John Gurdon is a British developmental biologist known for his pioneering work in cloning. He gained international recognition in 2012 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on nuclear reprogramming, which demonstrated that mature cells can be transformed into stem cells. Gurdon's most famous experiment involved transferring the nucleus of a frog's mature intestinal cell into an egg cell, leading to the development of a tadpole. This groundbreaking work laid the foundation for advancements in stem cell research and regenerative medicine, influencing the fields of biology and medicine significantly.