Kyodo / Reuters

Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka (left) and John Gurdon of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, England, at a symposium on induced pluripotent stem cells in Tokyo in April 2008

In a testament to the revolutionary potential of the field of regenerative medicine, in which scientists are able to create and replace any cells that are at fault in disease, the Nobel Prize committee on Monday awarded the 2012 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine to two researchers whose discoveries have made such cellular alchemy possible.

The prize went to John B. Gurdon of the University of Cambridge in England, who was the first to clone an animal, a frog, in 1962, and to Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan who in 2006 discovered the four genes necessary to reprogram an adult cell back to an embryonic state.

Sir John Gurdon, who is now a professor at an institute that bears his name, earned the ridicule of many colleagues back in the 1960s when he set out on a series of experiments to show that the development of cells could be reversed. At the time, biologists knew that all cells in an embryo had the potential to become any cell in the body, but they believed that once a developmental path was set for each cell toward becoming part of the brain, or a nerve or muscle it could not be returned to its embryonic state. The thinking was that as a cell developed, it would either shed or silence the genes it no longer used, so that it would be impossible for a cell from an adult animal, for example, to return to its embryonic state and make other cells.

(MORE: Stem Cell Miracle? New Therapies May Cure Chronic Conditions Like Alzheimers)

Working with frogs, Gurdon proved his critics wrong, showing that some reprogramming could occur. Gurdon took the DNA from a mature frogs gut cell and inserted it into an egg cell. The resulting egg, when fertilized, developed into a normal tadpole, a strong indication that the genes of the gut cell were amenable to reprogramming; they had the ability to function as more than just an intestinal cell, and could give rise to any of the cells needed to create an entirely new frog.

Just as Gurdon was facing his critics in England, a young boy was born in Osaka, Japan, who would eventually take Gurdons finding to unthinkable extremes. Initially, Shinya Yamanaka would follow his fathers wishes and become an orthopedic surgeon, but he found himself ill-suited to the surgeons life. Intrigued more by the behind-the-scenes biological processes that make the body work, he found himself drawn to basic research, and began his career by trying to find a way to lower cholesterol production. That work also wasnt successful, but it drew him to the challenge of understanding what makes cells divide, proliferate and develop in specific ways.

In 2006, while at Kyoto University, Yamanaka stunned scientists by announcing he had successfully achieved what Gurdon had with the frog cells, but without using eggs at all. Yamanaka mixed four genes in with skin cells from adult mice and turned those cells back to an embryo-like state, essentially erasing their development and turning back their clock. The four genes reactivated other genes that are prolific in the early embryo, and turned off those that directed the cells to behave like skin.

(MORE: Ovary Stem Cells Can Produce New Human Eggs)

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Stem Cell Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine

Eqalix Inc., an emerging regenerative medicine company, announces its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). This SAB gives Eqalix a depth and breadth of experience necessary to take it to the next level.

Reston, VA (PRWEB) October 09, 2012

"We are very pleased to bring together these key thought leaders to establish the Eqalix Scientific Advisory Board," stated Joseph P. Connell, Eqalix CEO and Chairman of the Board. "I have worked with Drs. Gold and Goldman for years and have always admired their abilities. Dr Lelkes technologies will make a profound impact upon aesthetic dermatology, wound healing and regenerating blood vessels, nerve endings and damaged organs with the guidance of this distinguished panel. It is not clich in any manner when I say that we are thrilled to work with this team. We look to their guidance, industry knowledge and network to help deliver these therapies into clinic and prospective patients as soon as possible, as I am confident our technologies will make a difference, said Connell.

The members of the Eqalix Scientific Advisory Board are:

Peter I. Lelkes, PhD: Chief Scientific Advisor; Dr. Lelkes is the Laura H. Carnell Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering at Temple University and the Inaugural Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering (TIME) at Temple Universitys School of Medicine. While at Drexel, Prof. Lelkes directed an interdisciplinary program in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, focusing on nanotechnology-based biomaterials and soft tissue engineering, employing developmental biological principles to enhance the tissue-specific differentiation of embryonic and adult stem cells. Dr. Lelkes has organized several Keystone conferences and published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers and 45 book chapters and made more than 400 presentations nationally and internationally.

Dr. Lelkes basic and translational research has been support by federal (NIH, NSF, NASA, DOE) and state funding agencies, (NTI and Dept. of Commerce, Tobacco Settlement Funds) and private Foundations, including the Coulter Foundation. Most recently, Dr. Lelkes has been named Director of the Surgical Engineering Enterprise, one of the major initiatives of the strategic plan of Drexel Universitys College of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Lelkes has been the team leader for tissue engineering at the Nanotechnology Institute of Southeastern Pennsylvania (NTI) and is the Co-Director of PATRIC, the Pennsylvania Advanced Textile Research and Innovation Center, focusing on BioNanoTextiles and Stem Cell Biology.

Dr Lelkes stated, "I am delighted and excited to partner with Eqalix to translate our inventions from the bench to the bedside in a timely fashion.

Mitchel P. Goldman, MD, Scientific Advisor, Founder and Medical Director of Goldman Butterwick Fitzpatrick, Groff & Fabi, Cosmetic Laser Dermatology. A graduate of Boston University, Summa Cum Laude, and the Stanford University Medical School, Dr. Goldman is a Volunteer Clinical Professor in Medicine/Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. Dr Goldman is Board Certified by both the American Board of Dermatology and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Society of Liposuction Surgery. He is former President of the American College of Phlebology and President-Elect of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. He presently serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. He also has authored and/or co-authored 21 Textbooks on Dermatology, Sclerotherapy, Ambulatory Phlebectomy, Cutaneous Laser Surgery, Cellulite and Dermatologic Surgery as well as over 300 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters.

Dr Goldman added: I am very interested and excited to work with the Eqalix team to make these technologies a success. I believe that my background lends well to truly shaping the successful commercialization of these products for my patients to improve outcomes.

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Regenerative Medicine Biotech Company, Eqalix, Names Scientific Advisory Board