Stanford University Medical School
Palo Alto, United States of America
At the forefront of many biomedical advances since the Second World War, Stanford University Medical School played a pioneering role in the emergence of gene cloning.
(Photo credit: Stanford Medical History Center)
Stanford University School of Medicine traces its history back to the founding of the first medical school in the western United States in 1858 by the San Francisco surgeon Elias Samuel Cooper. The school went through many changes until 1882 when Cooper's nephew Levi Cooper Lane established a new college and renamed it Cooper Medical College. In 1908 Cooper Medical College became affiliated to Stanford University and was renamed Stanford University School of Medicine. The School moved into new premises on the main Stanford University campus in Palo Alto in 1959.The School fosters strong collaboration between medical investigators, engineers and basic physical and biological scientists and is a pioneering centre for biomedical research. Among its notable achievements are the role its scientists played in the development of recombinant DNA which inspired the creation of Genentech, the first dedicated biotechnology company and the development of genetically engineered drugs. The School's scientists were also instrumental in the generation of instruments for the automatic counting and classification of different cells types. Known as fluorescence activated cell sorters, these instruments opened up research into cell structure, function and disease on an unprecedented scale.
Stanford University Medical School: timeline of key events
| Date |
Event |
People |
Places |
A physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war. 1878-11-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Nov 1878 | | Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USAZinsser | Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University |
Beadle, a geneticist, was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1958 for discovering the role of genes in regulating biochemical events within cells. He made the discovery in collaboration with Edward Tatum while conducting experiments that exposed Neurospora crassa, a the bread mould, to x-rays to cause mutations. They found that the mutations caused changes in specific enzymes that were involved in metabolic pathways. The work was done at Stanford University.1903-10-22T00:00:00+0000| 22 Oct 1903 | | George Wells Beadle was born in Wahoo NE, USABeadle | California Institute of Technology, Stanford University |
Tatum was a biochemist who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering how genes regulate biochemical events in cells. This was based on some experiments he carried out with colleagues at Stanford University in 1941 which involved crossing normal strains of the pink bread mould, Neurospora crassa, with another strain of the mould they had exposed to X-rays to induce genetic mutations. The offspring were found to inherit the mutation which manifested itself as metabolic defect. This led them to conclude that there was a direct link between genes and enzymatic reactions.
1909-12-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Dec 1909 | | Edward L Tatum was born in Boulder CO, USATatum | Stanford University, Yale University |
Kornberg was a biochemist renowned for his research on enzymes which create DNA. In 1956 he and his team isolated the first enzyme known to be involved in the replication of DNA. It would be called DNA polymerase I. For this work Kornberg shared the 1959 Nobel Prize for Medicine. The Prize was given for the discovery of the 'mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid.'1918-03-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Mar 1918 | | Arthur Kornberg was born in Brooklyn NY, USAKornberg | Stanford University |
Berg is an American biochemist. He first made his name in 1971 by demonstrating it was possible to insert DNA from a bacterium into the a virus' DNA, creating what is called recombinant DNA. This he did as part of his work to study viral chromosomes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1980 for this work. His technique paved the way to the development of genetic engineering and the modern biotechnology industry. Berg was also instrumental in the setting up of the Asimolar Conference on Recombinant DNA, in 1975, which drew up the first guidelines for experiments with genetic engineering. 1926-06-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jun 1926 | | Paul Berg was born in New York NY, USABerg | Stanford University |
Falkow was a microbiologist who made his scientific mark by showing how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. During the 1960s he demonstrated that bacteria could acquire resistance by swapping genetic material via plasmids, small microbial DNA molecules. Thereafter he focused his attention on how pathogens cause disease and in 1985 helped to identify a single genetic locus in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a Gram-negative bacteria, that accounts for its ability to infect cultured animal cells. He later showed that a sub-type of E. coli caused a life-threatening diarrhoea prevalent in many low-income countries. Known as the founder of molecular pathogenesis, Falkow's work paved the way to the development of new vaccines, including for whooping cough. He also helped to devise a uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids1934-01-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Jan 1934 | | Stanley Falkow was born in Albany, New York, USAFalkow | Georgetown University School of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Stanford University |
Cohen is an American physician and geneticist whose research has focused on the biology of bacterial plasmids, independent circular units of DNA found in and sometimes exchanged by bacteria. In 1970 he found a way to make Escherichia coli acquire a plasmid that made it resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline. He also discovered with Herbert Boyer a restriction enzyme that could cleave a circular plasmid at a single site. This laid the foundation for their joint experiment in 1973 which demonstrated the feasibility of combining and replicating genetic information from different species. Their experiment involved inserted a gene for frog ribosomal RNA into bacterial cells which then expressed the gene. Three patents were taken out on their technique. These paved the way to the rise of new start-up biotechnology companies, founded on the back of the promise of genetic engineering for generating new therapeutic products. 1935-06-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jun 1935 | | Stanley Norman Cohen was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, USACohen | Stanford University |
An American physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war.1940-09-04T00:00:00+0000| 4 Sep 1940 | | Hans Zinsser diedZinsser | Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University |
George Beadle and Edward Tatum, American geneticists, demonstrate that genes are responsible for the production of an enzyme.
