Prof. Sir John Gurdon (1933-2025)

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of a father of the Xenopus field, Professor Sir John Gurdon.

John was a visionary in the field of developmental biology whose pioneering work on nuclear transfer in frogs addressed one of the most fundamental questions in biology – whether genetic information is retained or lost during development – and paved the way for ground-breaking advances in biomedical research, from stem cell biology to mouse genetics and IVF. His discovery that mature adult cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell state (known as pluripotency) was recognised by the award of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, shared jointly between John and Shinya Yamanaka.  John also contributed hugely in diverse areas of developmental biology and reprogramming including morphogens, the community effect and cellular reprogrammability, and he was a founder and regular attendee of the International Xenopus meeting.

With a critical eye, characteristic humility, ingenious experimental design, and an instinct for crystalising fundamental questions, concepts and ideas, John’s singular approach to science remains an inspiration to us all. His personal commitment to research – he continued to perform experiments at the bench until his 90s – was matched only by his dedication and support of his colleagues. John was a visionary who worked tirelessly to bring scientists together across disciplines to improve human health. He founded the Wellcome/CRUK Institute for Cell Biology and Cancer (later renamed the Gurdon Institute) at the University of Cambridge to study how insights into basic developmental processes could drive innovation in cancer and disease biology. As well as an inspiring scientist, insightful colleague, mentor, teacher and leader, I was privileged to call John a friend.  His legacy will live on through the profound biological insights he uncovered, as well as through the generations of scientists trained in his lab that form the bedrock of so much of our Xenopus community and the science beyond. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, mentees and colleagues at this sad time. 

Anna Philpott, University of Cambridge

Prof. Gurdon's profile page at the Gurdon Institute: https://www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/people/john-gurdon/

University of Cambridge Press Release: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/nobel-laureate-professor-sir-john-gurdon-dies-aged-92

Top: Two types of nuclear transfer experiments, with eggs or oocytes.
Bottom: The Xenopus oocyte can be used to provide a functional test for the binding of a cell-fate- determining transcription factor, such as Ascl1 for nerve. Once expression of the first plasmid DNA is established, a second plasmid is not able to compete because of the stable binding of the factor.