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The Tissue Culture Laboratory of Dr. George Otto Gey 60 yrs ago as recalled by a former student

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Abstract

George Otto Gey was a pioneer in tissue culture, having introduced the roller drum, the HeLa cell line, and the use of human fetal cord serum and beef embryo extract. During his career (1920s–1960s), the field of tissue culture was in its infancy and not yet dependent upon commercial biological supply houses. While the early techniques of cell culture have been greatly improved upon, of historical interest may be personal observations of the Gey Tissue Culture Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Medical School, as recalled by a medical student working there in the 1950s. Dr. Gey served as a founding member and executive of the Tissue Culture Commission (TCC) and became the first president of the Tissue Culture Association (TCA).

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Acknowledgements

I gratefully acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Mrs. Amanda Williams, Medical Center Library, University of Kentucky. The figures were expertly presented by Mr. Seth Robinson. I am indebted to I.S. Tray II for his continued support.

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  1. University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA

    Charles T. Ambrose

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  1. Charles T. Ambrose
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Correspondence to Charles T. Ambrose.

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Editor: Tetsuji Okamoto

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Ambrose, C.T. The Tissue Culture Laboratory of Dr. George Otto Gey 60 yrs ago as recalled by a former student. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 53, 467–473 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-016-0128-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-016-0128-8

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