Richard Gardner (embryologist) facts for kids
Sir Richard Lavenham Gardner, a very smart British scientist born on June 10, 1943, is an expert in two fields: embryology and genetics. Embryology is the study of how living things grow and develop before they are born, and genetics is the study of genes and heredity. He is currently a professor at the University of York and used to be a special research professor for the Royal Society.
Since 1982, Sir Richard has led a group at the Royal Society that looks into research on human embryos, stem cells (special cells that can turn into many different types of cells), and cloning (making an exact copy of something). He was also the head of the Institute of Biology from 2006 to 2008 and the Institute of Animal Biotechnology for many years. Today, he helps lead a group called the Animals in Science – Education Trust.
Early Life and School
Richard Gardner was born in Dorking, a town in Surrey, England. His father, who was an artist known for making beautiful stained glass, sadly passed away just a few weeks after Richard was born during a big event called the landings on Sicily in World War II.
Richard went to school at St John's School, Leatherhead. Later, he studied science at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He then earned his PhD at the University of Cambridge, working with a very famous scientist named Robert Edwards, who later won a Nobel Prize. In 1973, he started teaching at Oxford. From 1978 until he retired in 2008, he held a special research position there from the Royal Society.
Amazing Science Work
Sir Richard Gardner was a pioneer, meaning he was one of the first to do something important. He figured out how to move cells and tissues between tiny mouse embryos at a very early stage called the blastocyst stage. He also learned how to rebuild these embryos from their parts.
He was the first to use a method called "clonal analysis" to study how cells decide what they will become (their fate) and what they are capable of doing (their potency) in mammals. This helped him show that the cells that become the "germline" (which are the cells that pass on genetic information to the next generation) don't separate very early in mammal development.
His method of injecting cells into blastocysts became a common way to test how well embryonic stem (ES) cells can develop. These stem cells are special because they can turn into almost any type of cell in the body. His work also helped show that it was possible to do preimplantation genetic diagnosis. This is a way to check embryos for certain genetic conditions before they are placed in the womb.
Sir Richard's main research has been about understanding what happens to cells as mammals develop very early on. He also works on finding out where stem cells come from in early embryos and how to get them efficiently. He also studies how much early development in mammals is already planned out.
For many years, Sir Richard led committees at the Royal Society that looked at research on human embryos, stem cells, and cloning. In this role, he often gave advice on the science and ethics (what's right and wrong) of cloning. He worked hard to make these complex topics clear for everyone to understand.
He was also the head of the Institute of Animal Technology from 1986 to 2006 and the Institute of Biology (now called the Royal Society of Biology) from 2006 to 2008. He helps manage a trust that supports research by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, and he leads the Animals in Science Education Trust.
Awards and Honours
Sir Richard Gardner has received many important awards for his scientific work:
- 1977 – Scientific Medal from the Zoological Society of London
- 1979 – Chosen as a Fellow of The Royal Society (a very high honour for scientists)
- 1999 – March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
- 2001 – Royal Medal from the Royal Society
- 2004 – Albert Brachet Prize from the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences
- 2005 – Made a Knight (given the title "Sir") for his important work in Biological Sciences
- 2012 – Given an honorary science degree from the University of Cambridge
