Byline: Daniel Goldberg

Oct. 9--CHAPEL HILL -- UNC School of Medicine researcher Dr. Oliver Smithies was recognized Monday for nearly 25 years of pioneering work with embryonic stem cells and DNA, winning the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

Smithies, excellence professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the university, shares the world of science's most prestigious award with Dr. Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah and Sir Martin Evans of Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

The trio developed a technique known as gene targeting in mice that allows scientists to understand "the roles of numerous genes in embryonic development, adult ...