Dr. James Robl, a pioneer and leader in the field of transgenic cloning and biotechnology and a world-renowned scientist, owes his start to a small community college in central Kansas. Robl attended Barton County Community College for two years and earned an associate’s degree in biology in 1975.

Barton alumnus Dr. James Robl examines cells on a screen along with an employee at his Hematech laboratory in Sioux Falls, S.D., April 2003.

As a scientist, Robl became the first to clone a genetically engineered cow in January 1998. While a researcher and a veterinary and animal science

"I have to say that Barton not only prepared me for the next step at Kansas State, but did an excellent job in preparing me for my masters, Ph.D., and post-doc, and eventually a career as a scientist. I have absolutely no regrets about spending the first two years at Barton County. It was an excellent education with small numbers of students in classes and a lot of one-on-one help with instructors." - Dr. James Robl, Leading Scientist and Barton Alumnus

professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Robl successfully cloned George and Charlie, calves that were born on a Texas farm. Robl left the realm of academia in 2000 to become co-founder of Hematch, a biotechnology firm, located in South Dakota and Connecticut.

Hematech’s mission is to create human antibodies that can recognize disease-causing invaders and eliminate them from the body. Robl’s research holds promise of one day being used to create medicines to treat immune deficiency disorders, cancer, bio-terrorism, antibiotic-resistant infections, or recurring respiratory and ear infections.

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