Robert Edwards at 100: Remembering an IVF Visionary

Marking what would have been the 100th birthday of the late IVF pioneer Professor Sir Robert Edwards, the online event 'Robert Edwards at 100: Remembering an IVF Visionary' – produced by PET (the Progress Educational Trust), in partnership with the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists – explored the enduring legacy of his life and work.

The event brought together a panel of speakers whose lives has been touched by Professor Edwards – known widely, and affectionately, as 'Bob' – in a personal or professional capacity. The resulting contributions offered a fascinating insight into a man whose tenacious dedication to IVF research forever changed the landscape of fertility treatment and scientific discovery.

The first speaker was Dr Jenny Joy, one of Bob's daughters, who described Bob's early years in Manchester. His modest background was underpinned by a strong sense of family and the value of education. A period in the army took him to the Middle East, encouraging a cosmopolitan outlook that he never lost.

Dr Joy shared evocative family photos of family life filled with transcontinental travel, and memories of a bustling home in Cambridge teeming with students, lively conversation and intellectual challenge. Dr Joy remembered her father as 'always his own man', and a nimble conversationalist.

Professor Barry Bavister, who was the first person ever to witness IVF in humans (see BioNews 1304a), spoke next. One day in 1968, Bob became despondent in his laboratory while looking at two slides that revealed that human sperm cells had failed to penetrate a human egg cell. He then asked Barry, who was researching the factors influencing the capacitation of hamster sperm in vitro, to scrutinise a third slide. This was the slide that finally showed fertilisation taking place.

Professor Bavister's work as a young researcher – modifying the culture medium with sodium bicarbonate, thus optimising alkalinity levels to replicate those of the human body – was key to Bob achieving IVF in the laboratory. Recalling press hysteria surrounding the announcement of the first IVF human embryo, Barry highlighted Bob's unfailing dedication, even while acting as a lightning rod for criticism from press and scientific peers alike.

The following speakers were mother and son team – Grace McDonald and her son Alastair (the first boy ever born who was conceived via IVF), both of whom are patrons of the charity Fertility Network UK. Grace recalled Bob to be 'very approachable, kind and caring' during her time as a patient at a cottage hospital in Oldham. She paid tribute to his compassion and encouragement, 'never talking down' to patients and always meticulously explaining the procedure taking place. On informing her of the successful egg retrieval, he told her: 'One egg retrieved – and it's a beauty!'

Grace is still in touch with some of the other members of the 'Ovum Club', as the women undergoing experimental IVF referred to themselves (see BioNews 1304b). For his part, Bob always kept in touch with Grace and Alastair. The last time the three of them spent time together was after a symposium in 2005 – after repairing to a pub near Liverpool Street Station, Grace and Alastair eventually made sure that Bob was put on the last train home.

'Uncle Bob', as Alastair called him, was a role model for a life lived with 'kindness, morality, respect and dignity'. Alastair remembered a man who was 'charismatic and fun', who showed strength in adversity, and who offered support as Alastair grew up. Alastair went on to campaign for Bob's 'well overdue' place on the honours list (see BioNews 611). In his contribution to the event, he paid heartfelt tribute to 'one of the greatest scientists who ever existed', and said he felt privileged to be part of the IVF story.

The next speaker, Professor Geraldine Hartshorne, completed her PhD under Bob's supervision in 1988. She recalled meeting him for the first time in 1985 – his office desk covered in slides, his strong Yorkshire accent proving a challenge (even for a student fresh from Leeds), and his predilection for cheese and onion sandwiches. With a 50 percent dropout rate from Bob's PhD students and a 'challenging' atmosphere in the physiology department at Cambridge, Professor Hartshorne much preferred working in the embryology lab at Bourn Hall (the fertility clinic Bob helped to establish), which comprised a beautiful if ramshackle assortment of working spaces including portacabins and semi-converted stables.  

Professor Hartshorne enjoyed privileged access to Bob, who encouraged discussion on equal terms, based on academic freedom, high expectations and plentiful opportunities. She remembered a man with immense integrity, a keeper of promises, wise and practical. 'Beware the abominable no-man' was a frequent saying of his, reflecting his frequent battles for funding and resources. Reflecting on Bob's legacy, Professor Hartshorne observed that IVF success rates still need to be improved, but that the jobs and fields of study created by the very existence of IVF – never patented – have strengthened partnerships between scientists and the medical community. She argued that more support for research is vital (see BioNews 1243).

We then heard from Jane Blower, president of the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS). She talked about Bob's professional legacy, and how his discoveries have transformed not only the prospects for the involuntarily childless but also the landscape of treatments and systems, creating a 'ripple effect' that goes well beyond the process of assisted conception. A vast array of roles and systems now exist as a direct legacy of Bob's visionary work in 'reshaping both science and society', from the creation of professional bodies such as ARCS and ethics institutions to professional developments in embryology, andrology, multidisciplinary collaboration, cryo specialisms and data science.

Turning to the science, Professor Alfonso Martínez Arias stressed the pivotal role of developmental biology in IVF. He pointed out that work on IVF laid the foundations for research in regenerative medicine, although this is threatened by lack of funding and organisational failures to connect research strands. He argued that IVF should be taught as part of developmental biology, using stem cell embryo models as an example, and lamenteed the fact that textbooks and courses fail to stress the connections. Hailing Bob's work, he pointed out the University of Cambridge's belatedness in promoting the achievements of Bob and his fellow IVF pioneers, contrasting this with the high profile given to James Watson and Francis Crick.

Finally, Professor Nick Hopwood's presentation discussed the way Bob, Dr Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy have been represented in print and on screen. The recent film 'Joy' (see BioNews 1266) took as its basis 'A Matter of Life', the joint autobiography of Bob and Dr Steptoe, originally published in 1980. Professor Hopwood noted that 'the market has moulded the history of IVF', discussing how the book was fashioned into a more commercial product by its publishers Hutchinson. 'The material is obviously fascinating, the presentation is not', observed the editor Harold Harris.

Writing in the journal Medical History, Professor Hopwood credited a third author – the doctor and poet Dannie Abse – who was called upon to do a complete rewrite. Insiders regarded the resulting version as 'so full of errors they doubted that Bob ever read it properly'. Abse's method was to break up the prose and to pad out the narrative with vivid scenes that probably never happened.

Bob had come to his work on fertility late – through earlier work on genetics, immunology and contraception – yet was depicted by Abse as a lifelong crusader for treating infertility. Additionally, Abse constructed his own versions of Lesley Brown (the first woman to have a life birth following IVF) and Purdy, and his ghostwritten versions of these women are further amplified by their depiction in 'Joy'. Abse's work distances us from the reality of IVF history, while simultaneously becoming a part of that history.

The affection and respect that Bob earned from his family, friends, patients and colleagues were in strong evidence during these presentations. When Bob was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010 see BioNews 579), Barry remembered a moving tribute to from someone called Henrik which simply said: 'Thank you for my life.' As Blower put it, 'his legacy isn't just in medical journals or Nobel Prizes – it's in playgrounds, school photos, and birthday parties all around the world'.

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PET is grateful to the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists for supporting this event.