个人简介

Laureate Professor Aitken’s research career began with a PhD in reproductive biology from the University of Cambridge. Following post-doctoral positions at the Institute of Animal Genetics, University of Edinburgh and the University of Bordeaux, he accepted an invitation to join the World Health Organization in Geneva, where he managed two WHO task forces within the Human Reproduction Unit. In 1977, he joined the Medical Research Council’s Reproductive Biology Unit, University of Edinburgh, to establish a research group in gamete biology with clinical outreach into male infertility. In 1992, John was awarded an Honorary Professorship within the Faculty of Medicine of Edinburgh University and 1998 he received an ScD degree from the University of Cambridge in recognition of his research contributions to gamete biology. In the same year he moved to the University of Newcastle, NSW, as Chair of Biological Sciences and, later, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development. John has published over 480 research articles, given more than 350 invited lectures and filed 12 patents. His work has been cited >16,000 times (h-index of 69), the highest citation index in his field. Since arriving in Newcastle he has generated >$37 million in research income and has been continuously funded by both the ARC and the NHMRC. Examples of professional awards include the Walpole prize (Society for the Study of Fertility) in consecutive years (1986,1987), the Puvan Memorial Lecture (Royal Malaysian College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) Bruce Stewart Memorial Lecture (American Society of Reproductive Medicine) the Amoroso lecture (the most prestigious award offered by the Society for the Study of Fertility) the Jennifer Hallam Memorial Lecture (Family Planning Association of the United Kingdom) and the MJ Edwards lecture (Australian Birth Defects Society). In 2003 he gave the Lloyd Cox Memorial oration to the University of Adelaide, and in 2004 delivered the Founders Lecture (the most prestigious award offered by the Society for Reproductive Biology) at a combined meeting of the SRB and the Endocrine Society of Australia in Sydney. In 2005 he received the ST Huang-Chan Memorial Medal from the University of Hong Kong, was appointed a Laureate Professor by the University of Newcastle and received the 2005 Scientist-of-the-Year award from the Hunter Medical Research Institute. In 2006 he delivered the Keynote Address to the American Society of Andrology meeting in Chicago and a Plenary Lecture to the Fertility Society of Australia. He also presented a Keynote Address at the 2007 Frontiers in Bioscience Symposium, to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. In 2009 he delivered the Inaugural Dame Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture at the Fertility 2009 Congress in Edinburgh and in 2010 was selected to present ‘The Yanagamachi Lecture’ to the University of Hawaii and the ‘IJA lecture’ (the most prestigious ward offered by the European Academy of Andrology) to the European Congress of Andrology in Athens. In 2012 he received the Simmet Prize, the highest honour bestowed by the International Congress on Animal Reproduction, at the ICAR meeting in Vancouver, presented the Ian Johnston Memorial lecture on behalf of the Fertility Society of Australia at their annual meeting in October and was named as the NSW Scientist-of-the-year. At an international meeting in Okinawa last year he was also elected Chairman and convenor of the 12th International Symposium of Spermatology, which will be held in Newcastle in 2014. He has also been elected a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Australian Academy of Science and is currently President of the International Society of Andrology. John Aitken is on the Editorial Boards of 8 journals at the present time and he is also Chairman of two Scientific Advisory Boards in the healthcare sector.

研究领域

Biological Sciences

My area of expertise is cell biology and biotechnology with particular emphasis on reproductive science. I am Director of the PRC for Reproductive Science as well as the ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development. In recent years my focus has been on the cell biology of mammalian germ cells, particularly the male. This interest extends from the fundamental molecular mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of male germ cells in the testes to the development of clinical improvements in our capacity to diagnose and treat male infertility. My laboratory has pioneered the proteomic analyses of spermatozoa and oocytes and has just released the first inventory of proteins comprising the human sperm proteome into the public domain. We have also been instrumental in developing techniques for the identification of spermatogonial stem cells and in defining key elements of the developmental niches that both preserve these cells stem cell status and drive some of their daughter cells to differentiation and the ultimate morphogenesis of spermatozoa. The functional maturation of spermatozoa in the epididymis and their subsequent capacitation in the female tract have also been a key point of interest for our laboratory. In the course of these studies we have proposed novel models for the control of mammalian sperm function based on the selective the partitioning of key proteins into lipid rafts on the sperm plasma membrane. Clinically, we have pioneered the notion that oxidative stress plays a key role in the aetiology of defective sperm function as well as DNA damage in the male germ line. These studies have lead to new developments in the treatment of such patients that are now beginning to enter clinical practice.