1941-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1941 | | Genes shown to regulate biochemical events within cellsBeadle, Tatum | Stanford University Medical School |
Levy is an oncologist who in 1981 made history by successfully using monoclonal antibodies to treat the first patient with lymphoma. This work laid the foundation for the development of Rituxan, the first monoclonal antibody drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer. Levy is now focused on the development of cancer vaccines. 1941-12-06T00:00:00+0000| 6 Dec 1941 | | Ronald Levy was born in Carmel, California, United StatesLevy | Stanford University |
The breakthrough was made by Hubert Loring and Carlton Schwerdt. They managed to isolate the virus with 80% purity. The work paved the way for the team to create the first vaccine in August 1947. Schwerdt continued to improve the technique and by 1953 had managed to isolate 100% pure polio virus with Bachrach Howard, which paved the way for Jonas Salk to create a safe vaccine in 1955. 1947-01-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Jan 1947 | | First time polio virus was isolatedLoring, Schwerdt | Stanford University |
Kornberg is a biochemist whose research is focused on working out the mechanism and regulation of transcription, which is the first step in the pathway of gene expression. In 2006 he won the Nobel Prize for working out the protein pathway that a cell's genetic information takes when transferred to a new cell. He showed how information is carried from the genes and converted to molecules called messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA). This he worked out by mapping out the process in yeast. Kornberg was the first to work out how transcription works at a molecular level in eukaryotes, a group of organisms, including humans, whose cells have a well-defined nucleus. 1947-04-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Apr 1947 | | Roger D Kornberg was born in St. Louis, MO, USAKornberg | Stanford University |
Fire is a biologist, pathologist and geneticist. In 1998 he and other colleagues working at Carnegie Institute reported in an article in Nature the discovery of tiny snippets of double-stranded RNA dsRNA) that appeared to silence specific genes which destroyed messenger RNA, a molecule involved in the production of proteins. They hypothesised that this was caused by a catalytic process. In 2006 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for helping to show the mechanism that controlled the flow of genetic information. 1959-04-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Apr 1959 | | Andrew Z Fire was born in Stanford CA, USAFire | Carnegie Institute, Johns Hopkins, Stanford University |
Mehran Goulian and Arthur Kornberg managed to assemble the genome using one strand of natural antiviral DNA. The two scientists announced their achievement to a press conference as part of an effort to increase the American public's appreciation of government funded scientific work. It, however, generated debate about whether life should be created in a test tube. The achievement was an important stepping stone to the development of recombinant DNA. 1967-12-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Dec 1967 | | Functional, 5,000-nucleotide-long bacteriophage genome assembledGoulian, Kornberg | Stanford University, Chicao University |
Ray Wu and A.D. Kaiser report on the partial sequence of bacteriophage lambda DNA in the Journal of Molecular Biology, 35/3 (1968), 523-37. 1968-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1968 | | The first partial sequence of a viral DNA is reportedWu, Kaiser | Cornell University, Stanford University Medical School |
1968-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1968 | | Paul Berg started experiments to generate recombinant DNA moleculesBerg | Stanford University |
This was developed by Peter Lobhan, a graduate student of Dale Kaiser at Stanford University.1969-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1969 | | New idea for generating recombinant DNA conceivedLobhan | Stanford University |
