Jackson Laboratory scientist wins Pioneer Award for research in reproductive science

Date: September 27, 2007

Bar Harbor, Maine -- Befitting a scientist who is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of reproductive biology, Jackson Laboratory researcher John J. Eppig, Ph.D., received the 2007 Pioneer in Reproduction Research Lectureship Award from the Frontiers in Reproduction Research Program.

Presented at a ceremony at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., the Pioneer Award recognizes an outstanding scientist whose work has significantly advanced knowledge in the reproductive sciences and represents the esteem of other scientists in the field. The innovative research program of an FIR Pioneer must also support the career development of exceptional young scholars, the trailblazers of tomorrow.

Dr. Eppig joined The Jackson Laboratory in 1975 and is a senior staff scientist in the areas of developmental and reproductive biology, or, as he jocularly puts it, "a below-the-waist reproductive biologist" -- studying the sex cells themselves, in contrast with "above-the-waist" colleagues who study hormones and neural pathways. His work is hardly below-the-radar, though, as the distinguished Pioneer Award attests. "It's incredibly exciting and gratifying to know your colleagues in the field of reproductive biology think highly enough of you to give you an award. It's really a thrill," says Dr. Eppig, whose research successes include achieving the first complete in vitro development of mammalian oocytes into complete organisms.

Scientists associated with The Jackson Laboratory dominate the list of Pioneer award recipients. Senior Staff Scientist Eva Eicher, Ph.D., won the award in 2001. The 2000 recipient, Dr. Janet Rossant, is a member of the Laboratory's Board of Scientific Overseers. The co-recipient of this yearÍs award, Neena B. Schwartz, Ph.D., attended The Jackson Laboratory's Summer Student Program during her college years. Dr. Schwartz credits her research on uterine function in mice that summer for guiding her influential future research in endocrinology.

The Pioneer Award Dr, Eppig brought back to Bar Harbor takes the form of a crystal glass sculpture of a dolphin. Why a dolphin to celebrate the accomplishments of reproductive biologists? According to the award organiziers, the word ñdolphinî derives from delphys, Greek for "womb". And evolutionarily, dolphins are a "pioneering species" with "a successful history of advantageous adaptations."

The Jackson Laboratory (www.jax.org), founded in 1929, is one of the world's leading genetics research institutions, with facilities in Bar Harbor, Maine, and West Sacramento, Calif. Its research staff of more than 500 investigates the genetic basis of cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma, diabetes and many other human diseases and disorders. The Laboratory is also the world's source for more than 3,300 strains of genetically defined mice, home of the Mouse Genome Database and many other publicly available information resources, and an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education.

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Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058, joyce.peterson@jax.org

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