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Taking ChargeWorld-renowned reproductive specialist is again leading the way at one of the Monash University medical faculty's best known research strengths - the Institute of Reproduction and Development. DIANE SQUIRES reports.
Institute director until the end of last year, Professor de Kretser had vacated the seat for his long-time deputy, Professor Alan Trounson. However, Professor Trounson was subsequently appointed head of the federal government's first Biotechnology Centre of Excellence, the National Stem Cell Centre, and the institute was again seeking a leader. Professor de Kretser had meanwhile been active in establishing the Monash Institutes of Health, a precinct encompassing the combined biomedical research efforts of the Clayton campus of Monash University and the nearby Monash Medical Centre. It was a welcome return for Professor de Kretser, who established the Institute for Reproduction and Development in conjunction with Professor Trounson in 1990. "Setting up this institute has been a challenge and an achievement which I hope will endure," Professor de Kretser says. The institute began in 1992 with a budget of $4 million, employed 70 people and was spread across a number of sites at the Monash Medical Centre, a large public hospital in Melbourne's south-east suburbs and close to Monash University's Clayton campus. Today, it has its own purpose-built premises on the hospital site, employs 250 people and operates on a budget of $17 million. "It is one of the few institutions in the world undertaking research exclusively in the field of reproduction and development. It is also one of the best," he says. Professor de Kretser and Professor Trounson, together with colleagues from around Australia, were recently successful in securing federal funding of $43.5 million for the National Stem Cell Centre and for the $5.5 million National Centre for Advanced Cell Engineering. The institute will develop ongoing links with these two new Monash-based centres while continuing its research into prostate disease, male infertility, the mechanisms behind the disorders of premature babies and the emerging field of functional genomics, in which the role of genes in human disease is identified so that treatments can be found. The field of male reproductive health is where Professor de Kretser's particular interest lies. Through his work at the institute and at Andrology Australia, a federally funded initiative, he is working on educating both the public and general practitioners about the reproductive health problems of men. "Although there is a greater interest by men in their health than there has been in the past, we've still got a long way to go," he says. "We need to raise the profile of these issues and educate people. "My aim is to make a difference to public education in this area and to improve the management of prostate and testicular cancer, male infertility, hormone replacement for men and erectile dysfunction." Action box For more information on the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, visit www.monashinstitute.org. |
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When endocrinologist Professor David de Kretser returned to the helm of Monash University's Institute of Reproduction and Development in July, he felt as though he had never left.