Professor Sir Martin Evans is the co-founder of Celixir. In 1981, he isolated the first embryonic stem cells.

In 2007 Professor Sir Martin Evans from the School of Biosciences was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals.

Sir Martin was the first scientist to identify embryonic stem cells, which can be adapted for a wide variety of medical purposes. His discoveries are now being applied in virtually all areas of biomedicine – from basic research to the development of new therapies.

Sir Martin has been a key figure in establishing Cardiff University as a world-leading centre for biomedical research.