Ian Johnston (''Walter Ian Harewood Johnston, 16 February 1930 – 19 March 2001'') was one of the true pioneers of reproductive medicine in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was a primary contributor to the development of human IVF ( In vitro fertilisation) in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. He was the Head of the Reproductive Biology Unit at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne and was the founding President and Honorary Life Member of The Fertility Society of Australia. Ian was known as the ' founding father of IVF in

' One of his greatest moments was the announcement of the first Australian IVF pregnancy and the third of such pregnancies in the world. The birth of the first Australian IVF baby, Candice Reed on 23 June 1980 was a moment of great national pride. (Note: The world's fourth IVF baby was also born at the Royal Women's Hospital.) On 26 January 2001, Ian was awarded with Member of the Order of Australia for service to medicine. He died of

laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancers are mostly squamous-cell carcinomas, reflecting their origin from the epithelium of the larynx. Cancer can develop in any part of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumour. For the purposes of staging, ...

a few months later.

Quotes

* "''His footprints are all over the pioneering technologies of IVF''" – Alan Trounson, RBM Online, 2001 * "''It's VFpart of my life. I wouldn't be here without it''" - Candice Reed, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 December 2005.

Education

* Scotch College, Melbourne * University of Melbourne, graduating in medicine in 1954. * Master of

Gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, University of Melbourne, 1964.

Awards

* Founding President and Honorary Life Member of The Fertility Society of Australia * Member of the Order of Australia (2001). For service to medicine, particularly in the areas of infertility and reproductive biology, through the development of treatment techniques, pioneering the use of laparoscopy as a diagnostic tool, and the establishment of support and counselling services for patients and their families. * Royal Australian and New Zealand Collegeof Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. 2001 Honour Board

Appearances

Johnston appeared in the documentary Chasing God as a scientist.

Sources

* Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Volume 2, Number 3, May 2001, pp. 215–215(1). Author: Alan Trounson. Publisher: Reproductive Healthcare Ltd

* The Fertility Society of Australia

* Discovery Newsletter, (a publication of the royal women's hospital division of research & education), June 2001

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Ian 1930 births 2001 deaths Australian obstetricians Members of the Order of Australia Medical doctors from Melbourne Deaths from laryngeal cancer People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne