Dolly The Sheep

Born at the Roslin Institute on 5 July 1996, Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Her creation established scientific thinking, transformed our understanding of how cells develop and opened new possibilities in areas including stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and genetic technologies.

More than thirty years later, Dolly remains an internationally recognised symbol of pioneering science – and an important part of the story of the Roslin Foundation.

A scientific breakthrough

Dolly was created at the Roslin Institute by a team of scientists led by Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, working with PPL Therapeutics.

The research was originally intended to improve methods for producing genetically modified livestock and to explore a fundamental scientific question: could a specialised adult cell be reprogrammed to create an entirely new animal?

The answer was Dolly.

Created from a cell taken from the mammary gland of an adult Finn Dorset sheep, Dolly was born to a Scottish Blackface surrogate mother. Her birth demonstrated for the first time that the genetic material from a specialised adult cell could be reprogrammed to create a whole animal.

When the research was announced in February 1997, Dolly became an international
sensation. More importantly, the discovery changed scientific understanding of what an adult cell could do and helped pave the way for subsequent advances in stem cell research, gene editing and regenerative medicine.

Dolly spent her life at the Roslin Institute, where she went on to have six lambs. In 2003, after developing a progressive lung disease, she was put to sleep at the age of six to prevent her suffering. Following her death, Dolly was donated to National Museums Scotland and is now on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where she remains one of its most recognisable exhibits. Discover more about Dolly and the science behind her at the Roslin Institute.

Dolly’s legacy and the Roslin Foundation

The Roslin Foundation was established in 2008 when the former independent Roslin Institute became part of the University of Edinburgh.

Our origins therefore lie directly in the institution that produced Dolly, and its long history of pioneering animal bioscience.

Today, the Foundation uses the resources created through that history to support the next generation of research associated with the Roslin Institute.

We invest in people, projects and partnerships with the potential to enable new discoveries and create lasting impact. This includes supporting future research leaders through our PhD studentship programme, funding innovative and early-stage science, and helping researchers develop ideas which can unlock larger programmes of research and wider investment.

The science has moved on considerably since Dolly was born, but the principles behind that breakthrough remain highly relevant to what we do: ambitious research, willingness to explore new ideas, and investment in science with the potential to change what is possible. Dolly demonstrated the impact that can come from asking ambitious scientific questions and pursuing ideas at the boundaries of what is thought possible.

That spirit of discover continues at Roslin today.

For the Roslin Foundation, Dolly is therefore more than an important part of our history. Her legacy is a reminder of why investing in people and pioneering science matters – and of the extraordinary impact that research can have far beyond the laboratory.