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Texas Life Science History

Texas Life Science Genealog (draft)

Texas' Life Science Genealogy (draft) (PDF)

The following includes select facts from life science history, both global and Texas specific, that help explain the origins of the state's life science industry. We encourage you to learn about the scientists behind the discoveries, the entrepreneurs, philanthropists, political leaders, and significant events, institutions and companies that are the foundation of the life science industry in Texas. If you are aware of a notable event, person, organization/company or accomplishment that we should include, please e-mail: Suggestions@InfoResource.org

We also invite you to explore Texas Life Science Genealogy, a one-of-a-kind image that illustrates the founding technology origins of more than 220 science firms located in the state. Specifically, the origins of the companies' founding technology with the state's universities and non-profit research organizations -- longstanding centers of innovation, technology transfer and job creation.

The newly updated Texas and other state and province posters will be made available in high-resolution digital and printed formats for distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada in 2019. Information about sponsorship opportunities will soon be available.

Explore other state/province genealogy posters


1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded.

American Association for the Advancement of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science founded in 1848 marked the emergence of a national scientific community in the United States, and was the first organization established to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines.

Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the peer-reviewed general science journal Science. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives that include science policy, international programs, science education, and public understanding of science.


1859 -- Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species."

Charles Darwin, 1855 In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" in which he postulated his theory of evolution that explained how the diverse of species on Earth evolved from a simple, singled-celled ancestor.

Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. Darwin's theory of evolution remains the foundation of modern biology.


1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presented his laws of heredity.

Gregor Mendel Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian considered the father of modern genetics, conducted crossbreeding experiments with pea plants between 1856 and 1863. Through this work, he established many of the rules of heredity.

"In 1859 I obtained a very fertile descendant with large, tasty seeds from a first generation hybrid. Since in the following year, its progeny retained the desirable characteristics and were uniform, the variety was cultivated in our vegetable garden, and many plants were raised every year up to 1865. (Gregor Mendel to Carl Nägeli, April 1867).


1876 -- Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) was founded.

Founded in 1876 through the Morrill Act of 1862, which established the nation’s land-grant college system, Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas), located in College Station, was the state’s first public institution of higher education.

In 1963, the college's name was changed to Texas A&M University to more accurately reflect its expanding role as a leader in teaching, research, and public service. Texas A&M's rare triple designation as a Land-, Sea- and Space-Grant institution reflects the broad scope of its research endeavors, with ongoing projects funded by agencies as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.


1882 -- Construction of University of Texas at Austin commenced.

The University of Texas at Austin, originated in 1839, with construction of the college launched in 1882. The University of Texas at Austin is the largest component of The University of Texas.

The University is a leading center for education and research in the technology and knowledge-based industries, and University faculty is distinguished nationally and internationally and includes winners of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, and National Medal of Technology.


1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) was founded.

Joseph Kinyoun The National Institutes of Health (NIH) traces its roots to 1887, when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The MHS was established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of merchant seamen -- charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of infectious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, to prevent epidemics.

During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments. In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island, New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses (Photo: courtesy of the NIH Almanac).


1900 -- Baylor College of Medicine was founded.

Founded in 1900, the medical school was affiliated with Baylor University from 1903-1969 when Baylor College of Medicine became an independent institution. Originally located in Dallas, the College moved to Houston in 1943 to become the educational cornerstone of the new Texas Medical Center.

The only private medical school in the Greater Southwest, Baylor is among the top 15 of the 125 U.S. medical schools in federal research funding.


1902 -- The Biologics Control Act was established.

Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun, NIH The Biologics Control Act, established in 1902, had major consequences for the Hygienic Laboratory. It charged the laboratory with regulating the production of vaccines and antitoxins, making it a regulatory agency four years before passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The danger posed by biological products that had emerged from bacteriologic discoveries resulted from their production in animals and their administration by injection. In 1901, thirteen children in St. Louis died after receiving diphtheria antitoxin contaminated with tetanus spores. This tragedy spurred Congress to pass the Biologics Control Act, and between 1903-1907 standards were established and licenses issued to pharmaceutical firms for making smallpox and rabies vaccines, diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, and various other antibacterial antisera. (In 1972, responsibility for regulation of biologics was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration).

