Biomedicine Research Breakthroughs at Stanford
Scores of groundbreaking technologies and treatments have their roots
at Stanford. Here are a select group of our accomplishments:
1956 First use in Western hemisphere of linear accelerator to treat
cancer
1960 First kidney transplant in California
1962 First neonatal intensive care unit to allow parent visitation
1964 Demonstration of electrical stimulation of auditory nerve
in deaf patients, paving the way for cochlear implants
1964 First successful clinical application of laser photocoagulation
to treat detached retina
1964 Development of the first sleep apnea monitor for newborn infants
1965 Development of technique for extracting anti-hemophilic globulin,
the blood fraction needed to prevent bleeding in hemophiliacs
1967 First synthesis of biologically active DNA in test tube
1968 First adult human heart transplant in the United States
1968 Discovery that insulin resistance is the principal physiologic
characteristic of mild type-II diabetes and obesity
1971 Discovery of RNA priming of DNA synthesis
1971 First multicenter trial to demonstrate that lowering cholesterol
levels prevents heart disease
1972 First construction of a recombinant DNA molecule containing
DNA from two different species
1972 Discovery of a new class of immune response genes, suggesting
for the first time that people may have predictable susceptibility to
certain diseases
1972 First U.S. trial of community-wide health education for preventing
heart disease
1973 First expression of a foreign gene implanted in bacteria by
recombinant DNA methods
1974 Isolation of genome – genetic blueprint – of a virus
that causes hepatitis B and a common form of liver cancer
1975 Discovery of link between exercise and increased “good”
(HDL) cholesterol levels
1979 Discovery of dynorphin, a brain chemical 200 times more powerful
than morphine
1980 First creation of human hybridoma cell line
1981 First successful human combined heart/lung transplant in the
world (fourth attempted worldwide)
1981 First report of successful use of monoclonal antibodies to
treat cancer
1983 Development with UC-San Diego of the first human monoclonal
antibody for treating septic shock
1984 Isolation of a gene coding for part of the T-cell receptor,
a key to the immune system’s function
1988 Isolation of pure hematopoietic stem cells from mice
1988 Development of an animal model for studying the human immune
system
1989 Discovery of the “homing receptor,” which guides
white blood cells into the peripheral lymph nodes
1990 Discovery of “off-switch” for genetic reproduction
in bacteria
1992 Development of a genetically engineered vaccine to enhance
patients’ immunological response against B-cell lymphoma
1992 Discovered the gene underlying a group of diseases called
the demyelinating peripheral neuropathies in which the protective covering
on nerves breaks down and the nerves are unable to function properly
1993 Discovery of a protein that appears to be a root cause of
type-I diabetes; prevention of the disease in mouse experiments
1993 First clinical trial testing methods for preventing eating
disorders in adolescents
1993 First demonstration that lifestyle changes and drug therapy
decrease heart attack rates and slows progression of atherosclerosis in
coronary arteries
1993 First functional image using time-resolved optics
1994 Development of a technique that enables researchers to toggle
genes on and off in experimental animals
1994 Development of the new diagnostic instrument for rapid bedside
screening of hemolysis in jaundiced newborns
1995 Development of the microarray technology that allows researchers
to see at once which genes of the thousands present in a cell are switched
“on”
1995 First optical imaging of infection in vivo
1996 Discovery that the p53 protein, known to be involved in controlling
cancerous tumors, works as an “emergency brake” on cancer development
1996 Discovery of a mutated gene that causes a childhood form of
inherited epilepsy, followed by the development of a genetic model of
the disease in mice two years later
1996 Discovery that mutations in a single gene are responsible
for the most common form of skin cancer in humans
1997 Completion of a multicenter trial showing that standard chemotherapy
for most children with early-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma can be
safely reduced
1997 First optical imaging of gene expression in vivo
1999 Discovery of a genetic mutation that causes narcolepsy, a
disabling sleep disorder affecting humans and animals
1999 First experimental demonstration that limiting children’s
television use prevents excess weight gain
1999 First clinical trial of bupropion, the antidepressant known
as Wellbutrin, and nicotine replacement for smoking cessation in adolescents
2000 Solution of the structure of the RNA polymerase protein, a
pivotal molecule that copies genes from DNA to RNA
2000 Discovery of hereditary arthritis gene
2000 First use of gene expression profiling to distinguish cancer sub-types
2001 Participation in the successful international effort to complete the human genome sequencing project
2001 Discovery of molecular mechanisms that account for failure of regeneration in the central nervous system
2001 Identification of a novel gene family involved in asthma
2002 First use of RNAi to switch off genes in mice
2002 First use of gene expression profiling to predict cancer outcomes
2002 Discovery that training exercises can physically change the way the brain is wired
2003 Discovery that Wnt genes, first discovered as critical genes in cancer, are also critical regulators of stem cell development