Dr. Lanza is one of the most respected scientists in the world—a U.S. World & News Report cover story called him a “genius” and “renegade thinker,” even likening him to Einstein. He is currently chief scientific officer of the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine and professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Lanza was recognized by TIME Magazine in 2014 on its list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” PROSPECT Magazine named him one of the Top 50 “World Thinkers” in 2015.
Dr. Lanza’s current research focuses on stem cells and regenerative medicine and their potential to provide therapies for some of the world’s most deadly and debilitating conditions. He is credited with several hundred publications and inventions, and over 30 scientific books, including the definitive references in the fields of stem cells and regenerative medicine.
As a former Fulbright Scholar, Lanza studied with polio-pioneer Jonas Salk and Nobel laureates Gerald Edelman and Rodney Porter. He also worked closely (and co-authored a series of papers) with noted Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. Dr. Lanza received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a University Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar. Lanza was part of the team that cloned the world’s first human embryo, as well as the first to successfully generate stem cells from adults using somatic cell nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning). In 2001 he was also the first to clone an endangered species, and recently published the first-ever report of pluripotent stem cell use in humans.
“Robert Lanza is the living embodiment of the character played by Matt Damon in the movie “Good Will Hunting.” Growing up underprivileged in Stoughton, Mass., south of Boston, the young preteen caught the attention of Harvard Medical School researchers when he showed up on the university steps having successfully altered the genetics of chickens in his basement. Over the next decade, he was “discovered” and taken under the wing of scientific giants such as psychologist B.F. Skinner, immunologist Jonas Salk, and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. His mentors described him as a “genius,” a “renegade thinker,” even likening him to Einstein.” — U.S. News & World Report, cover story
Stem cell and cloning guru Robert Lanza has battled the Catholic Church, the White House, and violent protesters.
Whether defying the dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine so he could publish a book on world health or challenging the titans of cosmology, Robert Lanza has never followed the script. It's no wonder, then, that this renegade doctor would lead the charge into medicine's most controversial turf: the creation of cloned embryos for therapy and the engineering of spare human parts.
The value of therapeutic cloning has long been clear to Lanza, who did his early work with South African heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard. Starting from those early days, Lanza understood that the barrier to tissue transfer was rejection by the recipient. From an entire organ to a dose of embryonic stem cells, if the tissue’s DNA came from anyone else, the transplant would be rejected without the aid of harsh immunosuppressive drugs. "The treatment could be worse than the problem," Lanza found. But embryonic clones, the source of an endless supply of stem cells imprinted with one's personal DNA, could alter the equation in favor of the patient and augur a paradigm shift in medicine on par with the changes brought about by antibiotics and vaccines.
Lanza's single-minded quest to usher in this new age has paid dividends in scientific insights and groundbreaking discoveries. Today a world force in the field of regenerative medicine, he's close to delivering cellular therapies that might reseed the immune system, heal damaged hearts, even save limbs.
The advance raised new possibilities for regenerative medicine
Robert P. Lanza, American scientist known for his research on cloning, particularly his contributions to the refinement of a somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique that enabled the generation of the world's first human embryonic stem (ES) cells from aged somatic (body) cells …The advance raised new possibilities for regenerative medicine, where transplantation with ES cells derived from adult cells held therapeutic promise for a wide array of diseases and disorders.
As a youth, Lanza emerged from disadvantaged circumstances to win recognition for a science-fair project in which he used nuclear protein to induce melanin (pigment) production in white chickens. He eventually published his findings in the journal Nature. Lanza went on to receive B.A. (1978) and M.D. (1983) degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. During his studies he spent time in the laboratories of such renowned scientists as the American physician and medical researcher Jonas Salk and the American psychologist B.F. Skinner. Lanza also traveled to South Africa to study heart-transplant medicine with surgeon Christiaan Barnard.
