Remembering Robert Edwards, 1925-2013
Robert Geoffrey Edwards, or 'Bob' as his colleagues and friends knew him, is one of the true giants of the 20th century...
Professor Martin Johnson
Professor of Reproductive Sciences
Professor Martin Johnson is an Adviser to the Progress Educational Trust (PET), Professor of Reproductive Sciences at the University of Cambridge's Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and Editor of the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online. Together with Professor Sir Richard Gardner, he was the first graduate student of IVF pioneer Professor Sir Robert Edwards, and he delivered the Nobel Lecture on the occasion of Professor Edwards being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
BioNews Articles by Professor Martin Johnson
Elusive Nobel prize finally lands!
Professor Robert Edwards was last week awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on IVF [1]. Bob might seem an obvious award candidate since IVF and related treatments are taken for granted nowadays. Most of us know family, friends and/or colleagues who have used IVF, PGD, surrogacy or gamete donation. During the lonely days of the 1960s and 70s, the situation was very different...
Why the MRC did not fund the first test-tube baby
In 1971, reproductive biologist Dr Robert Edwards and gynaecologist Mr Patrick Steptoe applied to the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) requesting funding for research into human in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer. Their application was rejected...
Real Progress - but more to do
Progress (now the Progress Educational Trust) was formed in 1985. Its 10th anniversary was marked at a meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine, when I was kindly invited to give a lecture (1) entitled 'Looking Forward, Looking Back'. Between 1985 and 1995, I personally had moved from being an...
Defining the human embryo: A way with words?
In February this year, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (1) published a discussion paper entitled: 'Human Embryo - A biological definition'. This publication provides an authoritative and comprehensive summary of the scientific arguments and experiments that bear on our understanding of what a human embryo is and is...
Donor anonymity, expenses and payments: why were clinics not prepared?
In their commentary article 'Recruiting egg donors after the removal of anonymity', (BioNews 299, 14/3/05), Alan Thornhill and Ian Craft of the London Fertility Centre lament the fact that the Department of Health (after wide consultation) abolished donor anonymity before addressing the issue of allowable expenses. Their memories...
