# Edwin Southern > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edwin_Southern > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edwin_Southern.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Southern > Source revision: 1347243342 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|English molecular biologist}} {{Use British English|date=July 2017}} {{Use British English|date=December 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} {{Infobox scientist |honorific_prefix = Sir |name = Edwin Southern | birth_name = Edwin Mellor Southern | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRS|FRSE|size=100%}} |image = Edwin Mellor Southern - journal.pgen.1003344.g001.png |image_size = 200px |caption = Sir Edwin in 2012 |birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1938|06|07}} |birth_place = [Burnley](/source/Burnley), United Kingdom | thesis_title = Studies on synthetic and naturally occurring enzyme metabolites | thesis_year = 1964 | doctoral_students = [Robin Allshire](/source/Robin_Allshire){{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Edinburgh|hdl=1842/11176|title=Construction and analysis of vectors based on bovine papilloma virus|first= Robin Campbell|last=Allshire|date=1985|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.355979}}|oclc=606010479}} {{free access}} | thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/301213660 |death_date = |death_place = |field = [Molecular Biology](/source/Molecular_Biology) |work_institutions = {{Plainlist| * [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) * [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh) * Oxford Gene Technology{{cite web|url=http://www.ogt.co.uk/about/company/management/board_members/professor_sir_edwin_southern|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417153124/http://www.ogt.co.uk/about/company/management/board_members/professor_sir_edwin_southern|title=Professor Sir Edwin Southern – Founder, Chairman and Chief Science Advisor|publisher=Oxford Gene Technology|archive-date=17 April 2015}}}} |education = {{Plainlist| [University of Manchester](/source/University_of_Manchester) (BSc) * [University of Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow) (PhD)}} |known_for = [Southern blot](/source/Southern_blot) |prizes = {{Plainlist| * [Gairdner award](/source/Gairdner_Foundation_International_Award) (1990) * [Royal Medal](/source/Royal_Medal) (1998) * [Lasker Award](/source/Albert_Lasker_Award_for_Clinical_Medical_Research) (2005)}} | website = {{URL|http://www.ogt.co.uk/about/company/management/board_members/professor_sir_edwin_southern}}}} '''Sir Edwin Mellor Southern''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRS|FRSE}} (born 7 June 1938){{Cite journal | last1 = Southern | first1 = E. | author-link = Edwin Southern| title = Tools for genomics | doi = 10.1038/nm1005-1029 | journal = Nature Medicine | volume = 11 | issue = 10 | pages = 1029–1034 | year = 2005 | pmid = 16211028| s2cid = 34584084 }} is an English [Lasker Award](/source/Lasker_Award)-winning [molecular biologist](/source/molecular_biology), [Emeritus](/source/Emeritus) Professor of Biochemistry at the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) and a fellow of [Trinity College, Oxford](/source/Trinity_College%2C_Oxford). He is most widely known for the invention of the [Southern blot](/source/Southern_blot), published in 1975{{Cite journal | last1 = Southern | first1 = E. M. | author-link = Edwin Southern | title = Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 98 | issue = 3 | pages = 503–517 | year = 1975 | pmid = 1195397 | doi=10.1016/S0022-2836(75)80083-0 | s2cid = 20126741 }} and now a common laboratory procedure.{{Cite journal | last1 = Southern | first1 = E. | author-link1 = Edwin Southern | last2 = Mir | first2 = K. | last3 = Shchepinov | first3 = M. | doi = 10.1038/4429 | title = Molecular interactions on microarrays | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 21 | issue = 1 Suppl | pages = 5–9 | year = 1999 | pmid = 9915493 | s2cid = 2690775 }}{{Cite book | doi = 10.1016/0076-6879(79)68011-4 | last1 = Southern | first1 = E. | author-link1 = Edwin Southern | title = Gel electrophoresis of restriction fragments | chapter = [9] Gel electrophoresis of restriction fragments | series = Methods in Enzymology | volume = 68 | pages = 152–176 | year = 1979 | isbn = 9780121819682 | pmid = 232210 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/recombinantdna0000unse }}{{Cite journal | last1 = Maskos | first1 = U. | last2 = Southern | first2 = E. M. | author-link2 = Edwin Southern| doi = 10.1093/nar/20.7.1679 | title = Oligonucleotide hybridisations on glass supports: A novel linker for oligonucleotide synthesis and hybridisation properties of oligonucleotides synthesised in situ | journal = Nucleic Acids Research | volume = 20 | issue = 7 | pages = 1679–1684 | year = 1992 | pmid = 1579459| pmc =312256 }} {{open access}}{{Cite journal | last1 = Milner | first1 = N. | last2 = Mir | first2 = K. U. | last3 = Southern | first3 = E. M. | author-link3 = Edwin Southern| doi = 10.1038/nbt0697-537 | title = Selecting effective antisense reagents on combinatorial oligonucleotide arrays | journal = Nature Biotechnology | volume = 15 | issue = 6 | pages = 537–541 | year = 1997 | pmid = 9181575| s2cid = 10853509 }} ==Early life and education== Southern was born in [Burnley, Lancashire](/source/Burnley%2C_Lancashire) and educated at [Burnley Grammar School](/source/Burnley_Grammar_School).