… He later helped generate human ES cells from single blastomeres—cells produced through cleavage of the fertilized egg prior to embryo formation—potentially circumventing the issue of embryo destruction. Lanza also contributed to research in which ES cells were successfully differentiated into retinal pigment epithelium, the cell layer that nourishes the retina of the eye. The work led to the first clinical trials to test ES cells in human patients…
Lanza was the recipient of various awards. He also wrote or cowrote numerous books, notably Biocentrism (2009; with Bob Berman), in which he elaborated on the idea that life and consciousness are fundamental elements of the universe rather than accidents of the laws of physics. In 2014 Lanza was among the 100 honoured by Time magazine as the world's most influential people.
Robert Lanza C'78 M'83 has racked up a slew of scientific accolades—and generated an equal amount of controversy—for his pioneering work on cloning and stem cells. And then there's the private island stocked with dinosaur fossils, the Good Will Hunting comparisons … and his "theory of everything."
Sixteen miles outside Boston, in the back corner of an unfinished basement, a teenage boy lowers his syringe to a chicken egg and takes aim.
It's 1969 and this is Robert Lanza's first time experimenting with embryos. He isn't yet a well-known scientist. He hasn't achieved all those cloning and stem-cell firsts, hasn't been called genius or renegade. He doesn't have to worry about being killed on his way to work. Journalists haven't come up with the "real-life Good Will Hunting" analogy or suggested that he open his own Jurassic Park. He hasn't worked with B.F. Skinner and Jonas Salk, hasn't told off the former dean of Penn’s medical school. He doesn't have a private 10-acre island and a house filled with dinosaur bones. That will all come later. Today he's still just a kid, and he wants to win the school science fair.
Lanza published a paper in The Lancet earlier this year detailing the results of early clinical trials involving two women suffering from macular degeneration. A UCLA ophthalmologist injected each woman with 50,000 retinal cells derived from human embryonic stem cells, and according to the paper, both claim to have better vision as a result. They're not 20/20. But after a single injection one now walks the mall alone, uses her computer, and can pour a cup of coffee. The other sees colors and can read five letters on the eye chart. If Lanza is remembered one day as the man who saved millions from blindness, his story will provide a ready-made biopic for Ben Affleck. Born in the hardscrabble town of Roxbury and raised by a professional gambler, he escaped the economic underclass through intelligence and imagination. At 13, he altered the DNA of a chicken to make it change color; the experiment was published in Nature. His sisters never graduated from high school. He received an MD from Penn and a Fulbright scholarship, and has collaborated with giants, including B.F. Skinner and Jonas Salk. He was the first ever to clone an endangered species, and now he's the standard-bearer for stem cell research.
The Dawning of a New Era of Hope
Stem cell researcher Robert Lanza hopes to save thousands of lives — and for a long time this caused him to fear for his own… At the time, a doctor was threatened at a nearby fertility clinic, and a pipe bomb exploded at a bio lab in Boston. "Back then I thought that there was probably a 50-50 chance that I was going to get knocked off because I was so visible," says the doctor. "I said, okay, try to kill me — I'm still going to do what I think is right." In Lanza's case, doing what is "right" involves working with therapies based on human stem cells. The blind shall see again; the paralyzed shall walk again; the hemophiliac shall not bleed anymore. That may sound like something out of the Bible, but Lanza is no faith healer. In fact, the US business magazine Fortune called him "the standard-bearer for stem cell research." Lanza is often compared to the main character played by Matt Damon in the film "Good Will Hunting," a highly talented outsider who, like Lanza, comes from a humble background.
Initial Success: "We have some surprisingly good visual outcome," says Steven Schwartz, an eye surgeon at UCLA. He says that one of his patients can read a clock again and go shopping, while another can recognize colors again. Lanza is a "genius" and his work is "stellar," Schwartz says.
Book trailer for Lanza’s new novel with award-winning author Nancy Kress
OBSERVER takes you on a mind-expanding journey to the very edges of science. It will thrill you, inspire you, and lead you to think about life and the power of the imagination in startling new ways.
“Robert Lanza is one of the most exciting thinkers of our time, and his novel, OBSERVER, is a thrilling exploration of his most daring theories, a thought-provoking page-turner that asks the most profound question of our existence—what is our role in the true nature of reality?"—Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author.
