Gerard Evan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gerard Evan
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| Born | 17 August 1955 |
| Alma mater | St Peter's College, Oxford King's College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Disease Models & Mechanisms |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society (2004) FMedSci (1999) PhD (1982) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cancer Disease biology Myc regulator gene p53 tumour suppressor |
| Institutions | University of Oxford University of Cambridge UCSF Cancer Research UK Ensemble Therapeutics |
| Thesis | Monoclonal antibodies as reagents for the analysis of cell surfaces (1982) |
Gerard Ian Evan is a British scientist born on August 17, 1955. He is a respected member of important science groups like the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Since May 2022, he has been a Professor of Cancer Biology at King's College London. He also leads a research group at the Francis Crick Institute. Before this, he was a top professor at the University of Cambridge.
About Gerard Evan
Early Life and Education
Gerard Evan studied at two famous universities in the United Kingdom. He went to St Peter's College, Oxford, where he learned about biochemistry. Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that happen inside living things. Later, he earned his PhD degree from King's College, Cambridge, in 1982. His research there involved using special tools called Monoclonal antibodies. These are like tiny, specific "search-and-find" molecules used in biology.
Career Highlights
Before joining the University of Cambridge, Professor Evan held several important positions. He was a professor at University College London. He also worked at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund from 1988 to 1999. After that, he moved to the United States. He became a distinguished professor of cancer biology at the University of California, San Francisco, from 1999 to 2011.
His Research on Cancer
Professor Evan's main work is to understand how cancer starts and grows. He studies the "molecular basis" of cancer. This means he looks at the tiny molecules inside cells to see what goes wrong when a cell becomes cancerous.
He has done important research on specific genes. Two of these are called Myc and p53.
- The Myc gene is like a switch that tells cells to grow and divide. If Myc goes wrong, cells can grow too much, which can lead to cancer.
- The p53 gene is often called the "guardian of the genome." It helps stop damaged cells from growing. If p53 isn't working right, damaged cells can keep dividing and become cancerous.
By studying these genes, Professor Evan and his team hope to find new ways to treat cancer. Their goal is to stop cancer cells from growing out of control.