近期论文

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2016 Stanger SJ, Law EA, Jamsai D, O'Bryan MK, Nixon B, McLaughlin EA, et al., 'A novel germ cell protein, SPIF (sperm PKA interacting factor), is essential for the formation of a PKA/TCP11 complex that undergoes conformational and phosphorylation changes upon capacitation.', FASEB J, 30 2777-2791 (2016) [C1] 2016 Swegen A, Aitken RJ, 'Prospects for immunocontraception in feral horse population control: exploring novel targets for an equine fertility vaccine', Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 28 853-853 (2016) [C1] 2016 Gibb Z, Aitken RJ, 'The Impact of Sperm Metabolism during In Vitro Storage: The Stallion as a Model.', BioMed research international, 2016 9380609 (2016) [C1] 2016 Aitken RJ, Flanagan HM, Connaughton H, Whiting S, Hedges A, Baker MA, 'Involvement of homocysteine, homocysteine thiolactone, and paraoxonase type 1 (PON-1) in the etiology of defective human sperm function.', Andrology, 4 345-360 (2016) [C1] 2016 Bromfield EG, McLaughlin EA, Aitken RJ, Nixon B, 'Heat shock protein member A2 forms a stable complex with angiotensin convertingenzymeand protein disulfide isomerase A6 in human spermatozoa', Molecular Human Reproduction, 22 93-109 (2016) [C1] 2016 Leahy T, Rickard JP, Aitken RJ, De Graaf SP, 'Penicillamine prevents ram sperm agglutination in media that support capacitation', Reproduction, 151 167-177 (2016) [C1] 2016 Leahy T, Rickard JP, Aitken RJ, De Graaf SP, 'D-penicillamine prevents ram sperm agglutination by reducing the disulphide bonds of a copper-binding sperm protein', Reproduction, 151 491-500 (2016) [C1] 2016 Gharagozloo P, Gutierrez-Adan A, Champroux A, Noblanc A, Kocer A, Calle A, et al., 'A novel antioxidant formulation designed to treat male infertility associated with oxidative stress: promising preclinical evidence from animal models', HUMAN REPRODUCTION, 31 252-262 (2016) [C1] 2016 Aitken RJ, Gibb Z, Baker MA, Drevet J, Gharagozloo P, 'Causes and consequences of oxidative stress in spermatozoa', REPRODUCTION FERTILITY AND DEVELOPMENT, 28 1-10 (2016) [C1] 2016 Martin JH, Nixon B, Lord T, Bromfield EG, Aitken RJ, 'Identification of a key role for permeability glycoprotein in enhancing the cellular defense mechanisms of fertilized oocytes.', Dev Biol, 417 63-76 (2016) 2015 Young SAM, Miyata H, Satouh Y, Kato H, Nozawa K, Isotani A, et al., 'CRISPR/Cas9-mediated rapid generation of multiple mouse lines identified Ccdc63 as essential for spermiogenesis', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 16 24732-24750 (2015) [C1] 2015 Lord T, Martin JH, Aitken RJ, 'Accumulation of Electrophilic Aldehydes During Postovulatory Aging of Mouse Oocytes Causes Reduced Fertility, Oxidative Stress, and Apoptosis', BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION, 92 (2015) [C1] 2015 Varner DD, Gibb Z, Aitken RJ, 'Stallion fertility: A focus on the spermatozoon', Equine Veterinary Journal, 47 16-24 (2015) [C1] 2015 Tanphaichitr N, Kongmanas K, Kruevaisayawan H, Saewu A, Sugeng C, Fernandes J, et al., 'Remodeling of the plasma membrane in preparation for sperm-egg recognition: roles of acrosomal proteins', ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, 17 574-582 (2015) [C1] 2015 Young SAM, Aitken RJ, Ikawa M, 'Advantages of using the CRISPR/Cas9 system of genome editing to investigate male reproductive mechanisms using mouse models', ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, 17 623-627 (2015) [C1] 2015 Swegen A, Curry BJ, Gibb Z, Lambourne SR, Smith ND, Aitken RJ, 'Investigation of the stallion sperm proteome by mass spectrometry', Reproduction, 149 235-244 (2015) [C1] 2015 Purdey MS, Connaughton HS, Whiting S, Schartner EP, Monro TM, Thompson JG, et al., 'Boronate probes for the detection of hydrogen peroxide release from human spermatozoa', Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 81 69-76 (2015) [C1] 2015 Gibb Z, Lambourne SR, Quadrelli J, Smith ND, Aitken RJ, 'L-carnitine and pyruvate are prosurvival factors during the storage of stallion spermatozoa at room temperature', Biology of Reproduction, 93 (2015) [C1] 2015 Leach M, Aitken RJ, Sacks G, 'Sperm DNA fragmentation abnormalities in men from couples with a history of recurrent miscarriage', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 55 379-383 (2015) [C1] 2015 Moazamian R, Polhemus A, Connaughton H, Fraser B, Whiting S, Gharagozloo P, Aitken RJ, 'Oxidative stress and human spermatozoa: Diagnostic and functional significance of aldehydes generated as a result of lipid peroxidation', Molecular Human Reproduction, 21 502-515 (2015) [C1]