{{cite web|url=http://www.roche.de/presse/8-CV%20Southern.pdf|title=Edwin Southern CV|publisher=Roche|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402052847/http://www.roche.de/presse/8-CV%20Southern.pdf|archive-date=2 April 2012}} He has a brother named John Southern and a sister Kay Monie. He went on to read Chemistry at the [University of Manchester](/source/University_of_Manchester) (BSc Hons., 1958). He continued as a graduate student (then Demonstrator, 1963) in the Department of Chemistry, [University of Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow), where he was awarded his PhD in 1962.{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Edwin Mellor|last=Southern |title=Studies on synthetic and naturally occurring enzyme metabolites |publisher=University of Glasgow |year=1964 |oclc=181894527|id={{ProQuest|301213660}}}} ==Career and research== Southern is also the founder and chairman of Oxford Gene Technology. He is also the founder (in 2000) and chairman of a Scottish charity, The Kirkhouse Trust, which aims to promote education and research in the Natural Sciences, particularly the biological and medical sciences, and the Edina Trust, which was founded to promote science in schools.[https://www.kirkhousetrust.org/about Kirkhouse Trust]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}[https://www.edinatrust.org.uk/about-us Edina Trust] These charities are financed using royalty income from licensing [microarray](/source/Microarray_analysis_techniques) technology. ===Southern blot=== The [Southern blot](/source/Southern_blot) is used for [DNA](/source/DNA) analysis and was routinely used for genetic fingerprinting and [paternity testing](/source/DNA_paternity_testing) prior to the development of microsatellite markers for this purpose. The procedure is also frequently used to determine the number of copies of a gene in the genome.{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/wls/definition/southern-blot-289/#:~:text=A%20Southern%20blot%20is%20a,after%20its%20inventor%2C%20Edward%20Southern.|title=Glossary:Southern blot|website=Nature.com}} The concepts of the Southern blot were used in the development and creation of the modern microarray slide, which is an extensively used experimental tool. The [northern blot](/source/northern_blot), [western blot](/source/western_blot) and [eastern blot](/source/eastern_blot), related procedures for the analysis of [RNA](/source/RNA), [protein](/source/protein) and [post-translational modification](/source/post-translational_modification) of proteins, respectively, are all puns on Southern's name. ===DNA microarray=== Southern founded Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) in 1995, a company that developed [DNA microarray](/source/DNA_microarray) technology. OGT won a 1999 [patent infringement](/source/patent_infringement) lawsuit against [Affymetrix](/source/Affymetrix) based on his patent holdings in microarray technology.{{Cite journal | last1 = Harding | first1 = A. | title = Sir Edwin Southern: Scientist as problem solver | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67775-6 | journal = The Lancet | volume = 366 | issue = 9501 | page = 1919| year = 2005 | pmid = 16325686| s2cid = 5310891 | doi-access = free }} ===Awards and honours=== In 1990, Southern was one of the winners of the [Gairdner Foundation International Award](/source/Gairdner_Foundation_International_Award).{{cite web |url = http://www.gairdner.org/winners.html |title = List of winners |publisher = The Gairdner Foundation |access-date = 19 December 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071230095627/http://www.gairdner.org/winners.html |archive-date = 30 December 2007 |url-status = dead |df = dmy-all }} In 1998 he was awarded the [Royal Medal](/source/Royal_Medal) of the [Royal Society of London](/source/Royal_Society_of_London).{{cite web|url=http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1750 |title=Royal recent winners |publisher=[The Royal Society](/source/The_Royal_Society) |access-date=20 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219185002/http://www.royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=1750 |archive-date=19 December 2007 }} He received the [Association for Molecular Pathology](/source/Association_for_Molecular_Pathology) Award for Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics in 1999.