Endocrine Abstracts

David T Baird, Centre for Reproductive Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK Abstract

David Baird was born in Glasgow in 1935 and was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the Universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge and Edinburgh. After graduating in medicine in 1959 he received clinical training in endocrinology, obstetrics and gynaecology in Edinburgh and London obtaining MRCP as well MRCOG. Between 1965 and 1968 he worked in full time basic research in USA at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology under the directorship of Gregory Pincus and Jim Tait who, together with his wife Sylvia, discovered aldosterone. This basic grounding in the principles of reproductive biology and steroid biochemistry had a profound influence on David and subsequently shaped his research interests and philosophy. In 1968 he returned to Edinburgh and played a major role in establishing the Centre for Reproductive Biology at the University of Edinburgh attracting substantial funds from the Ford Foundation and the Medical Research Council. When the MRC Unit of Reproductive Biology was established in Edinburgh in 1972 under the Directorship of Roger Short he was appointed Deputy Director with specific responsibility for bridging the interface between basic science and clinical medicine. From 1977 to 1985 he held the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Edinburgh until being appointed MRC Clinical Research Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology.

Stemming from his collaboration with Jim Goding and John McCracken at the Worcester Foundation, David has utilised sheep extensively as an experimental model for investigating control of ovarian and uterine function. Amongst research achievements for David and his collaborators have been the identification of PGF2α as the luteolytic hormone in sheep and many other species; the role of prostaglandins in menstruation and its disorders; the development of antigestogens as medical abortfacients and contraceptives; a unique method of preserving reproductive function in women undergoing chemo/radiotherapy for cancer by cryopreservation and autotransplantation of the ovary; and recently the cloning of the `fecundity' gene in sheep.

In the 40 years of his professional career David has played a significant part in establishing research in reproduction as a respectable and prestigious scientific discipline.

Reproductive Medicine has emerged as an important clinical speciality which is playing a key role in the application of our knowledge of molecular genetics to the understanding and treatment of disease. David has been involved locally, nationally and internationally in setting standards of clinical training and research. He has been a vigorous advocate of the promotion of professional opportunities for women in science and medicine. Much of his research has been directed towards providing men and women with the means to control their reproductive lives. He is currently Director of the Contraceptive Development Network which has the objective of developing new methods of contraception for people in developing countries.

In spite of his apparent irreverence for the establishment David has received a number of awards for his contribution to reproductive science including the 1980 Clinical Endocrinology Medal from the Society for Endocrinology, the 1997 Marshall Medal from the Society for the Study of Fertility and the 2000 Patrick Steptoe Memorial Medal from the British Fertility Society. He surprised his friends (and himself) by being awarded and accepting a CBE in 2000.