S.C.R. 4 Enrolled

1

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING
2 UTAH'S NOBEL PRIZE WINNER
3 MARIO CAPECCHI
4 2008 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Chief Sponsor: John L. Valentine
7 House Sponsor: Greg J. Curtis
8
9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor recognizes the
12 achievements of Dr. Mario Capecchi, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
13 Medicine.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 . recognizes Dr. Mario Capecchi's gene targeting research that won him the 2007
17 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; and
18 . recognizes Dr. Capecchi's many accomplishments that led to his winning the Nobel
19 Prize.
20 Special Clauses:
21 None
22
23 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
24 WHEREAS, on October 8, 2007, University of Utah professor Dr. Mario Capecchi was
25 awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research into gene targeting;
26 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi shares the prize with Sir Martin J. Evans of Cardiff
27 University and Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
28 WHEREAS, according to the Nobel Foundation, the award was "for their discoveries of
29 principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem

30 cells";
31 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's work in developing a mouse model that is now used in
32 hundreds of labs around the world is what singled him out for this honor;
33 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi has said, "in terms of our genetic content, mouse and human
34 are 99.9% the same. So whatever we learn in the mouse is going to be directly applicable to the
35 human";
36 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's research makes possible a more comprehensive study of
37 diabetes, cystic fibrosis, heart and neuropsychiatric diseases, and cancer, and the development of
38 treatments to fight them;
39 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi and the University of Utah's Department of Genetics have
40 brought extraordinarily positive recognition to the research community in the state of Utah;
41 WHEREAS, University of Utah President Michael Young said that Dr. Capecchi's gene
42 targeting research "truly has changed the course of medical research," and added that Capecchi's
43 work has helped University of Utah researchers discover the genetic predispositions to more
44 diseases than any other university in the world;
45 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's development of "knockout mice" technology, the ability to
46 alter specific genes in mice with embryonic stem cells, has allowed researchers to model
47 hundreds of diseases, including cancer;
48 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi, who previously taught at Harvard University, said he came
49 to the University of Utah in 1973 because he knew that he would be able to focus on ongoing
50 research projects, rather than having to produce short-term results;
51 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's accomplishments are even more extraordinary in light of the
52 suffering he endured in his early childhood years in his native Italy;
53 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi suffered through the Nazi occupation when his mother, a
54 writer and poet who wrote against Nazism, was taken away by the Gestapo;
55 WHEREAS, when money left behind for others to take care of him ran out, he was
56 abandoned on the streets at three years of age;
57 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's mother survived the Dachau Concentration Camp and spent

58 nearly a year and a half searching before she found her son, and then moved with him to the
59 United States; and
60 WHEREAS, Dr. Capecchi's accomplishments bring great honor to the entire state of
61 Utah:
62 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
63 Governor concurring therein, recognize Dr. Mario Capecchi for his pioneering efforts in gene
64 targeting that have resulted in his winning the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
65 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor recognize
66 Dr. Capecchi's life of service that has greatly improved researchers' ability to understand
67 diseases afflicting humans and develop treatments to fight them.
68 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Mario
69 Capecchi, the University of Utah's Department of Genetics, and University President Michael
70 Young.