Fertile development
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston was born on July 15th 1940 and graduated from London University in 1964. He immediately began working in junior posts at the London Hospital until 1970, when he joined the Hammersmith Hospital as a Registrar and became involved in research and development in gynaecological microsurgery. Having specialised in this area, he is now Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College School of Medicine and is renowned as a fertility expert throughout the world. He also heads the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital in London.

So what's so special about him?
There are many accolades you could bestow upon Lord Winston, but perhaps his most easily recognisable contribution is that which he shares with the likes of David Attenborough and Adam Hart-Davies, in his ability to communicate complex science to a wide public audience. Thanks to his work on programmes like The Human Body, Secret Life of Twins, Superhuman and Human Instinct, science on TV has changed from being academic, minority viewing into something that is popular, entertaining and indeed sexy!

Award winner
Not only have these programmes proved immensely popular, but they have received awards from the BAFTA's, an Emmy nomination and a Peabody award. Winston was Gold Medalist for the Royal Society of Health in 1998 and received the British Medical Association Gold Award for Medicine in the Media and the Faraday Gold Medal from The Royal Society in 1999. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, holds honorary doctorates at six universities, and is President-elect of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Beyond television
His research into embryology and genetics is internationally recognised. As a researcher into human reproduction, Lord Winston helped develop techniques for sterilisation reversal, while the improvements he has developed in fertility medicine have been adopted world-wide. Contrary to popular belief Lord Winston was not part of the team that produced the first test-tube baby in 1978 but he has been prominent in many areas of related research; most notably, he founded the first NHS In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Programme, enabling families with a history of a particular genetic disease to have children free of fatal illnesses.

Arise, Lord Winston
Arguably one of the most honorary titles you can get in this country, Winston was created a Life Peer in 1995. As a peer he takes the Government Whip and speaks regularly in the House of Lords on education, science, medicine and the arts. He was the recent Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology and is a board member of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. He has been Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University since 2001.

So what's he up to at the moment?
He currently researches transgenic technology, particularly for models of human disease and organ transplants, but all the while he remains dedicated towards developing methods for maturing eggs outside the body so as to make IVF treatment more affordable and accessible and less intrusive to the hopeful parents. In keeping with his common approach to science and medicine, you can read his highly accessible books about the subject, including Infertility - a sympathetic approach (1985); Getting Pregnant (1989); and Making Babies (1996).

Find out more

Information on IVF

The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science)

House of Lords homepage