George Gey
| George Otto Gey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 6, 1899 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | November 8, 1970 (aged 71) Baltimore, Maryland Pancreatic cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Cell biology |
| Institutions |
Johns Hopkins University University of Pittsburgh |
| Education |
University of Pittsburgh Johns Hopkins University |
| Known for | Propagating the HeLa cell line |
| Spouse | Margaret Gey (m. 1926–70) |
George Otto Gey /ɡaɪ/ (July 6, 1899 – November 8, 1970) was the cell biologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital who is credited with propagating the HeLa cell line. He spent over 35 years developing numerous scientific breakthroughs under the Johns Hopkins Medical School and Hospital.
Gey (pronounced "Guy") was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 6, 1899, the son of German immigrants Frank and Emma Gey. He had an older brother Frank and younger sister Henrietta. Gey's parents immigrated from Germany, and according to the 1910 United States Census, they lived in suburban Pittsburgh.
Gey graduated Peabody High School, and received undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1920. Around 1926 he married Margaret K. (1900–1989), and they later moved to Baltimore where he would earn his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. After graduating Hopkins in 1933, Gey immediately began his 37 year teaching career at the Johns Hopkins Medical School.
HeLa Cell Line
Gey isolated the cells taken from a cervical tumor found in a woman named Henrietta Lacks in 1951. These cells proved to be very unusual in that they could grow in culture medium that was constantly stirred using the roller drum (a technique developed by Gey), and they did not need a glass surface to grow, and therefore they had no space limit. Once Gey realized the longevity and hardiness of the HeLa cells, he began sharing them with scientists all over the world, and the use of the HeLa cell line became widespread. The cells were used in the development of the polio vaccine, lead to the first clone of a human cell, helped in the discovery that humans have 46 chromosomes, and were used to develop in vitro fertilization. By the time Gey published a short abstract claiming some credit for the development of the line (after much nagging from his wife, Margaret), the cells were already being used by scientists all over the world.
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