The FACS instrument automatically separates cells. Its sorting mechanism relies on antibodies coupled with fluorescent tags. The FACS was first outlined in HR Hulett, WA Bonner, J Barrett, LA Herzenberg, 'Cell sorting: automated separation of mammalian cells as a function of intracellular fluorescence' Science, 166 (1969), 747–49. By 1971 the FACS could sort 5,000 cells per second. The performance of the instrument was greatly improved by the development of monoclonal antibodies which provided a standardised reagent for the machine. Between 1971 and the early 1980s the number of FACS being used in laboratories increased from half a dozen to over 500. FACS provided a critical tool for investigating cellular structures and functions, measuring processes in cells and determining how viruses infect cells. On the clinical front they provided a means of counting white blood cells, a routine test for assessing the efficacy of chemotherapy in diseases like leukaemia. 1969-11-07T00:00:00+0000| 7 Nov 1969 | | Fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) publishedHerzenberg, Hulett, Bonner, Barrett | Stanford University |
This was done in Dale Kaiser's laboratory by Douglas Berg together with Janet Mertz and David Jackson1971-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1971 | | First plasmid bacterial cloning vector constructedBerg, Mertz, Jackson | Stanford University |
Robert Pollack contacted Paul Berg to raise concerns about the potential biohazards of experiments Mertz, his doctoral research student, planned to do involving the introduction of genes from the oncovirus SV40 in the human gut bacteria, E. Coli. Following this Berg self-imposed a moratorium on experiments in his laboratory involving the cloning of SV40 in E-Coli.1971-06-01T00:00:00+0000| June 1971 | | Janet Mertz forced to halt experiment to clone recombinant DNA in bacteria after safety concerns raisedMertz, Berg, Pollack | Stanford University |
The observation was made by Hugh McDevitt and colleagues using two methods of genetic mapping to determine the immune response in immunised mice. The work suggested predictable, inherited susceptibility to some diseases. It was published in HO McDevitt, BD Deak, D Shreffler, J Klein, JH Stimpfling, GD Snell, 'Genetic control of the immune response', Journal of Experimental Medicine, 135 (1972), 1259-78. 1972-02-07T00:00:00+0000| 7 Feb 1972 | | Immune response genes discoveredMcDevitt, Deak, Shreffler, Klein, Stimpfling, Snell | Stanford University, University of Michigan, Jackson Laboratory |
The recombinant DNA was made by Paul Berg and colleagues. It was generated by cutting DNA with a restriction and then using ligase to paste together two DNA strands to form a hybrid circular molecule. The method was published in D A Jackson, R H Symons, P Berg, 'Biochemical Method for Inserting New Genetic Information into DNA of Simian Virus 40: Circular SV40 DNA Molecules Containing Lambda Phage Genes and the Galactose Operon of Escherichia coli', PNAS USA, 69/10 (1972), 2904-09.1972-10-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Oct 1972 | | First recombinant DNA generatedBerg, Jackson, Symons | Stanford University |
It was based on their finding that when DNA is cleaved with EcoRI, a restriction enzyme, it has sticky ends. JE Mertz, RW Davis, 'Cleavage of DNA by RI restriction endonuclease generates cohesive ends', PNAS, 69, 3370–3374 (1972). 1972-11-01T00:00:00+0000| November 1972 | | Janet Mertz and Ronald Davis published first easy-to-use technique for constructing recombinant DNA
showed that when DNA is cleaved with EcoRI, a restriction enzyme, it has sticky endsMertz, Davis | Stanford University |
The work was carried out by Stanley Cohen and Annie Chang at Stanford University in collaboration with Herbert Boyer and Robert Helling at the University of California San Francisco. They managed to splice sections of viral DNA and bacterial DNA with the same restriction enzyme to create a plasmid with dual antibiotic resistance. They then managed to insert this recombinant DNA molecule into the DNA of bacteria to express the new recombinant DNA. The technique showed it was possible to reproduce recombinant DNA in bacteria. It was published in SN Cohen, ACY Chang, HW Boyer, RB Belling, 'Construction of Biologically Functional Bacterial Plasmids In Vitro', PNAS USA, 10/11 (1973), 3240-3244.
