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Congratulations to David Gardner AM
IVF pioneer and world-renowned scientist, Professor David Gardner AM, received a Queen’s Birthday honour in June with membership in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his significant service to reproductive medicine and education.
This honour is further recognition of his outstanding achievements to help countless thousands of childless people around the world to achieve their dreams of parenthood.
Much of David’s research has been successfully translated into clinical procedures with IVF clinics around the world utilising technologies he developed. His work on human embryo culture conditions revolutionised how human IVF is performed today with the development and clinical introduction of blastocyst transfer leading to single embryo transfer worldwide.
David completed his PhD in 1987 under the supervision of Professor Henry Leese at the University of York. In 1988 he moved to Harvard Medical School to work with Professor John Biggers, after which he came to Monash University in Australia.
In 1997 David became the Scientific Director of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, and in 2007 he was appointed Professor and Chair of Department at the University of Melbourne and was later promoted to the level of Distinguished Professor.
David became the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF in 2017 and in the same year he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA).
His professional associations are extensive including:
• Fellow of the Society for Reproductive Biology (Australia and NZ);
• Member of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand and Chair of its Scientific Advisory Committee;
• Member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM);
• Member of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE);
• Member of the International Embryo Transfer Society;
• Member of the Society for the Study of Reproduction, USA;
and
• Member of the Society for the Study of Fertility, UK.
In response to Order of Australia honour, David said: “The citation covered two of my life’s passions – IVF and teaching (my contributions to photography and music were apparently not considered!), so it was wonderful to be recognised for both facets of my professional life.
“I’ve always held that I have had a blessed career, one that started for me 40 years ago when I undertook my Honours project on mouse embryo culture.
“I have had the fortune of working with and being mentored by giants in both research (Henry Leese and John Biggers) and clinical IVF (Bob Edwards, Alan Trounson and Howard Jones to name but a few), and in having the opportunity to work with
David Gardner AM
‘Good science really does help society ... our ability to bring joy to otherwise childless people really is something amazing we all share’
visionaries such as Bill Schoolcraft to facilitate the translation of basic research into clinical practise.
“Over this time, I was also blessed with the opportunity to train many PhD students and postdoctoral fellows who themselves have gone on to do great things.
‘I am extremely proud that our basic scientific research
has been translated successfully into clinical procedures, such as blastocyst culture and transfer, which has culminated in the birth of millions more children worldwide.
‘I am still amazed that over two decades since its inception, the Gardner grading system has become the world standard for blastocyst selection – amazed because the day I created it I made the comment to my IVF laboratory that ‘this looks like a good start, but that it will be superseded as soon as we learn more about the blastocyst.’
“I have always enjoyed teaching, so as well as my contributions to undergraduate courses, for many years I have arranged or lectured in as many IVF symposia and meetings as possible. This desire to impart knowledge was instilled in me by Bob Edwards, who exemplified the significance of sharing knowledge.
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