By DPA
London : Professor Ian Wilmut, who revolutionised stem cell technology by creating Dolly the Sheep in 1996, has been knighted for services to science by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Responding to the honour published Friday in the traditional New Year’s Honours List, Wilmut, 63, said he was “surprised and delighted” at the knighthood, which entitles him to be called “Sir”.
He said he was accepting the award on behalf of the colleagues he formerly worked with at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, and colleagues he currently works with at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine.
“The award also recognises the importance of biomedical research to develop new treatment in regenerative medicine,” said Wilmut.
“This research holds out great promise for development of treatments for diseases which have no effective treatment at the present time, such as motor neurone disease, MS, and disorders of the immune system.”
The citation for his knighthood credits Wilmut with “revolutionising” biology through the cloning technique which underpins the science of stem cell technology”.
It also said he had shown an “outstanding” commitment to bringing the benefits of basic science to medical treatment.
After the creation of Dolly the Sheep in 1996, Wilmut said: “The fact that the whole animal comes from a single cell is really an extraordinary thing, and it’s fascinating to try to understand it more.”