
Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
painter Lucy Dodd Ramberg and German archaeologist Walter Ramberg. His parents weren't married, and due to the chaos in Europe caused by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the story of his early life is remarkable, but the details are unclear. In 1941 he and his mother were living near
Bolzano
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
, about 160 miles north of his father in
Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...
when his mother was arrested and deported for pamphleteering and belonging to an anti-
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
group.
Prior to her arrest
she had made contingency plans by selling her belongings and giving the proceeds to a nearby peasant family to care for her child. However, it was not long before Mario ended up on the streets of Bolzano. In July 1942, a few months before his fifth birthday, Italian records suggest he was reunited with his father in Reggio Emilia, which Mario did confirm but stated that he stayed with his father for only for a few brief periods and that he mostly lived on the streets until he was placed in an orphanage towards the end of the war.
Mario almost died of malnutrition. His mother survived the war in Germany (part of the reason the details of his early life are unclear is that she would never talk about her experiences), and when it ended she began a year-long search for him. She finally found him on his ninth birthday in a hospital bed in Reggio Emilia ill with a fever and subsisting on a daily bowl of
chicory coffee and bread crust. She took him to Rome, where he had his first bath since he had left her care and where, with money sent by his uncle,
Edward Ramberg
Edward Granville Ramberg (June 14, 1907 – January 9, 1995) was an American physicist who contributed to the early development of electron microscopy and color television. He was the uncle of Mario Capecchi, a 2007 Nobel laureate.
Life a ...
, an American physicist at
RCA, they made arrangements to depart to the United States. He and his mother moved to
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
to live at an "intentionally cooperative community" called
Bryn Gweled
Bryn Gweled is a small community in Upper Southampton Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Southampton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Described as an "intentionally cooperative community",[George School
George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grown ...]
, a Quaker boarding school in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1956.
Capecchi received his
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
in 1961 from
Antioch College in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Capecchi came to
MIT as a graduate student intending to study physics and mathematics, but during the course of his studies, he became interested in molecular biology. His change of interest was driven by the preference of working with few scientists and conducting experiments that did not require the use of big machines. He subsequently transferred to Harvard to join the lab of
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...
, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Capecchi received his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in
biophysics in 1967
from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, with his doctoral thesis completed under the tutelage of 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
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
. 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
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...
. He is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. He has given a talk for
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
's Program in Genetics and Genomics as part of their Distinguished Lecturer Series. He was the speaker for the 2010 Racker Lectures in Biology & Medicine and Cornell Distinguished Lecture in Cell and Molecular Biology at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. He is a member of the
Italy-USA Foundation.
After the Nobel committee publicly announced that Capecchi was awarded the Nobel prize, an Austrian woman named Marlene Bonelli claimed that Capecchi was her long-lost half-brother.
In May 2008, Capecchi met with Bonelli, 69, in northern Italy, and confirmed that she was his sister.
Knockout mice
Capecchi was awarded the Nobel prize for creating a
knockout mouse
A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse (''Mus musculus'') in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are importan ...
. This is a mouse, created by genetic engineering and in vitro fertilization, in which a particular gene has been turned off. For this work, Capecchi was awarded the 2007 Nobel prize for medicine or physiology, along with
Martin Evans and
Oliver Smithies
Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
, who also contributed.
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
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
in all
multicellular animals. They determine the placement of cellular development in the proper order along the axis of the body from head to toe.
Honours
*1969 –
Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry
The Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry was established in 1934. Consisting of a bronze medal and honorarium, its purpose is to stimulate fundamental research in biological chemistry by scientists not over thirty-eight years of age. The Award i ...
*1992 –
Bristol-Myers
The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the lar ...
Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience Research
*1993 –
Gairdner Foundation International Award for Achievements in Medical Sciences
*1993 –
Gairdner Foundation International Award
*1994 –
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
Cancer Research Foundation
Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Prize
*1996 –
Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences
*1996 – German Molecular Bioanalytics Prize
*1997 –
Franklin Medal
The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It was founded in 1914 by Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a Bri ...
for Advancing Our Knowledge of the Physical Sciences
*1998 –
Feodor Lynen Lectureship
*1998 –
Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence
*1998 – Baxter Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences
*1999 – Helen Lowe Bamberger Colby and John E. Bamberger Presidential Endowed Chair in the University of Utah Health Sciences Center
*2000 – Lectureship in the Life Sciences for the Collège de France
*2000 –
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts Sta ...
Distinguished Alumni Award, Antioch College
*2000 – Italian Premio Phoenix-Anni Verdi for Genetics Research Award
*2001 –
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The award frequently precedes a Nobel Prize in Medicine; almost 5 ...
, co-winner with
Martin Evans and
Oliver Smithies
Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
*2001 – Spanish Jiménez-Diáz Prize
*2001 – Pioneers of Progress Award
*2001 –
National Medal of Science
*2002 – John Scott Medal Award
*2002 –
Massry Prize from the
Keck School of Medicine
The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California teaches and trains physicians, biomedical scientists and other healthcare professionals, conducts medical research, and treats patients. Founded in 1885, it is the second oldest ...
,
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
*2003 –
Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research
*2002–2003 –
Wolf Prize in Medicine
The Wolf Prize in Medicine is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Arts. The P ...
*2005 –
March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
*2007 –
Jacob Heskel Gabbay Award for Biotechnology and Medicine
*2007 –
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
, co-winner with
Martin Evans and
Oliver Smithies
Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
*2008 – American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist Award
*2011 – Cátedra Santiago Grisolía Prize, Valencia Spain
*2011 – Mike Hogg Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
*2012 –
UCSF
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...
medal
*2012 – Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Bologna Medical School, Italy
*2013 – Honorary Doctorate Degree, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
*2013 – Honorary Doctorate Degree, Ben-Gurion University, Israel
*2013 – Trinity College Historical Society Gold Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Public Discourse, Dublin Ireland
*2014 – Keynote Speaker at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders
*2015 – American Association for Cancer Research Lifetime Achievement Award
References
External links
Howard Hughes Medical Institute biographyMario Capecchi's Short Talk: "The Birth of Gene Targeting"* including the Nobel Lecture on 7 December 2007 ''Gene Targeting 1977 - Present''
*
ttp://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/41/concept/index.html Capecchi animation from Dolan DNA Learning Center's ''DNA from the Beginning''Interview with Dr Capecchi ''Futures in Biotech 63: How To Use A Mouse''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capecchi, Mario
1937 births
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Living people
Scientists from Verona
American geneticists
American Nobel laureates
Antioch College alumni
Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine
Italian Nobel laureates
Harvard University alumni
University of Utah faculty
Kyoto laureates in Basic Sciences
Wolf Prize in Medicine laureates
Scientists from Salt Lake City
21st-century Italian inventors
National Medal of Science laureates
Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Italian emigrants to the United States
Homeless people
Street children
Massry Prize recipients
George School alumni
Members of the National Academy of Medicine