“Robert Lanza has taken the gigantic step of incorporating his ideas into a science fiction novel with Nancy Kress …brilliant…a riveting and moving story."—Rhonda Byrne, #1 New York Times bestselling author.
“A startling, fascinating novel.”—Kim Stanley Robinson, New York Times bestselling author.
BEYOND BIOCENTRISM: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death
Host Paul Kennedy has his understanding of reality turned-upside-down by Dr. Robert Lanza in this paradigm-shifting hour. Dr. Lanza provides a compelling argument for consciousness as the basis for the universe, rather than consciousness simply being its by-product.
Observers determine the structure of spacetime itself
The paper—published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (one of the world’s leading journals in cosmology & astrophysics, covering the latest developments and breakthroughs including Stephen Hawking’s groundbreaking work on the evolution of the early universe)—was co-authored with Dmitriy Podolskiy and Andrei Barvinsky, one of the world’s leading theorists in quantum gravity & quantum cosmology. The paper shows that networks of observers define the structure of physical reality/spacetime itself. In particular, it reveals the exasperating incompatibility between Einstein’s general relativity and quantum mechanics vanishes if one takes the properties of observers—us—into account. The study also represents a rare case in physics when the presence of observers drastically changes the behavior of observable quantities themselves not only at microscopic scales but also at very large spatio-temporal scales. Observers determine the value of both the gravitational constant and the effective cosmological constant.
On Decoherence in Quantum Gravity
In his papers on relativity, Einstein showed that time was relative to the observer. This new paper takes this one step further, arguing that the observer creates it. The paper shows that the intrinsic properties of quantum gravity and matter alone cannot explain the tremendous effectiveness of the emergence of time and the lack of quantum entanglement in our everyday world. Instead, it's necessary to include the properties of the observer, and in particular, the way we process and remember information.
Dr. Robert Lanza selected for the 2014 TIME 100 list of the hundred most influential people in the world, along with Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, Robert Redford, and other artists, pioneers, leaders, titans and icons.
Robert Lanza selected as one of the top "World Thinkers 2015" by Prospect Magazine. The thinkers were chosen for "engaging in original and profound ways with the central questions of the world today," as well as for their continuing significance for "this year's biggest questions" (in economics, science, philosophy, cultural and social criticism and in politics).
From Wikipedia: The h-index measures both the productivity and impact of a scientist or scholar. A value for h of about 12 might be typical for advancement to tenure (associate professor) at major [US] research universities. A value of about 18 could mean a full professorship, 15–20 could mean a fellowship in the American Physical Society, and 45 or higher could mean membership in the United States National Academy of Sciences. According to Hirsch (who put forward the h-index), an h index of 20 is good, 40 is outstanding, and 60 is truly exceptional.
Rethinking Our Insanely Improbable Universe
Speaking with the authority of a distinguished scientific career, Robert Lanza presents the case for abandoning the "dumb universe" paradigm…
Free Abridgement of Biocentrism
How life creates the universe. Authors say cosmology misses the big picture unless it includes biology.
The Biocentric Universe Theory: Life Creates Time, Space, and the Cosmos Itself
Stem-cell guru Robert Lanza presents a radical new view of the universe and everything in it.
Robert Lanza is one of the most respected scientists in the world—a US News & World Report cover story called him a “genius” and a “renegade thinker,” even likening him to Einstein. Lanza has teamed with Bob Berman, the most widely read astronomer in the world, to produce Biocentrism, a revolutionary new view of the universe.
Every now and then a simple yet radical idea shakes the very foundations of knowledge. The startling discovery that the world was not flat challenged and ultimately changed the way people perceived themselves and their relationship with the world. For most humans of the 15th century, the notion of Earth as ball of rock was nonsense. The whole of Western, natural philosophy is undergoing a sea change again, increasingly being forced upon us by the experimental findings of quantum theory, and at the same time, towards doubt and uncertainty in the physical explanations of the universe’s genesis and structure. Biocentrism completes this shift in worldview, turning the planet upside down again with the revolutionary view that life creates the universe instead of the other way around.
