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UNC Lineberger member and Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies, DPhil, passed away Jan. 10. UNC Lineberger Director Norman E. Sharpless, MD, said Smithies “played a critical role in the university’s evolution into a world-leading scientific juggernaut.”

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Oliver Smithies, DPhil

The UNC Lineberger faculty and staff are saddened by the passing of Oliver Smithies, DPhil, a cancer center member, a keen scientific mind of international renown and a mentor to many.

UNC Lineberger Director Norman E. Sharpless, MD, the Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research and professor of medicine and genetics at UNC School of Medicine, said Smithies, made a tremendous and immediate impact on the UNC research community.

“Since Oliver’s arrival at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988, he has played a critical role in the university’s evolution into a world-leading scientific juggernaut. While many people contributed to that progress, Oliver was one of the most important, by providing THE example of research excellence for UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the School of Medicine and the university. His discoveries in gel electrophoresis and gene targeting, for which he won the Lasker and Nobel prizes, inspired a generation of biologists, myself included.”

UNC has prepared a retrospective on Smithies’ life and achievements.

Details about a memorial service are still pending.