Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston (born 15 July 1940) is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour peer.

Early life

Robert Winston was born in London to Laurence Winston and Ruth Winston-Fox, and brought up as an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

. His mother was Mayor of the former Borough of Southgate. Winston's father died as a result of medical negligence when Winston was nine years old. Robert has two younger siblings: a sister, the artist Willow Winston, and a brother, Anthony.Robert Winston: 'I do have a very dark side'
''The Daily Telegraph'', 15 August 2008 Winston attended firstly Salcombe Preparatory School until the age of 7, followed by

Colet Court St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court) is a private preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Juniors pupils progress at the age of 13. The School was ...

and St Paul's School, later graduating from The London Hospital Medical College in 1964 with a degree in medicine and surgery and achieved prominence as an expert in human fertility. For a brief time he gave up clinical medicine and worked as a theatre director, winning the National Directors' Award at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 1969.University Chancellor Professor the Lord Winston
Sheffield Hallam University

Medical career

Winston joined

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, London, White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the ...

as a registrar in 1970 as a Wellcome Research Fellow. He became an associate professor at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

, Belgium in 1975. He was a scientific advisor to the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

's programme in human reproduction from 1975 to 1977. He joined the

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

(based at Hammersmith Hospital) as consultant and Reader in 1977. After conducting research as Professor of Gynaecology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1980, he returned to the UK to run the IVF service set up at Hammersmith Hospital which pioneered various improvements in this technology. He became Dean of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in London until its merger with Imperial College in 1997. He was Director of NHS Research and Development at the Hammersmith Hospitals Trust until 1994. As Professor of Fertility Studies at Hammersmith, Winston led the IVF team that pioneered pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to identify defects in human embryos, and published early work on gene expression in human embryos. He developed tubal microsurgery and various techniques in reproductive surgery, including sterilisation reversal. He performed the world's first fallopian tubal transplant in 1979 but this technology was later superseded by

in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an ovum, egg is combined with spermatozoon, sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the Ovulation cycle, ovulatory process, then removing ...

. Together with Alan Handyside in 1990, his research group pioneered the techniques of pre-implantation diagnosis, enabling screening of human embryos to prevent numerous genetic diseases. He was the president of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

from 2004 to 2005. Together with Carol Readhead of the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, Winston researched male germ cell stem cells and methods for their genetic modification at the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology,

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. He has published over 300 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. He was appointed to a new chair at Imperial College – Professor of Science and Society – and is also emeritus professor of Fertility Studies there. He was Chairman of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Trust and chairs the Women-for-Women Appeal. This charitable trust, which has raised over £80 million for research into reproductive diseases, was renamed the Genesis Research Trust in 1997. From 2001 to 2018 he was Chancellor of

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

. Winston is a Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

(FMedSci), an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

(HonFREng), a Fellow of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

(FRCOG) and of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

of London (FRCP), and is an

of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

(FRCS Edin), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (FRCPS Glasg), and the

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

(FRSB). He holds honorary doctorates from twenty-three universities. He is a trustee of the UK Stem Cell Foundation. He is a patron of The Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Opinions

Fertility treatment

Winston holds strong views about the commercialisation of fertility treatment. He believes that ineffective treatments result in great anguish to couples and is alarmed that so many treatments for the symptom of infertility are carried out before proper investigation and diagnosis has been made. He is also sceptical about the effectiveness of current methods for screening human embryos to assess their viability.

Gender affirming surgeries

Winston has called

gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...

"mutilation" and has said that "we can remove bits of our body and change our shape and so on but you can't change your sex because that is embedded in your genes in every cell of your body."

Science as truth

Winston has said "''I think there has to be a clear understanding that science is not the truth. It’s a version of the truth.''"

Media career

Robert Winston on After Dark on 30 May 1994

Winston was the presenter of many

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series, including '' Your Life in Their Hands'', ''Making Babies'', ''

Superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. ...

