October 3, 2000
Genetic pioneer to receive ‘City of Medicine’ award
Dr. Maynard Olson, director of the University of Washington Genome Center, professor of genetics and medicine and adjunct professor of computer science, is one of three scientists who will receive the annual City of Medicine Award on Oct. 5.
Organizers in Durham, N.C., which calls itself the “City of Medicine,” established the international awards program in 1988 to recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to medicine in the public interest.
The citation praises Olson, one of the architects of the U.S. Human Genome Project, for work that made the project possible. He is widely recognized for developing systematic approaches to the analysis of complex genomes.
The citation says that Olson was among the first to recognize that sequencing the human genome could provide the key to the prevention and treatment of disease. Olson led efforts to develop the yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) system for analyzing large blocks of DNA imported into yeast from any organism. The technology, which became the basis of physical maps of all mammals, allows scientists to study large portions of the human genome and has proved indispensable for researchers tracking the genes involved in diseases ranging from colon cancer to mental retardation.
Dr. Hugh McDevitt of Stanford University School of Medicine and Dr. Solomon Snyder of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will also receive City of Medicine awards this year.
The following is the complete citation accompanying Olson’s award:
Dr. Maynard V. Olson, a central figure in human genome discoveries for more than three decades, is honored by the City of Medicine for his pioneering contributions to and consistent support of the study of genetics and its use in both science and human affairs.
President Clinton?s recent announcement of the discovery of a genetic blueprint for human beings took the world by storm. Without Dr. Olson?s development of yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) cloning system in 1987 and his introduction of sequenced tagged sites (STS) as mapping markers and STS-content mapping as a mapping method in 1990, such a historic achievement would not have been possible.
Dr. Olson was trained as a chemist at California Institute of Technology and Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry. He taught chemistry at Dartmouth College, and genetics at the University of Washington in Seattle and Washington University in St. Louis. He also served as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute before returning to Seattle, where he has served as a professor of molecular biotechnology, medicine and genetics, and as an adjunct professor of computer science. Additionally, he serves as director of the University of Washington Genome Center.
He recognized early on that sequencing the human genome could provide the key to the prevention and treatment of disease. As a pilot project for human-genome analysis, he launched an ultimately successful effort to construct a detailed physical map of the yeast genome in 1979; the yeast mapping was the first “genome project” directed at the complete analysis of a cellular genome. While in St. Louis, Dr. Olson led efforts to develop YACs, which are yeast chromosomes that have adopted and cloned introduced DNA. The technology, which became the basis of physical maps of all mammals, allows scientists to study large portions of the human genome and has proved indispensable for researchers tracking the genes involved in diseases ranging from colon cancer to mental retardation. His introduction of STSs quickly led to the first physical maps of whole human chromosomes and provided the foundation to integrate diverse types of genome maps.
Dr. Olson was awarded the Genetics Society of America Medal in 1992, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1994, and was appointed to the National Human Genome Research Institute Council in 1999. In addition to his important methodological innovations, he is considered unique in his ability to unite superb fundamental and technical achievements with an understanding of medical realities and philosophical insights.
For his advocacy of a focused public investment in the human genome project that is integrated with basic biomedical research, for his legacy of reliable, publicly accessible reference information, and for his leads to research tools that are readily disseminated into the biomedical research community, it is our great pleasure and distinct privilege to offer our sincere appreciation and to present a City of Medicine Award for the Year 2000, in the public interest to Dr. Maynard V. Olson.
