Great Falls native earns science honor

Great Falls native Dr. Irving Weissman will be crowned the 44th California Scientist of the Year next month.

By RICHARD ECKE
Tribune Staff Writer

Weissman, a Stanford University professor and medical doctor, will receive the award from the California Science Center, a notable
achievement in a state filled with accomplished scientists.

"Of course it’s an honor," Weissman said in a telephone interview. He will collect it at a banquet in Los Angeles for "outstanding research
involving the discovery of mammalian stem cells."

A stem cell is primitive and "can give rise to all types of cells in the blood," according to Weissman. These mother cells may help provide
cures for a variety of diseases, from diabetes to Parkinson’s disease. Already, Weissman has arranged pure stem cell transplants for
dozens of patients with breast cancer that has spread, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, resulting in therapies that are the most effective
available, he said.

Weissman’s lab at Stanford was the first to isolate in pure form any stem cell in any species.

Weissman researched stem cells at McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls in 1957, and his interest never wavered. He joined the
Stanford faculty, became an authority on bone-marrow transplants, and was an early scientist to form his own companies to pursue
business applications from academic research.

Weissman is collaborating with George Carlson, McLaughlin’s director, in using neuronal stem cells to help better understand Alzheimer’s
and prion diseases.

"It is rare for a single individual to have such a monumental impact on a field," Carlson said. "New disease therapies undoubtedly will result
directly from Irv’s efforts." Weissman is chairman of the institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

Weissman said the award, which carries a $5,000 prize, won’t be the top moment in his career, though.

"The finest moments are when you see something new in the lab," he said, or when a patient is helped by a stem-cell transplant.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20020415/localnews/138080.html