Marine Hospital Service seal The Marine Hospital Service (MHS), established in 1798, was reorganized in 1912 and renamed the Public Health Service (PHS). The PHS was authorized to conduct research into noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because so many local doctors had fallen ill.


1912 -- William Marsh Rice Institute (Rice University) was opened.

William Marsh Rice The William Marsh Rice Institute (Rice University), a private, independent, research university in Houston, was chartered in 1891 by Houston merchant William Marsh Rice.

In 1961 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration located the Manned Space Flight Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) on land made available by Rice, and in 1962 the university established the nation's first department of space science. Rice is noted for its programs in artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology.


1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.

Spanish Flu, 1918 It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans --civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I, II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.

On Sept. 23, 1918, Texas first reported the disease as being present in the state. By Oct. 4th, thirty-five counties reported influenza. By Oct. 29th, the state had reported 106,978 cases and 2,181 deaths in just the state's urban centers. The disease peaked in the state during the fall. By the summer, the disease had begun to disappear from the state.

Additional information about the Spanish influenza pandemic, including audio interviews, photographs, teacher guides and more can be found through the The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: A Digital Encyclopedia, PBS's The American Experience, and Centers for Disease Control, National Vaccine Program Office.


1930 -- The name of the Hygienic Laboratory was changed to the National Institute of Health.

Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun, NIH In 1930, the Ransdell Act changed the name of the Hygienic Laboratory to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and authorized the establishment of fellowships for research into basic biological and medical problems. The roots of this act extended to 1918, when chemists who had worked with the Chemical Warfare Service in World War I sought to establish an institute in the private sector to apply fundamental knowledge in chemistry to problems of medicine.


1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity.

Thomas Hunt Morgan Thomas Hunt Morgan pioneered the new science of genetics through experimental research with the fruit fly (Drosophila), laying the foundations for the future of biology. On the basis of fly-breeding experiments he demonstrated that genes are linked in a series on chromosomes and that they determine indentifiable, hereditary traits.

In 1928, Thomas Hunt Morgan transferred to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to organize work in biology, and five years later he was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)


1937 -- The National Cancer Institute was created.

National 
    Cancer Institue

In 1937, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was created with sponsorship from every Senator in Congress, and was authorized to award grants to nonfederal scientists for research on cancer and to fund fellowships at NCI for young researchers.

Today, the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.


1937 - 1968 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson continued state's political leadership and expanded federal revenue stream into Texas.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson or LBJ, was an influential Democrat who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1937-49, the U.S. Senate from 1948-60, Vice President from 1960-63, and President from 1963-68. (Photo: Lyndon Baines Johnson courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)

Johnson Served on Special Committee on Astronautics and Space, and in 1961, NASA's $60 million manned space flight laboratory was located in Houston on 1,000 acres of land made available by Rice University in Houston. In 1973, the Manned Space Center was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The Center's location in Houston has made, and continues to make significant contributions in the development of the medical device and electronics industry in Texas and elsewhere.


1941 -- Texas State Cancer Hospital (M. D. Anderson) created by Texas Legislature.

Monroe Dunaway Anderson In 1941, The Texas Legislature created the the Texas State Cancer Hospital and the Division of Cancer Research, renamed the next year, it became the M. D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research of The University of Texas to recognize the philanthropy of Monroe Dunaway Anderson, a successful Houston cotton broker.

M. D. Anderson is one of the nation's original three Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971. The institution currently spends more than $210 million per year in research. M. D. Anderson now ranks first in the number of grants awarded nationwide by the National Cancer Institute, and third in grants given by the American Cancer Society.


