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 - Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc (hons)), University of Sydney
- 1940 - 1941
- Career position - Walter and Eliza Hall Fellow in Veterinary Science
- 1941
- Education - Bachelor of Science (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 - Doctor of Science (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 (FAA)
- 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 entries
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
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7983948. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/253121520. Details
- 'Whitten, Wesley Kingston (19180801-20100524)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475672. Details
Resource Sections
- 'First vet lends name to building', in ANU News, http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=806. Details
- 'High Honour (Wesley Kingston Whitten)', in Gazette, 12 April 2001, http://www.mun.ca/univrel/gazette/2000-2001/apr12/newspage3.html#anchor122731. Details
- Pryse-Phillips, William, 'Thursday, May 31, 10 a.m. Oration honouring Wesley Whitten', in Gazette, 14 June 2001, http://www.mun.ca/univrel/gazette/2000-2001/june14/convocation8.html. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 24 April 2023