21 Sep 2012
Oliver Smithies
Lab Nobel biography
Department of Pathology
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
More than 20 years ago, shortly after I had begun to use gene targeting to alter genes in the mouse, I had a visit from a post-M.D. resident, John Krege, who wanted to work with me. In response to my asking him what he had been working on, he introduced me to a condition, pre-eclampsia, that I had never even heard of. The circular path between then and now, when pre-eclampsia has become one of my major research interests, has been full of enjoyment – including a few equations and some computer simulations. I plan to trace this path with you and in doing so I hope to give you some answers to the question asked in the title of my talk.