1944 -- Public Health Service Act was established.

Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center The 1944 Public Health Service Act defined the shape of medical research in the post-war world. The entire NIH budget expanded from $8 million in 1947 to more than $1 billion in 1966, now fondly remembered as "the golden years" of NIH expansion. The 1944 PHS Act authorized NIH to conduct clinical research, and after the war Congress provided funding to build a research hospital, now called the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Center which opened in 1953 with 540 beds was designed to bring research laboratories into close proximity with hospital wards in order to promote productive collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinicians.

The NIH today, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research and is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, providing leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.


1947 -- Transistor was invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.

John Bardeen William Shockley Walter Brattain The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.

Transistors have become an invisible technology that is part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us.

Brattain received his B.S. degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and a M.A. degree from the University of Oregon. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1948 -- Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., recruited by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston as its new Chairman of Surgery.

Photo of Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. In 1953, DeBakey performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy, thereby establishing the field of surgery for strokes. In 1964, DeBakey and associates performed the first aortocoronary bypass with autogenous saphenous vein graft, and in 1968, DeBakey performed the first of 12 heart transplants.

Dr. DeBakey worked with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to develop a self-contained, miniaturized artificial heart. The DeBakey-Raytheon-ITS telemedicine system uses satellites to electronically link remote sites of the world to the famed Texas Medical Center for medical training and treatment.

Dr. DeBakey served as Chancellor Emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, was active on staff at The Methodist Hospital of Houston, and was internationally recognized as the most famous heart surgeon in the world. (Photo: Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. courtesy Michael E. DeBakey)


1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA was revealed.

James D. Watson Francis Crick Maurice Wilkins The double helix structure of DNA, the hereditary molecule is revealed by two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis Crick. This is one of the key discoveries of the century. Watson and Crick shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.

Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the discovery, died before this date and the rules do not allow a Nobel Prize to be awarded posthumously. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1958 -- Integrated circuit was invented.

Photo of Jack Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit. Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments shows only a transistor and other components on a slice of germanium. This invention (7/16-by-1/16-inches in size), called an integrated circuit, revolutionized the electronics industry. Kilby was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the integrated circuit. (Photo: Jack Kilby courtesy of Texas Instruments)

Jack Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of microchip technology. He headed teams that built both the first military system and the first computer incorporating integrated circuits. He later co-invented both the hand-held calculator and the thermal printer that was used in portable data terminals. Mr. Kilby officially retired from TI in 1983, but he maintained a significant involvement with the company throughout his life.


1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expanded the U.S. Space Program

President John F. Kennedy expands U.S. Space Program. Listen to President John F. Kennedy's speech in his historic message to a joint session of the Congress, on May 25, 1961 declared, "...I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969. Shown in the background are, (left) Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and (right) Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn. The expansion of the U.S. Space Program resulted in the development of a wide range of technology with enormous benefit to human and animal kind. (Photo: courtesy National Aeronautics & Space Administration)


1962 -- Texas Heart Institute was founded.

Dr. Denton A. Cooley The Texas Heart Institute was founded in 1962 by Dr. Denton A. Cooley a world-renowned surgeon who pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery. The Institute's mission is to reduce the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative programs in research, education and patient care.

The Texas Heart Institute has been at the forefront in developments about the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease, including the first successful heart transplantation in the U.S., the first implantation of an artificial heart in man in the world, breakthroughs in the treatment of infants born with congenital defects, and effective methods of preventing heart attacks by reducing the formation of blockages in the arteries. Today, the Texas Heart Institute and its clinical partner, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, are one of the nation's largest cardiovascular centers.


1969 -- Man walked on the moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, made history by becoming the first men to walk on the moon. Listen to Neil Armstrong's first words as he steps onto the lunar surface (66 kb .wav file). Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)

An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.


1969 -- Victor McKusick published "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".

Victor McKusick Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities). In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human Genome Project was established.

McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In 1969 he published the 1st edition of his book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man", one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.


