Smithies College

The Smithies Advisory College is named in honor of Dr. Oliver Smithies, PhD, a pioneering scientist whose work has left a lasting impact on the field of medicine. Born in England in 1925, Dr. Smithies earned bachelor’s degrees in physiology and chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford, and completed his doctorate there in 1951. He later became an Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Smithies was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007, sharing the honor with Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah and Martin Evans of Cardiff University. His groundbreaking achievements include the invention of gel electrophoresis, a technique widely used in molecular biology, and the simultaneous discovery, alongside Mario Capecchi, of homologous recombination—a method crucial to creating targeted gene modifications in knockout mice. Dr. Smithies often credited his lifelong love of science to his early fascination with radios and telescopes, a passion that continued throughout his life. Remarkably, even in later years, he remained actively engaged in research and pursued his hobby of flying airplanes. Dr. Smithies exemplifies the work ethic, innovative spirit, and passion for knowledge that we aspire to cultivate in our students.