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The lowly fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has taught us much of what we know about how genes orchestrate our development into human beings. And much of this knowledge has come from the work of Allan C. Spradling.
Twenty years ago, Spradling helped develop and freely disseminate methods that allow Drosophila genes to be studied with unprecedented precision. He went on to characterize stem cells, the rare cells that maintain tissues and hold therapeutic promise, but which sometimes go awry in cancer and aging.
For his contributions to developmental genetics, Spradling, who directs the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution in Baltimore, and is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, will receive the 2008 Gruber Prize for Genetics on July 13, 2008, at the International Congress of Genetics in Berlin.
Spradling’s stem cell research showed how these rare, elusive cells can be pinpointed within tissues. He characterized the first stem cell “niche”, the tissue microenvironment without which stem cells cannot be maintained or function properly. Spradling believes that knowledge of niches, which differ between tissues, will be essential to develop effective stem cell-based therapies.
Spradling has also studied the fruit fly and mouse ovary to discover universal processes for generating eggs- the only cell type that can develop into a new adult organism. He characterized mechanisms that may remove damaged molecules and organelles during egg development, and proposed that they act like a “fountain-of-youth” that enables each succeeding generation to be born young.
He says, “The function of most human genes remains unknown, but now we can learn by carrying out experiments on organisms such as the fruit fly, nematode or mouse where one can apply the most advanced genetic techniques. Supporting the efforts of individual labs to decipher these issues is not just good science, but is essential if we are to speed the delivery of effective therapies.” | 