1969 -- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center was founded.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), founded in 1969 by the 61st state Legislature, provides education, patient care and research to benefit a previously under-served area in West Texas.

TTUHSC is home to the Alzheimer's DNA Bank, Center for Trauma Research, Center for Reproductive Research, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health and Southwest Addictive Disease Institute.


1971 -- NASDAQ Stock Market was founded.

NASDAQ Stock Market was founded as the world's first electronic stock market by the National Association of Securities Dealers. The NASDAQ system, created by the Bunker Ramos Corp. allowed the financial community, for the first time, to determine which market offered the best price on a given security.


1971 -- President Nixon declared war on cancer creating the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.

On Dec. 23, 1971, the National Cancer Act of 1971, enacted by President Richard Nixon as part of the nation’s war on cancer, established the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute. The National Cancer Act, "The War on Cancer," gave the NCI unique autonomy at NIH with special budgetary authority. The annual budget of NCI, called the bypass budget, be submitted directly to the president, bypassing traditional approval by the NIH or the Department of HHS required of other NIH institutes.


1973 -- Recombinant DNA was perfected.

Stanley Cohen The modern era of biotechnology begins when Stanley Cohen of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of the University of California at San Francisco successfully recombined ends of bacterial DNA after splicing a toad gene in between. They called their accomplishment recombinant DNA, but the media preferred the term genetic engineering. (Photo: Courtesy Stanley Cohen)

Boyer and Cohen's achievement was an advancement upon the techniques developed by Paul Berg, in 1972, for inserting viral DNA into bacterial DNA. Cohen's research at Stanford was with plasmids—the nonchromosomal, circular units of DNA found in, and exchanged by, bacteria, while Boyer's was restriction enzymes produced by bacteria to counter invasion by bacteriophages.


1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was enacted.

Jacob Javits Pete Williams John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for bringing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United States creating a growing source of new capital. (Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).


1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies were produced.

Niels Jerne Georges Köhler César Milstein In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein, showed how monoclonal antibodies can be generated by isolating individual fused myeloma cells.

The 1984 Nobel Laureate in Medicine was awarded jointly to: Niels Jerne, Georges Köhler and César Milstein for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).


1976 -- Genentech was founded.

Genentech Genentech was founded by venture capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. In the early 1970s, Boyer and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered recombinant DNA technology.

Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology. In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an hour on the market. This event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.


1977 -- First human gene was cloned.

Walter Gilbert Frederick Sanger Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA.

Gilbert and Sanger independently developed different methods to determine the exact sequence of the nucleotide building blocks in DNA. The investigations of Berg, Gilbert and Sanger have given us a detailed insight into the chemical basis of the genetic machinery in living organisms (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).


1977 -- Ilya Prigogine was awarded Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

Ilya Prigogine Ilya Prigogine from the University of Texas at Austin was awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures.

In 1959, Prigogine joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin where he later was appointed Regental Professor and Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics and Chemical Engineering. In 1967, he in 1967, he co-founded the Center for Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (Center for Complex Quantum Systems) in Austin.



1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.

Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty. Diamond v. Chakrabarty, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds five-to-four the patentability of genetically altered organisms, opening the door to greater patent protection for any modified life forms.

In 1972, Mohan Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent application, assigned to the General Electric Co. for a human-made genetically engineered bacterium capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil. Because of this property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabarty's invention was believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills. The application asserted 36 claims related to Chakrabarty's invention of "a bacterium from the genus Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energy-generating plasmids, each of said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon degradative pathway.

Opinions: Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court, in which justices Potter Stewart, Harry Blackmun, William Rehnquist, and John Paul Stevens joined. William Brennan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell joined.


1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provided for university technology transfer.

