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For Immediate Release

October 8, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., distinguished professor of human genetics and biology at the University of Utah's Eccles Institute of Human Genetics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The announcement was made this morning by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. The prize recognizes Capecchi's pioneering work on "knockout mice" technology, a gene-targeting technique that has revolutionized mammalian biology and allowed the creation of animal models for hundreds of human diseases, including modeling cancer in the mouse.

"This is a tremendous honor for our University, for our Department of Human Genetics, and, specifically, for all the members of my laboratory, past and present," said Capecchi upon receiving notification of the Nobel Prize early this morning. "The support and genuine interest of the community have been marvelous." Read the Press Release...