Oliver Smithies researched physical chemistry, biochemistry, and genetics in England, Canada, and the United States during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and contributed to the study of gene function. During the 1950s, Smithies developed a technique to improve separating proteins based on their physical properties. Later, in the 1980s, Smithies utilized homologous recombination, a process that involves two similar pieces of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, that exchange information, to target and manipulate specific genes. Smithies’s research on homologous recombination helped lead to the creation of the knockout mouse, a model organism that has genetic alterations to a single gene, to help researchers understand the function of genes in development. In 2007, Smithies received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Sir Martin Evans and Mario Capecchi for work on introducing specific gene modifications in mice. Smithies’s scientific contributions toward developing the knockout mouse provided a basis for subsequent research studying the impact of different genes on human health.

In 2004, the Havasupai Tribe filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents and several Arizona State University professors after discovering that the scientists had used blood samples from members of the tribe for research on type 2 diabetes in unrelated genetic studies. The study participants were not aware the researchers were using their samples in the study of highly taboo topics in Havasupai culture, such as schizophrenia, ethnic migration, and population inbreeding. The Havasupai Tribe alleged that the collection of samples constituted a violation of informed consent, or an individual’s agreement to participate after receiving an accurate and comprehensive explanation of the intended usage of their genetic material. The lawsuit, Havasupai Tribe v. Arizona State University Board of Regents, reached a settlement in April 2010 that included monetary compensation from Arizona State University and the return of the samples to the Havasupai community. Although the case did not set an official legal precedent, it sparked discourse regarding informed consent and ethical research practices when conducting genetic research with Native American communities and other vulnerable populations.