Austin Gerard Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Austin Smith
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Austin Gerard Smith
1960 (age 64–65) Merseyside, UK
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| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Awards | Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2010) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Stem Cells |
| Institutions | University of Exeter |
| Thesis | (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | Martin Hooper |
Austin Gerard Smith is a famous scientist born in 1960. He is a professor at the University of Exeter in the UK. He also leads the Living Systems Institute there.
Professor Smith is well-known for his important work on embryonic stem cells. These are special cells that can turn into many different types of cells in the body. Understanding them helps scientists learn how bodies grow and heal.
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Austin Smith's Education
Austin Smith studied at the University of Edinburgh. He earned his highest degree, called a doctoral degree, in 1986. This was a big step in his journey to become a scientist.
Austin Smith's Career and Research
After finishing his studies, Austin Smith did more research at the University of Oxford. This is called postdoctoral research. It means he continued to learn and do experiments after getting his main degree.
Leading Research Centers
Later, he joined the Centre for Genome Research at the University of Edinburgh. He became a leader for a group of scientists there. In 1996, he became the director of this center. Under his leadership, it changed its name to the Institute for Stem Cell Research.
He stayed as director until 2006. Then, he moved to Cambridge. There, he became a director at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research. He later led the Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge. This new institute was started with a lot of money to help stem cell research.
In 2019, Professor Smith returned to the University of Exeter. He became the new Director of its Living Systems Institute. This shows his continued leadership in science.
Awards and Recognition
Austin Smith has received many important awards for his work. In 2003, he became an MRC Research Professor. He was also chosen to be part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
In 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. In 2010, he won the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. He shared this award with another scientist, Michel Haissaguerre. These awards show how important his discoveries are to medicine.
Working Together in Science
In 2010, Austin Smith and 13 other top stem cell scientists wrote an open letter. They wanted to make sure new research could be shared easily. They believed that working together and sharing ideas helps science move forward faster.
