Zavos speaks on cloning

An Emporia State University alumnus who has gained international prominence with a career in cloning and reproductive science vigorously defended his work in a speech Thursday afternoon at his alma mater.

Dr. Panayiotis Zavos, who has to his credit the first human cloned embryo for reproductive purposes among other breakthroughs, spoke to a crowd of 75 people at ESU. Zavos came to ESU from Cyprus in 1966 and left with three degrees, a bachelor’s in biology and chemistry, a master’s in biology and physiology, and an education specialist in science (Ed.S.) degree.

Zavos generally speaks to much larger crowds, on international news programs and in debates in front of thousands, defending cloning as a viable reproductive process.

“I don’t mind defending myself, because I’ve got the facts,” Zavos said, adding emphatically, “Next slide, please!”

His speech was titled To Clone or Not to Clone: Ethics, Morality and Hypocrisy.” Zavos and his team created a hybrid embryo using human DNA and bovine mitochondrial DNA. As some in the press would tell it, he’s “playing God.” Said Zavos, “You can be misunderstood in this business.”

Zavos said his critics are quick to misinterpret, misquote, and misrepresent the facts, but he’s not one to take it lying down, as he named opponents he gladly debates on CNN. Zavos said poorly conducted research casts the field in a bad light – such as the revelations of South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk’s fabrications in cloning research.

“In the eyes of the world, they even made us look bad,” Zavos said. “I know the gentleman, but I wouldn’t even touch him with a 10-foot pole.”

One critic testified before Congress, right next to Zavos, that a cloned sheep had a low IQ – as if, Zavos said, there was a way to test sheep intelligence. And Zavos later forced the man to admit, on NPR, that he was a paid consultant for a company that would benefit from restricted cloning.

Involved in the creation of 2,000 to 3,000 babies through his reproductive work, Zavos assured the crowd that “We respect human life.” His team is now awaiting results of a pregnancy, having transferred an embryo at the four-cell stage into a mother.

As chief scientist in the development of new reproductive technologies, Zavos’s work has worldwide implications, and has received worldwide attention. He spent all day on campus speaking with students and faculty.

A first-rate education at ESU became a launching pad for Zavos to match wits with Nobel Prize laureates, as he planned to do in a Los Angeles debate after leaving Emporia.

“I felt that I was very prepared to conquer the world,” Zavos said of leaving ESU as a student, “and I’m not sure I’m done yet.”

Zavos, a Distinguished Alumnus of ESU, pushes forward in the field because he trusts his research and the experts around him. Others, in their haste, can jeopardize the field. “We have faith in our system,” he said.

And as he said, he’s accustomed to taking the heat.

“I’m willing to stay up here and take the heat, in the kitchen – because we can cook.”

Last Updated July 2, 2007>