Spradling and fellow American geneticist Gerald M. Rubin are considered pioneers in the field of genetics for their work in the early 1980s with their idea to "attach" a gene to a Drosophilatransposon, P elements,[3] known to insert itself into fruit fly's chromosomes.[4] From this research came work from other scientists on transposons as a tool for genetic alterations in organisms.[4][5][6][7]
In 2003 Spradling was awarded the Beadle Medal[1] and in 2008 Spradling was awarded the Gruber Prize in Genetics for his work on the Drosophilagenome and continues his work in investigating novel technological approaches to genetics, egg development and stem cells. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.[8] In 2024 he received the Wiley Prize.[9]
^ abJedicke, Peter (2001). Extreme science: transplanting your head and other feats of the future. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN978-0-312-26819-0.