Sir John Gurdon: 1933–2025

Sir John Gurdon was a pioneer in the field of regenerative medicine, which seeks to replace damaged tissues and organs using reprogrammed cells. Highlights of his distinguished career include cloning the first adult vertebrate in 1958 and laying the groundwork for modern cloning and stem cell biology. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 alongside Shinya Yamanaka for discovering that the specialisation of cells is reversible, challenging the long-held belief that mature cells are irreversibly committed to their fate.

Born in 1933 in Dippenhall, Surrey, John attended Eton College, where he was ranked 250th out of 250 in his year group in Biology. At age 15, his Biology teacher wrote in his school report, ‘I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing, this is quite ridiculous […] and it would be sheer waste of time, both on his part, and of those who have to teach him.’ He was removed from science classes, forced to study Ancient Greek instead, and punished with one ‘half’ (i.e. term) of silence.

He applied to Christ Church initially to read Classics, before eventually being accepted for Zoology. He reflected on his career journey at a talk for the Oxford University Biological Society in 2019, when he offered this advice to students: ‘If you start badly, you don’t give up.’ He completed his DPhil in Zoology at Oxford in 1960, focusing on nuclear transplantation in a genus of aquatic frogs called Xenopus.

After completing his DPhil, John held a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology before returning to Oxford in 1962 as an Assistant Lecturer in Zoology. He later joined the University of Cambridge in 1972 as Professor of Cell Biology and went on to become Master of Magdalene College. The Gurdon Institute, founded in 1991 to unite expertise in developmental and cancer biology, was named in his honour. Sir John continued his research there until his death.

Sir John’s scientific discoveries in regenerative medicine led to breakthroughs in many areas, including advances in treatments for conditions such as macular degeneration. Over his 60-year career, he remained passionate about his work and reflected that he felt fortunate to embody Confucius’s belief: ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’

He will be much missed.