Birch Bayh, Senator, Indiana Robert Dole, Senator, Kansas H.R.6933, Public Law: 96-517, December 12, 1980. A bill to amend title 35 of the United States Code. This Act known as the Bayh-Dole Act provided for the legal transfer of research and technology originating from U.S. universities and federal laboratories to private companies for commercialization. Technology transfer offices are now common in universities and federal laboratories and are the technology foundation for numerous biotechnology and medical device companies. (Photos: Birch Bayh and Robert Dole courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)


1983 -- Orphan Drug Act was created.

U.S. FDA The Orphan Drug Act encouraged the research and development of drugs for rare or "orphan" diseases defined as a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.

The Orphan Drug Act provided for financial incentives to help companies recover the cost of developing much needed therapies for small patient populations. The FDA estimates that more than 11 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world, have benefited from this legislation.


1984 -- Alec Jeffreys and technician Vicky Wilson discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.

Sir Alec Jeffreys In 1984, geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys, and technician Vicky Wilson at the University of Leicester in England discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting. The new technology was first used in 1985 to resolve a disputed immigration case that confirmed the identity of a British boy whose family was from Ghana.

In 1988, Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murdering two girls in 1983 and 1986 in Narborough, Leicestershire, England after his DNA samples matched semen samples taken from the two dead girls. Jeffreys' work in this case convicted the killer, but also exonerated Richard Buckland, a suspect who otherwise might have spent his life in prison. In 1994, Jeffreys' was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to genetics.


1990 -- E. Donnall Thomas awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine.

E. Donnall Thomas E. Donnall Thomas, a native of Texas and graduate of the University of Texas in Austin (B.A. 1941, M.A. 1943), was awarded the 1990 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Joseph Murray for their discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease.

Thomas joined the faculty of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 1974 as its first director of medical oncology. He later became associate director and eventually director of the Center's Clinical Research Division. He stepped down from that position at age 70 in 1990 and officially retired from the Hutchinson Center in 2002. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)


1990 -- Human Genome Project was established.

Human Genome Project Logo The U.S. Human Genome Project was established -- a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The main goals of the Human Genome Project were to provide a complete and accurate sequence of the 3 billion DNA base pairs that make up the human genome and to find all of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 human genes. The project, originally planned to last 15 years, was expected to be completed by 2003 due to rapid technological advances.


1991 -- The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center was founded..

Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, established in 1991, is built on a foundation of basic science excellence at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Today, the Center serves Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding counties in North Texas, a metropolitan area encompassing a racially and ethnically diverse population of nearly 7 million people.


1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) was founded.

Biotechnology Industry Organization Biotechnology Industry Organization is the world's largest organization to serve and represent the biotechnology industry. BIO's leadership and service-oriented guidance have helped advance the industry and bring the benefits of biotechnology to people everywhere.


1993 -- Kary B. Mullis was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Kary B. Mullis Kary B. Mullis of La Jolla, CA and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D.) was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry, specifically for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)

PCR allows scientists to quickly replicate small strands of DNA, greatly simplifying the sequencing and cloning of genes. First presented in 1985, PCR has become one of the most widespread methods of analyzing DNA. Notably, PCR requires the heat-stable enzyme Taq (Thermus Aquaticus) which originated from hot springs located in Yellowstone National Park.


1996 -- Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute was founded.

Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute The mission of the http://www.thbi.com/" target="_blank">Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute (THBI) is to research, develop, and advocate policies and actions that promote biomedical science, biotechnology, agriculture and medical device innovation in Texas.


1996 -- Robert Curl and Richard Smalley awarded Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

Robert Curl Richard Smalley The 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Rice University professors Richard Smalley, Robert Curl and Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex in Brighton, England for their discovery of fullerenes (buckminsterfullerenes).

Robert F. Curl Jr., born and raised in Alice, Texas, received a a B.S. from Rice Institute (Rice University). In 1957, Curl earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the faculty of Rice University in 1967 and his research in infrared and microwave spectroscopy inspired Richard Smalley to join Rice University in 1976 with the hope of collaborating with Curl. Curl retired in 2008 as University Professor Emeritus, Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus, and Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Rice University.