1973-11-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Nov 1973 | | First time DNA was successfully transferred from one life form to anotherCohen, Chang, Boyer | Stanford University, University of California San Francisco |
JF Morrow, SN Cohen, ACY Chang, HW Boyer, HM Goodman, RB Helling, 'Replication and Transcription of Eukaryotic DNA in Esherichia coli', PNAS USA, 171/5 (1974), 1743-47.1974-05-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 May 1974 | | Recombinant DNA successfuly reproduced in Escherichia coliMarrow, Cohen, Chang, Boyer, Goodman, Helling | Stanford University, University of California San Francisco |
Her thesis focused on methods to isolate and characterise mutant variants of SV40
1975-01-01T00:00:00+0000| January 1975 | | Mertz completed her doctorate Mertz | Stanford University |
Tatum was an American biochemist who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering how genes regulate biochemical events in cells. This was based on some experiments he carried out with colleagues at Stanford University in 1941 which involved crossing normal strains of the pink bread mould, Neurospora crassa, with another strain of the mould they had exposed to X-rays to induce genetic mutations. The offspring were found to inherit the mutation which manifested itself as metabolic defect. This led them to conclude that there was a direct link between genes and enzymatic reactions.1975-11-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Nov 1975 | | Edward L Tatum diedTatum | Stanford University, Yale University |
American geneticist and biochemist, Leonard Herzenberg and Argentinian biochemist, Cesar Milstein, devise monoclonal antibodies for use on an automatic fluorescence-activated cell sorter, FACS. This improves the reliability of the FACS allowing the instrument to go on to become a major tool not only for cell sorting and cellular biology but the diagnosis of disease. The work is done in collaboration with the American geneticist and immunologist Leonore Herzenberg and Vernon Oi, then a graduate student in genetics at Stanford University. 1977-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1977 | | Monoclonal antibodies developed for automatic fluorescence-activated cell sorter Milstein, Herzenberg, Oi | Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Stanford University Medical School, University of Toronto |
The American scientists Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer are awarded the first US patent for gene cloning.1980-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1980 | | First patent awarded for gene cloningCohen, Boyer | Stanford University Medical School |
Philip Karr, a patient with lymphoma, is treated by Ron Levy at Stanford University with a customised monoclonal antibody. It marks the first time a monoclonal antibody successfully treats cancer in a patient.1981-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1981 | | First patient successfully treated with anti-idiotype monoclonal antibodyLevy | Stanford University Medical School |
Two teams of scientists publish methods for the generation of chimeric monoclonal antibodies, that is antibodies possessing genes that are half-human and half mouse. Each team had developed their techniques separate from each other. The first team was lead by Michael Neuberger together with Terence Rabbitts and other colleagues at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. The second team consisted of Sherie Morrison and colleagues at Stanford University together with Gabrielle Boulianne and others at the University of Toronto. 1984-12-01T00:00:00+0000| 1984 | | First chimeric monoclonal antibodies developed, laying foundation for safer and more effective monoclonal antibody therapeuticsNeuberger, Rabbitts, Morrison, Oi, Herzenberg, Boulianne, Schulman, Hozumi | Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Stanford Univerity Medical School |
GJ Spangrude, S Heimfeld, IL Weissman, 'Purification and characterization of mouse hematopoietic stem cells', Science, 241 (1988), 58-62. 1988-07-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Jul 1988 | | The first hematopoietic stem cells were isolated in miceSpangrude, Heimfeld, Weissman | Stanford University |
Jasin, M, Berg, P, 'Homologous integration in mammalian cells without target gene selection', Genes Development, 2/11 (1988): 1353-63.1988-11-01T00:00:00+0000| November 1988 | | Gene targeting technique shown to be efficient in modifying DNA in mammalian cells which can be adapted for other systems. This is the first time genome modification appears possible. Jasin, Berg | Stanford University |
Beadle, an American geneticist, was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1958 for discovering the role of genes in regulating biochemical events within cells. He made the discovery in collaboration with Edward Tatum while conducting experiments that exposed Neurospora crassa, a the bread mould, to x-rays to cause mutations. They found that the mutations caused changes in specific enzymes that were involved in metabolic pathways. The work was done at Stanford University.1989-06-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Jun 1989 | | George Wells Beadle diedBeadle | California Institute of Technology, Stanford University |
European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products recommends the approval of Centoxin (Nebacumab) , a drug originally developed by Henry Kaplan and Nelson Tang at Stanford University and prepared for market by Centocor. Based on this recommendation the drug was subsequently approved for market in The Netherlands, Britain, Germany and France between March and December 1991.1991-03-01T00:00:00+0000| March 1991 | | Monoclonal antibody drug approved in Europe for the treatment of septic shockKaplan, Tang | Stanford University Medical School, Centocor |
Ritxuan (rituiximab) is approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The drug arose out of Ronald Levy's research for three decades to find a way of harnessing the power of the body's own immune system to fight cancer.
