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CORVALLIS - Mario Capecchi, a professor of human genetics at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and an expert on genetic research with mouse stem cells, will present the 2005 Gene D. Knudson Lectures on Tuesday, April 5, at Oregon State University.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at LaSells Stewart Center's Construction and Engineering Hall. The presentation is titled "Gene Targeting into the 21st Century: From Models of Cancer to Neuropsychiatric Diseases."

A scientific seminar will also be held on April 6, at 3:30 p.m. in the Agricultural and Life Sciences Building, Room 4001. It is titled "The Role of Hox Genes in Patterning our Body."

Capecchi pioneered the development of directed gene targeting in mouse stem cells, which allows scientists to create new strains for biomedical research. He has studied early mouse development, neural development in mammals, genetic recombination, and the use of mouse models to study human genetic diseases, cancer and factors affecting life expectancy.

Capecchi has won numerous awards including the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, the National Medal of Science, and the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Knudson Lectures are sponsored by the Center for Gene Research and Biotechnology at OSU.