'', ''The Secret Life of Twins'', '' Child of Our Time'', ''Human Instinct'', ''The Human Mind'', ''Frontiers of Medicine'' and the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award-winner '' The Human Body''. As a traditional

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

with an orthodox background, he also presented '' The Story of God'', exploring the development of religious beliefs and the status of faith in a scientific age. He presented the BBC documentary '' Walking with Cavemen'', a major BBC series that presented some controversial views about early man but was endorsed by anthropologists and scientists. One theory was that ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

'' have a uniquely developed imagination that helped them to survive. Winston's documentary ''Threads of Life'' won the international science film prize in Paris in 2005. His BBC series '' Child Against All Odds'' explored ethical questions raised by IVF treatment. In 2008, he presented ''Super Doctors'', about decisions made every day in frontier medicine. Robert Winston 2011c

In 2007, Winston appeared in the TV series '' Play It Again'', in which he attempted to learn to play the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, despite not having played a musical instrument since the age of 11, when he learned the recorder. Among many

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programmes, he has appeared on ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'' radio soap as a fertility consultant. He has regularly appeared on ''The Wright Stuff'' as a panellist as well as numerous chat show programmes such as '' Have I Got News For You'', ''This Morning'', ''The One Show'' and various political programmes such as ''Question Time'' and ''Any Questions''. Winston is featured in the '' Symphony of Science'' episode ''Ode to the Brain''. He also took part in the 2011 TV series '' Jamie's Dream School''. In recent years, Winston has been featured on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known simply as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration of '' The Late Late Show'', and aired in the United Sta ...

'' in the United States, presenting various entertaining scientific experiments.

Political career

Winston was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 18 December 1995 as ''Baron Winston, of

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

''. He sits on the Labour Party benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and takes the Labour

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. He speaks frequently in the House of Lords on education, science, medicine and the arts. He was Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology and is a board member and vice-chairman of the

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is an impartial research and knowledge exchange service based in the Parliament of the United Kingdom POST serves both Houses of Parliament (the House of Commons and the House of Lords). ...

, which provides advice to both Houses of Parliament. He is a member of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...

. Winston has made a number of claims suggesting that segregated cycle lanes cause greater air pollution and emissions in Central London. He is a member of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, an advisory board created in 2019 and sponsored by the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...

, which works on ethical and innovative deployment of data-enabled technologies including

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

Personal life

In 1973, Winston married Lira Helen Feigenbaum (born 8 August 1949). They had three children, Joel, Tanya and

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

who is a film and TV producer and director. Lady Winston died on 9 December 2021. Winston is a fan of

Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...

. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, a former vice-president of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

and a member of the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, ...

, the MCC, and the Athenaeum Club in London. He owns a classic 1930s Bentley. Winston was a council member of the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and ...

and Cancer Research UK, and until 2013 was a member of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council where he chaired the Societal Issues Panel. He gives many public lectures a year on scientific subjects and has helped to promote science literacy and education by founding the Reach Out Laboratory in

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

, which brings schoolchildren of all ages into the university on a daily basis to do practical science and to debate the issues which science and technology raise. Extending this school outreach activity, he acts as ambassador for Outreach for the President of Imperial College, visiting schools across England to discuss scientific issues and career aspiration with students.

Current posts

*Professor of Science and Society,

*Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies, Imperial College London *Chairman of the Genesis Research Trust *Founding member and co-chair with Professor Ruth Armon of the UK-Israel Science Council (since 2017)

Selected former posts

*Chairman of the Council,

2007–2017 *Council Member,

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

until 2018

Honours and awards

*Cedric Carter Medal, Clinical Genetics Society, 1993 *Victor Bonney Medal for contributions to surgery,

, 1993 *Gold Medallist, Royal Society of Health, 1998 *Fellow of the

(FMedSci), 1998 *

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

Gold Award for Medicine in the Media, 1999 *

Michael Faraday Prize ''The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture'' is awarded for "excellence in communicating science to UK audiences." Named after Michael Faraday, the medal itself is made of silver gilt, and is accompanied by a purse of £2500. Backgro ...

