An Accidental Andrologist

Standing on giant shoulders: a personal recollection of the lives and achievements of eminent animal scientists 1965–2015

“…Therefore, I was not to see much of him before I moved to Cornell University in late 1985. Despite the administrative challenge of welding together several previously disparate groups and new responsibility for undergraduate teaching, Brian continued to maintain an active research program with the collaboration of Simon Maddocks and contributions from a series of excellent international PhD students (Setchell 2012). Before and after stepping down as Chairman in 1991, Brian undertook a series of productive international study leaves over several years.…”

“…After retiring in 1996, Brian continued to travel and conduct research collaborations on paternal influences on embryo development (Setchell 2012). Most recently, while in his ninth decade, he co-supervised PhD students investigating the effects of obesity on reproduction in males (Bakos et al 2011).…”

“…During these studies, his interest in reproductive physiology was sparked by the teaching of John Biggers and the renowned embryologist, C. R. ('Bunny') Austin. However, Brian was unable to pursue postgraduate studies immediately after graduation because he was bonded to the Department of Agriculture for 5 years (Setchell 2012). Nevertheless, he was fortunate in obtaining a position as research officer in the Nutrition Research Laboratory at the Veterinary Research Station, Glenfield, to work with Bill McClymont (see earlier in this article) on ovine pregnancy toxaemia.…”

“…There he continued to pursue his interest in brain metabolism (Setchell 1959) under the supervision of Alan Wilson. This also brought him into contact with several famous scientists at lectures and seminars, including Sir Rudolph Peters whose kindness to him Brian continued to remember (Setchell 2012). On returning to Australia in 1957, he could not have known that Cambridge would again play an important part in his career.…”

“…Back at Glenfield, Brian continued to work on brain metabolism and various other projects addressing livestock health problems (Setchell 2012). During this period, he first met Geoffrey Waites, a young English physiologist who recently had been appointed to the CSIRO Division of Animal Physiology at Prospect to work on male reproduction.…”