Smalley, an Ohio native, attended Hope College in Michigan for two years before he attended the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Science in 1965. Smalley received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1973 with Dr. E. R. Bernstein. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago from 1973 to 1976 with Donald Levy and Lennard Wharton where he became a pioneer in the development of supersonic beam laser spectroscopy. In 1976, Smalley joined Rice University. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1997 -- National Space Biomedical Research Institute was established.

National Space Biomedical Research Institute logo The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), located in Houston, is a consortium of 12 institutions working to prevent or solve health problems related to long-duration space travel and prolonged exposure to microgravity.

NSBRI discoveries and research will lead to countermeasures to the harmful effects of microgravity and space radiation, and, at the same time, bring discoveries and products of clinical benefit to mankind on Earth enhancing treatments for conditions such as osteoporosis, muscle wasting, shift-related sleep disorders and radiation-related conditions. The Institute also is researching ways to deliver medical care on these missions through new technologies and remote-treatment advances. (Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)


2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence was published.

Human Genome Project Logo The February 16 issue of Science and February 15 issue of Nature contained the working draft of the human genome sequence (U.S. Human Genome Project). Nature papers included initial analysis of the descriptions of the sequence generated by the publicly sponsored Human Genome Project, while Science publications focused on the draft sequence reported by the private company, Celera Genomics.


2002 -- Governor Perry formed the Council on Science and Biotechnology Development.

Governor Rick Perry

In January 2002, Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of the Governor's Council on Science and Biotechnology Development. The mission of the Council was to create a seamless system of innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace in the rapidly developing areas of biotechnology - such as biopharmaceutical development, bioinformatics, genomics and nanotechnology.

The Council also was to develop a strategy to increase research and development expenditures in Texas, including both private and public funds. Ashley Smith, a senior advisor on the governor's staff, served as chairman of the Council. Smith, a former member of the Texas House, served as chairman of the Southeast Texas BioTechnology Park in Houston, and was president and CEO of the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston.


2007 -- Cancer Research Investment Initiative (Proposition 15) was approved by voters.

Cancer Research Investment Initiative created by the Texas Legislature at Gov. Perry’s request through House Bill 14 and approved by voters in Nov. 2007 established the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, enabling the issuance of $3 billion in bonds over the next ten years to fund cancer research at institutions throughout the state.

Under the guidance of its governing body, the Oversight Committee, CPRIT accepted applications and awards grants for a wide variety of cancer-related research and for the delivery of cancer prevention programs and services by public and private entities located in Texas. All CPRIT-funded research must be conducted in state by Texas-based scientists and reflect CPRIT’s mission to attract and expand the state’s research capabilities and create high quality new jobs in Texas.


2007 -- The National Institutes of Health established the Human Microbiome Project.

Human Microbiome Project

On Dec. 19, 2007, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), a $150 million initiative, was established by the National Institutes of Health with the mission of generating resources that would enable the comprehensive characterization of the human microbiome and analysis of its role in human health and disease.

The HMP is the collection of all the microorganisms living in association with the human body, including eukaryotes, archaea, bacteria and viruses. Bacteria in an average human body number ten times more than human cells, for a total of about 1000 more genes than are present in the human genome.



Learn about the history of the life science industry in other states:

Plus the provinces of:

  • Alberta
  • British Columbia


Other Life Science History Resources

  • Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Chemical Heritage Foundation
  • Food & Drug Administration
  • Gotham Prize for Cancer Research
  • International Balzan Foundation
  • International Museum of Surgical Science
  • Lasker Foundation
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • National Health Museum
  • National Institutes of Health History, Office of
  • National Medal of Science
  • Prix Galien USA
  • The Nobel Foundation
  • The World Food Prize


If you are aware of a notable event or person at your company or organization that should be included in Texas Life Science History, please e-mail us at: suggestions@inforesource.org.


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