Person

Whitten, Wesley Kingston (1918 - 2010)

FAA

Born
1 August 1918
Macksville, New South Wales, Australia
Died
24 May 2010
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Occupation
Embryologist and Reproductive biologist

Summary

Wesley Whitten worked in a variety of laboratories in Canberra before moving to the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine from 1966-1980. He made major contributions to the understanding of social and individual aspects of reproductive physiology and behaviour, particularly in respect of mammalian pheromones and in the role of sensual stimuli in regulating the oestrus cycle. His work, including developing techniques for freezing embryos, proved to be a forerunner of infertility treatment in humans. Whitten developed a medium, named after him, that facilitated culturing mammalian eggs and developing embryos. In September 2009 the Wes Whitten Building at the Australian National University was opened.

Details

Chronology

1939
Education - BVSc (hons), University of Sydney
1940 - 1941
Career position - Walter and Eliza Hall Fellow in Veterinary Science
1941
Education - BSc, University of Sydney
1941 - 1945
Career position - Captain, Australian Army Veterinary Corps and Australian Army Service Corps
1946 - 1949
Career position - Research Officer, CSIR
1950 - 1961
Career position - Director of Animal Breeding and Fellow, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University
1961 - 1966
Career position - Assistant Director (Endocrine Products), National Biological Standards Laboratory, Canberra
1962
Education - DSc, University of Sydney
1966 - 1969
Career position - Staff Scientist, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A.
1969 - 1980
Career position - Senior Staff Scientist, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A.
1971 - 1972
Career position - Assistant Director (Research), The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A.
1980 - 1989
Career position - Research Associate, Department of Zoology, University of Tasmania
1982 - 2010
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
1993
Award - Marshall Medal, Society for the Study of Fertility
1996
Award - Pioneer Award, Society for Embryo Transfer
2001
Award - Honorary doctorate, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Anon, ' Wes Whitten', Australian Academy of Science newsletter, 80 (2010), 19. Details
  • Shelton, J. N.; and McCullagh, P. J., 'Wesley Kingston Whitten 1918-2010', Historical Records of Australian Science, 22 (2) (2011), 291-303, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR11009. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn

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