{{Cite web |title=Past Recipients |url=https://www.amp.org/membership/awards-grants-honors/amp-award-for-excellence-in-molecular-diagnostics/past-recipients/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Association for Molecular Pathology |language=en}} He was made a [Knight Bachelor](/source/Knight_Bachelor) in the June 2003 Birthday Honours for services to the development of [DNA microarray](/source/DNA_microarray) technologies. In 2005 he was awarded the prestigious [Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research](/source/Albert_Lasker_Award_for_Clinical_Medical_Research),{{cite web|url = http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/2005_c_accept_southern.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610105040/http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/2005_c_accept_southern.htm |title = 2005 Albert Lasker Award – Acceptance remarks by Edwin Southern|archive-date = 10 June 2008 |publisher = Lasker Foundation}} jointly with [Alec Jeffreys](/source/Alec_Jeffreys) of the [University of Leicester](/source/University_of_Leicester) for his invention of the Southern blot.{{cite web|url = http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/library/2005clinical.shtml|title = 2005 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research|access-date = 19 December 2007 |publisher = Lasker Foundation| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211191805/http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/library/2005clinical.shtml| archive-date = 11 December 2007}} In 2005 he was also awarded the [Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities](/source/Association_of_Biomolecular_Resource_Facilities) Award for outstanding contributions to Biomolecular Technologies.{{cite web |url = http://www.abrf.org/index.cfm/group.show/ABRFAward.5.htm|title = ABRF Award|archive-date=22 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122043131/http://www.abrf.org/index.cfm/group.show/ABRFAward.5.htm|publisher = [Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities](/source/Association_of_Biomolecular_Resource_Facilities)}} In 2012, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh).{{Cite news|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/edwin-southern/|title=Professor Sir Edwin Mellor Southern FRS HonFRSE - The Royal Society of Edinburgh|work=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|access-date=2018-06-26|language=en-GB}} His nomination for the [Royal Society](/source/Royal_Society) reads: {{quote|Dr. Southern has done pioneering work on the organization of [DNA sequences](/source/Nucleic_acid_sequence) in chromosomes. Apart from studies on crab poly-AT carried out in the early 1960s, Southern was the first to determine the [nucleotide](/source/nucleotide) sequence of a [eukaryotic](/source/eukaryotic) chromosomal [DNA](/source/DNA) fraction, demonstrating that a guinea pig 'satellite' had an unexpectedly simple repetitive structure based on a sequence of six nucleotides. In mouse satellite DNA he showed both short and long range [periodicities](/source/periodic_function). These and other studies on [repetitive DNA](/source/Repeated_sequence_(DNA)) he showed both short and long range periodicities. These and other studies on repetitive DNA sequences enabled him to suggest how [non-coding](/source/Noncoding_DNA) [chromosomal](/source/chromosome) DNA may have evolved. Southern has devised valuable methods for DNA analysis. His 'blot' technique, for the identification of specific sequences among large populations of fragments generated by [endonuclease](/source/endonuclease)s, has found extremely widespread and important applications. He has also made important observations on the differential [transcription](/source/Transcription_(genetics)) of DNA sequences into RNA, and on patterns of [DNA methylation](/source/DNA_methylation).{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F1983%2F34%27) |title=EC/1983/34: Southern, Edwin Mellor |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713151550/https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F1983%2F34%27) |location=London |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}}} == References == {{Reflist}} {{FRS 1983}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Southern, Edwin}} Category:1938 births Category:People educated at Burnley Grammar School Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Category:Living people Category:British molecular biologists Category:Knights Bachelor Category:English biochemists Category:Royal Medal winners Category:People from Burnley Category:Whitley Professors of Biochemistry Category:Recipients of the Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester Category:British fellows of the Royal Society --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edwin Southern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Southern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Southern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.