1997-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1997 | | FDA approved the first monoclonal antibody cancer drug for the American marketLevy, Rastetter | Stanford University Medical School, Idec Pharmaceuticals |
Kornberg was an American biochemist renowned for his research on enzymes which create DNA. In 1956 he and his team isolated the first enzyme known to be involved in the replication of DNA. It would be called DNA polymerase I. For this work Kornberg shared the 1959 Nobel Prize for Medicine. The Prize was given for the discovery of the 'mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid.'2007-10-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Oct 2007 | | Arthur Kornberg diedKornberg | Stanford University |
The procedure, tried out in clinical trials, involved the injection of modified human, adult stem cells from bone marrow directly taken from two donors into the brains of 18 chronic stroke patients. The trials were led by Gary Steinberg at Stanford University School of Medicine. The 18 patients were selected for treatment from 379 patients. Most had suffered a stroke a year before treatment, and had damage to their motor function. Twelve of the patients were treated at Stanford the remaining six were treated at the University of Pittsburgh. A number of the patients previously confined to wheelchairs were able to walk after receiving the treatment. Many of the patients sustained their improvements for more than one year and some for two years. 2016-06-02T00:00:00+0000| 2 Jun 2016 | | Stem cells reported to provide substantial recovery in patients disabled by strokeSteinberg | Stanford University |
CTJ van Velthoven, A de Morree, I M Enger, J O Brett, T A Rando, 'Transcriptional Profiling of Quiescent Muscle Stem Cells In Vivo', Cell Reports, 21/1 (2017), 1994-2004.
2017-11-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Nov 2017 | | Stem cells in the body found to have significantly different gene-expression profile than stem cells isolated and cultivated in the laboratory van Velthoven, de Morree, Enger, Brett, Rando, | Stanford University |
C T Charlesworth et al, 'Identification of Pre-Existing Adaptive Immunity to Cas9 Proteins in Humans', bioRXiv (2018), https://doi.org/10.1101/2433452018-01-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Jan 2018 | | Researchers identify pre-existing antibodies targeting CAS9 proteins raising possibility of immune responses undermining utility of CRISPR-Cas9 for gene therapyCharlesworth, Deshpande, Dever, Dejene,Gomez-Ospina, Mantri, Pavel-Dinu, Camarena, Weinberg, Porteus | Stanford University |
Falkow was an American microbiologist who made his scientific mark by showing how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. During the 1960s he demonstrated that bacteria could acquire resistance by swapping genetic material via plasmids, small microbial DNA molecules. Thereafter he focused his attention on how pathogens cause disease and in 1985 helped to identify a single genetic locus in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a Gram-negative bacteria, that accounts for its ability to infect cultured animal cells. He later showed that a sub-type of E. coli caused a life-threatening diarrhoea prevalent in many low-income countries. Known as the founder of molecular pathogenesis, Falkow's work paved the way to the development of new vaccines, including for whooping cough. He also helped to devise a uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids2018-05-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 May 2018 | | Stanley Falkow diedFalkow | Georgetown University School of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Stanford University |
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Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USA
George Wells Beadle was born in Wahoo NE, USA
Edward L Tatum was born in Boulder CO, USA
Arthur Kornberg was born in Brooklyn NY, USA
Paul Berg was born in New York NY, USA
Stanley Falkow was born in Albany, New York, USA
Stanley Norman Cohen was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, USA
Genes shown to regulate biochemical events within cells
Ronald Levy was born in Carmel, California, United States
First time polio virus was isolated
Roger D Kornberg was born in St. Louis, MO, USA
Andrew Z Fire was born in Stanford CA, USA
Functional, 5,000-nucleotide-long bacteriophage genome assembled
The first partial sequence of a viral DNA is reported
Paul Berg started experiments to generate recombinant DNA molecules
New idea for generating recombinant DNA conceived
Fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) published
First plasmid bacterial cloning vector constructed
Janet Mertz forced to halt experiment to clone recombinant DNA in bacteria after safety concerns raised
Immune response genes discovered
First recombinant DNA generated
Janet Mertz and Ronald Davis published first easy-to-use technique for constructing recombinant DNA
showed that when DNA is cleaved with EcoRI, a restriction enzyme, it has sticky ends
First time DNA was successfully transferred from one life form to another
Recombinant DNA successfuly reproduced in Escherichia coli
Mertz completed her doctorate
Monoclonal antibodies developed for automatic fluorescence-activated cell sorter
First patent awarded for gene cloning
First patient successfully treated with anti-idiotype monoclonal antibody
First chimeric monoclonal antibodies developed, laying foundation for safer and more effective monoclonal antibody therapeutics
The first hematopoietic stem cells were isolated in mice
Gene targeting technique shown to be efficient in modifying DNA in mammalian cells which can be adapted for other systems. This is the first time genome modification appears possible.
Monoclonal antibody drug approved in Europe for the treatment of septic shock
FDA approved the first monoclonal antibody cancer drug for the American market
Stem cells reported to provide substantial recovery in patients disabled by stroke
Stem cells in the body found to have significantly different gene-expression profile than stem cells isolated and cultivated in the laboratory
Researchers identify pre-existing antibodies targeting CAS9 proteins raising possibility of immune responses undermining utility of CRISPR-Cas9 for gene therapy