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, 1999 *Edwin Stevens Medal (the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

) 2003 *Aventis Prize, Royal Society 2004 *Al-Hammadi Medal,

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

2005 *Twenty-three honorary doctorates *The VLV Award for the most outstanding personal contribution to British television in 2004 *Honoured by the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

at a Marylebone tree planting ceremony in July 2011 *

of the

in 2008.

Honorary degrees

Winston has received at least 23

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s, These include

Television documentaries

* '' Your Life in Their Hands'', BBC 1979–1987 * '' Making Babies'', BBC 1995 * '' The Human Body'', BBC, which went by the name ''Intimate Universe: The Human Body'' in the United States, BBC 1998. The series won three

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

. * '' The Secret Life of Twins'', BBC 1999 * '' Child of Our Time'', following the lives of a group of children, all born in 2000, as they grow to the age of 20; BBC 2000–present * ''

'', BBC 2001, won the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

Award for Medicine and Biology * '' Walking with Cavemen'', BBC 2003 * '' Human Instinct'', BBC 2002 Emmy nomination * '' The Human Mind'', BBC 2003 * '' Threads of Life'', about

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

, BBC 2003, won the international Science Prize in Paris * ''How to Sleep Better'', BBC 2005 * '' The Story of God'', BBC 2005 * '' How to Improve Your Memory'', BBC 2006 * '' A Child Against All Odds'', BBC 2006 * '' Super Doctors'', BBC 2008 * ''

How Science Changed Our World ''How Science Changed Our World'' is a 2010 BBC television documentary presented by Robert Winston (first broadcast on 23 December 2010 on BBC One). It focuses on ten scientific advances, which according to the producers, had the biggest impact on ...

'', BBC 2010 * '' Inside Britain's Fertility Business'', BBC 2016

Selected published work

*"Reversibility of Female Sterilization" (1978) *Co-author "Tubal Infertility" (1981) *"Infertility – a sympathetic approach" (1985) *"Getting Pregnant" (1989) *"Making Babies" (1996) *"The IVF Revolution" (1999) *"Superhuman" (2000) *"Human Instinct" (2003) *"The Human Mind" (2004), shortlisted for Royal Society Aventis Prize *"What Makes Me Me" (2005), winner, Royal Society young people's book prize *"Human" (2005), BMA Award for best popular medicine book *" The Story of God" (2005) *"Body" (2005) *"A Child Against All Odds" (2006) *" Play It Again" (2007) *"It's Elementary" (2007) *"Evolution Revolution" (2009) *"What Goes On Inside My head" (2010) *"Science Year By Year" (2011) *"That's Life" (2012) *"Bad Ideas?" An Arresting History of Our Inventions: How Our Finest Inventions Nearly Finished Us Off (2010) *"Utterly Amazing Science" (2014), winner, Royal Society young people's book prize *"Utterly Amazing Body" (2015) *"The Essential Fertility Guide" (2015)
''When science meets God''
Robert Winston, BBC News, Friday, 2 December 2005.

Robert Winston,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, Thursday, 13 October 2005

References

External links

* *
President of the BA, Biography at the British Association
* ttp://www.age-of-the-sage.org/scientist/robert_winston_human_instinct.html Age of the Sage: Robert Winston {{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Robert 1940 births Living people 20th-century British Jews 21st-century British Jews Academic staff of the Université catholique de Louvain Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of the London Hospital Medical College BBC television presenters British Orthodox Jews British scientists Chancellors of Sheffield Hallam University Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology Honorary Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Jewish British scientists Labour Friends of Israel Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People associated with the University of Surrey People educated at St Paul's School, London Physicians of Hammersmith Hospital Presidents of the British Science Association Television personalities from London