In this paradigm, life is not an accidental byproduct of the laws of physics. Biocentrism takes the reader on a seemingly improbable but ultimately inescapable journey through a foreign universe—our own—from the viewpoints of an acclaimed biologist and a leading astronomer. Switching perspective from physics to biology unlocks the cages in which Western science has unwittingly managed to confine itself. Biocentrism will shatter the reader’s ideas of life—time and space, and even death. At the same time it will release us from the dull worldview of life being merely the activity of an admixture of carbon and a few other elements; it suggests the exhilarating possibility that life is fundamentally immortal.
The 21st century is predicted to be the Century of Biology, a shift from the previous century dominated by physics. It seems fitting, then, to begin the century by turning the universe outside-in and unifying the foundations of science with a simple idea discovered by one of the leading life-scientists of our age. Biocentrism awakens in readers a new sense of possibility, and is full of so many shocking new perspectives that the reader will never see reality the same way again.
Performed the World’s First Heart Transplant
New England Journal of Medicine 307; 1275 (1982)
Lanza (with Barnard & Cooper)
JAMA 249; 1746 (1983)
Lanza (with Barnard, Cooper & Cassidy)
American Heart Journal 107; 8 (1984)
Lanza (with Barnard, Cooper & Boyd)
Developed the Polio Vaccine
J. Supramol. Struct 182;33 (1979)
Lanza (with Salk)
Most Influential Psychologist of All Time
―American Psychological Association
SCIENCE 207; 543 (1980)
Lanza (with Skinner & Epstein)
SCIENCE 212; 695 (1981)
Lanza (with Skinner & Epstein)
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 38; 201 (1982)
Lanza (with Skinner & Starr)
Recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology
Lanza worked with Porter at Oxford University in 1977
Nobel-winner was “The Father of Modern Immunology”
Lanza worked with Edelman at Rockefeller University in 1976
“I downloaded a digital copy of [biocentrism] in the privacy of my home, where no one could observe my buying or reading such a “New Agey” sort of cosmology book. Now, mind you, my motivation was not all that pure. It was my intention to read the book so I could more effectively refute it like a dedicated physicist was expected to…The book had the completely opposite effect on me. The views that Dr. Lanza presented in this book changed my thinking in ways from which there could never be retreat. Before I had actually finished reading the book, it was abundantly obvious to me that Dr. Lanza’s writings provided me with the pieces of perspective that I had been desperately seeking. Everything I had learned and everything I thought I knew just exploded in my mind and, as possibilities first erupted and then settled down, a completely new understanding emerged. The information I had accumulated in my mind hadn’t changed, but the way I viewed it did –in a really big way.”
“The heart of [biocentrism], collectively, is correct. On page 15 they say “the animal observer creates reality and not the other way around.” That is the essence of the entire book, and that is factually correct. It is an elementary conclusion from quantum mechanics. So what Lanza says in this book is not new. Then why does Robert have to say it at all? It is because we, the physicists, do NOT say it—or if we do say it, we only whisper it, and in private—furiously blushing as we mouth the words. True, yes; politically correct, hell no! Bless Robert Lanza for creating this book, and bless Bob Berman for not dissuading friend Robert from going ahead with it. Not that I think Robert Lanza could be dissuaded–this dude doesn’t dissuade! Lanza’s remarkable personal story is woven into the book, and is uplifting. You should enjoy this book, and it should help you on your personal journey to understanding.
“Having interviewed some of the most brilliant minds in the scientific world, I found Dr. Robert Lanza’s insights into the nature of consciousness original and exciting. His theory of biocentrism is consistent with the most ancient traditions of the world which say that consciousness conceives, governs, and becomes a physical world. It is the ground of our Being in which both subjective and objective reality come into existence…I agree more with [Lanza] than with anyone else that I have ever met.”
“My special guest is Dr. Robert Lanza and his extraordinary mind, I just finished reading his book Biocentrism and I said to myself, ‘Finally, aha, somebody that I can totally relate to.’”
“Deepak Chopra”
“TIME Magazine: Top 100 Icons of the Century”
Omni Magazine is back. Featured story:
Building Doctor Who’s Time Machine
What if you could travel through time just like you navigate space? The journey starts here