Austin Gerard Smith

Austin Smith
Born	Austin Gerard Smith 1960 (age 63–64) Merseyside, UK[2]
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Awards	Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2010) [1]
Scientific career
Fields	Stem Cells
Institutions	University of Exeter
Thesis	(1986)
Doctoral advisor	Martin Hooper^[citation needed]
Website	www.exeter.ac.uk[3]

Austin Gerard Smith (born 1960) is a professor at the University of Exeter and director of its Living Systems Institute.^[3] He is notable for his pioneering work on the biology of embryonic stem cells.^[4][5]

Education

Austin Smith obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1986.^[6][7]

Career and research

He then carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, before joining the Centre for Genome Research at the University of Edinburgh as a group leader.^[6] In 1996, he was appointed director of the centre, which became the Institute for Stem Cell Research under his leadership.^[6] He remained as director of the Institute until his move to Cambridge in 2006.^[8] Here, he became a director of the Welcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research ^[9] and later was the director of the new Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge, which was established with 8 million pounds ($12.5 million) awarded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council (UK) in 2012.^[10]

In 2019, he was appointed as the new Director of the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute.^[3]

In 2003, Smith was awarded an MRC Research Professorship^[6] and elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.^[11] And in 2006, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[12] In 2010, he was co-recipient of the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine along with French cardiologist Michel Haissaguerre.^[1]

In February 2010, together with 13 other leading stem cell researchers, he wrote an open letter to journal editors to voice the opinion that obstructive reviews by a small number of researchers in the field were hindering publication of novel stem cell research.^[13][14]

References

1. "2010 Louis-Jeantet prize for medicine | EurekAlert! Science News". Eurekalert.org. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
2. Austin SMITH Winner of the 2010 Louis-Jeantet Prize for medicine
3. "Professor Austin Smith FRS, Exeter".
4. "The Stars of Europe – Innovators: Austin Smith, Director, Centre for Genome Research". Businessweek. 17 June 2002. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008.
5. "New Safer Way Developed To Reprogram Stem Cells". Science Daily. 3 March 2009.
6. Kalkan, Tüzer; Olova, Nelly; Roode, Mila; Mulas, Carla; Lee, Heather J.; Nett, Isabelle; Marks, Hendrik; Walker, Rachael; Stunnenberg, Hendrik G.; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Nichols, Jennifer; Reik, Wolf; Bertone, Paul; Smith, Austin (1 April 2017). "Tracking the embryonic stem cell transition from ground state pluripotency". Development. 144 (7). The Company of Biologists: 1221–1234. doi:10.1242/dev.142711. ISSN 1477-9129. PMC 5399622. PMID 28174249.
7. Gerard, Smith, Austin (1986). "Genetic analysis of embryonal carcinoma cells". hdl:1842/20194. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
8. "Stage set for world-leading stem cell research centre". Wellcome Trust. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
9. "Stage set for world-leading stem cell research centre | University of Cambridge". Cam.ac.uk. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
10. "Cambridge Joins Harvard In Opening Stem-Cell Institute". Bloomberg News. 8 August 2012.
11. "RSE Fellows as at 12/04/2011" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
12. "Fellows". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
13. "Open letter to Senior Editors of peer-review journals publishing in the field of stem cell biology". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
14. Ghosh, Pallab (2 February 2010). "Journal stem cell work 'blocked'". BBC News.